ACTS to enhance competitiveness in region's construction industry amid growth prospects

• One-day ‘Anchorage to Concrete’ seminar on February 11 in Mövenpick Hotel Deira, Dubai, UAE to continue series of capacity-building events for construction professionals in the MENA region
• Construction peak forecasted from 2014 to 2019; major infrastructure programmes in the GCC planned for completion by 2030 to cost over US$ 1 trillion
• UAE among top spenders with around US$ 1.38 trillion worth of projects planned until 2025

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, February 09, 2014: Advanced Construction Technology Services (ACTS), a consulting organisation in the field of construction materials and geotechnical engineering, continues its conduct of a special series of seminars designed to enhance the competitiveness and innovative capacity of the construction industry, this particularly in light of long-term growth prospects from record levels of construction activity planned over the next decade in the region. ACTS, in cooperation with the American Concrete Institute (ACI), will hold the second staging of “Anchorage to Concrete” seminar on February 11 in Mövenpick Hotel Deira, Dubai, UAE.

“Construction activities across the Middle East continue to grow. This is particularly true for GCC countries, which have several large infrastructure projects being implemented in response to national development plans and upcoming major global events. Massive infrastructure projects like these require top-of-the-line labour and material resource to successfully deliver on their commitments, and this is when the value of training and capacity building cannot be underestimated. Construction professionals who are up-dated on concrete technology are pivotal contributors to this robust industry,” said Engr. Khaled Awad, Chairman of ACTS.

Across the GCC region, there are over 100 major construction programmes – which are mega projects that cost more than US$ 1 billion and need to be delivered in a relatively short period of time – that are planned for completion by 2030. Analysts projected that annual construction spend due to major programmes alone (excluding projects under US$ 1 billion in value) could reach US$ 50 billion per annum.  As of November last year, overall construction expenditure by the UAE on ongoing projects would reach US$ 1.38 trillion until 2025.

Since its establishment in 1996, ACTS has become a regional reference in construction consultancy services and a pioneer in achieving technological advancements in the materials and geo-engineering fields.  As the local sponsoring group of ACI, ACTS has been providing several Middle East companies certification programmes by ACI, which is regarded as the world authority in concrete construction and produces the main building codes that are universally adopted in engineering design and concrete construction.

For its inaugural offering in the new year, ACTS and ACI are conducting ‘Anchorage to Concrete’, one of ACI’s most popular seminar topics in the USA.  A one-day seminar for engineers, architects, specifiers and building officials, it focuses on the basic ACI design framework for anchorage to concrete, explanations on the recently added anchorage provisions in ACI 318-11, and Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete and Commentary. International presenters Donald F. Meinheit, Ph.D., P.E., S.E., FACI, and Khaled Nahlawi, Ph.D., P.E., work through both simple and more complex problems, share presentations and resource materials to give attendees the tools they need to design cast-in, mechanical, and adhesive anchor connections with confidence.

First held in Doha, Qatar, the ‘Anchorage to Concrete’ seminar will be brought by ACTS and ACI to other countries in the region after the UAE.  Schedules are: February 13 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and, February 17 in Beirut, Lebanon. For more information on ACTS-ACI certification programmes/ seminars and to register, contact Mrs. Rima Al Yassir Alameh at ryassir@acts-int.com, or log on to www.acts-int.com.