This year’s FIDIC Global Infrastructure Conference is a sell-out event which is set to attract more than 650 industry professionals to Geneva.
The annual flagship event of the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC) is pretty much sold out as it prepares to attract more than 600 attendees to Geneva from 8-10 September 2024.
The conference theme for this year’s FIDIC Global Infrastructure Conference, Transforming lives with infrastructure – Investing in and building a better world for all, will see the international engineering, construction and infrastructure industry coming together to discuss the latest trends, innovations and challenges in infrastructure development.
The conference programme opens with a keynote from the head of bilateral economic relations at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs in the Swiss Government, Andrea Rauber Saxer, followed by Mohamed Al Shorafa from the Abu Dhabi Department of Municipalities and Transport. The opening session of the conference, moderated by Sarah Prichard, UK chief operating officer of Buro Happold, includes speakers from the Saudi Arabia National Infrastructure Fund, European Investment Bank, Aon, Bentley Systems and The World Bank.
At a time when the funding of major projects is a key issue for the industry, the second session of the conference, Show me the money! – De-risking and leveraging infrastructure investment, will look at the steps that can be taken by financiers, funders and clients to de-risk investments to make major and strategically significant infrastructure projects more attractive and bankable for those organisations looking to invest in them. Expert speakers in this session include representatives from SERV Swiss Export Risk Insurance, the UK National Infrastructure Commission, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Swiss Re Institute and The World Bank.
A topical session on Decarbonising Infrastructure will delve into the critical theme of carbon management in the infrastructure sector, spotlighting the FIDIC Carbon Collaboration Initiative, which has been led by the Global Leadership Forum and has resulted in the newly established FIDIC Carbon Management Framework. Conference session four, Focus on the ‘developing’ world – the specific challenges of emerging markets and developing economies, will shine a light on the different routes to delivery in a diverse world, with a specific focus on the developing world.
The fifth session of the conference highlights a key subject that the industry just cannot ignore. The politics of infrastructure – influencing governments and persuading politicians will look at how the sector can best influence governments and persuade politicians about the importance of infrastructure and the benefits it can bring. Addressing how best to deal with the political process, the tactics to employ when talking to politicians to get positive messages across, the session will also look at how industry professionals can use social value and the ESG agenda to advocate for good infrastructure development.
Session six of the conference will showcase world-class groundbreaking construction and infrastructure projects from around the globe that highlight how, through their ingenuity, engineers are making a difference and helping to build a better world. Featured projects included in this session come from South America, China, Middle East, Europe, America and Africa.
The final session of the conference, Leading the way – a view from industry leaders, will see a panel of leaders and experts reflecting on the two days of conference and providing their expertise and views on the challenges facing the industry and what needs to be done to address them and move forward. Organisations represented in this session include Eptisa, Stantec, WSP, Artelia, EY and Tonkin + Taylor.
Speaking ahead of the conference, FIDIC president Catherine Karakatsanis, said: “We have developed a first-rate programme with excellent speakers for this event to address many of the key and urgent challenges that we face as a global industry. The fact that the conference is almost sold out is also a real testament to the hard work of everyone involved in compiling the programme, as well as FIDIC’s standing as an influential organisation in the international engineering, construction and infrastructure sector.
“I’d also like to thank our 2024 conference sponsors for their support for this year’s event – platinum sponsors Bentley Systems and Abu Dhabi Projects and Infrastructure Centre, gold sponsors Aon and Autodesk and bronze sponsor Fenwick Elliott. We look forward to working with them at the conference and beyond.”
With only a handful of seats remaining, potential attendees will need to act quickly to secure a place at this key event for the engineering, construction and infrastructure industry.
Click here to book a conference place and view details of the full programme.
