GCC catching up with Dubai – Hill Intl VP says
Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Iraq making serious steps to introduce project management
Mohammed Al Rais says the rest of the GCC is catching up rapidly with the likes of Dubai and the UAE.
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The rest of the GCC is making rapid strides in project management as countries try to catch up with the benchmarks set by Dubai, Mohammed Al Rais, a leading construction expert, has told Big Project ME.
Speaking during an exclusive interview, Al Rais said that while the UAE and Dubai had advanced ahead of the region in terms of project management, the likes of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and even Iraq, were making serious efforts to catch up and surpass the Emirates.
“It’s a matter putting a process and system in place, so that at least the bureaucracy and the old way of doing things, managing projects, becomes a lot more streamlined,” he said.
“The UAE and Dubai is advanced ahead of anybody else in this regard, but everyone is looking to catch up and everyone is catching up, even reaching the level that we have here. So it’s encouraging that now we’re being called in to commence project management as well as general format of consultancy.”
Hill International is a major project management consultant and has worked on a number of projects across the world. This includes working with various ministries in the Middle East to introduce best practices and processes in their countries’ construction industries.
Having previously worked with Saudi Arabia in this regard, the firm is working in Iraq to help streamline and standardise their processes and procedures.
“We’re in negotiations with a ministry in Iraq, to actually set up processes, procedures and standardisation of contracts. (These) standardisation of procedures will be for people to be able to work. It’s been very slow, but definitely, it’s happening now,” he explained.
“It’s a matter of training, it’s a matter putting a process and system in place, so that at least the bureaucracy and the old way of doing things, managing projects, becomes a lot more streamlined,” he concluded.
