Middle East first for CEDA Dredging Days

In a break with tradition this year, the Netherlands based Central Dredging Association’s trademark conference and exhibition, CEDA Dredging Days 2012, will be held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on 12 and 13 December.

Nourishment of Abu Dhabi’s Corniche beach, one of the target locations for the CEDA Dredging Days 2012 technical visit, was completed in September 2011

This unique opportunity takes advantage of the substantive dredging programmes in the Middle East occasioned by the extensive coastal infrastructure developments in the region and the development of the offshore oil and gas industry.

The conference theme of ‘Virtue, Venture and Vision’ recognises that it is no longer sufficient to view dredging as a separate exercise but part of the whole planning and execution process. ‘Virtue’ in this context is environmental awareness and concern. Successful developments take account of environmental factors at the planning stage, building these into innovative project design. Working with nature rather than attempting to impose on it allows the achievement of long term sustainable solutions. ‘Venture’ is the development of the coast for commercial purposes benefitting the local and regional economy. ‘Vision’ is the long term planning for aesthetic reasons creating a sustainable future. The aim is to support and delight those dependent on the coastal zone.

The main conference topics will be ‘Infrastructure and Trade Development’ and ‘Dredging for the Offshore Oil and Gas Industry’. A broad programme of papers has been submitted drawing on experience in the Middle East and worldwide. These include technical and environmental challenges and how these have been overcome. The full programme is now available on the conference website: www.cedaconferences.org/dredgingdays2012.

A technical visit will allow delegates to view some of these interesting local projects. In addition, the academic session will present some of the latest research in the dredging field.

To complement the conference, a technical exhibition will be located next to the technical session room. The central location of the exhibition area will provide organisations with an excellent opportunity to present their products and services to a select and focused group of international experts and decision makers.

The opportunity of holding CEDA Dredging Days in Abu Dhabi allows the knowledge and experience of those in the dredging profession to combine with those working on the extensive projects in the Middle East. This is an excellent possibility for cooperation and innovation. We look forward to seeing you there.

For further information visit: www.cedaconferences.org/dredgingdays2012 or contactSylvia Minten at the Conference Secretariat on Tel: +31 6 1660 3947. Email : sylvia@mintenprojectmanagement.nl).

CEDA Dredging Days 2012 will be preceded by the CEDA-IADC training course ‘Environmental Aspects of Dredging’ on 10 and 11 December. For further information visit www.dredging.org or www.iadc-dredging.com.