Keynote Speakers - Infrastructure Middle East 2011

Keynote Speakers

Mr Ebrahim Hassan Al-Hawaj, Director, Sanitary Engineering Operation & Maintenance Directorate, Ministry of Works, Bahrain
Mr. Al Hawaj completed his B.Sc in civil engineering from USA joined the Ministry of Works since 1986 as Trainee Engineer. Till 2004 he worked as Construction Engineers and Division Head of Construction in the Engg. Services Dept.. He is the member in various committees from the Ministry i.e. Updating Standards Specifications, Public and Private Partnership Committee, Operation Chairman of the Disaster Plan Committee Projects Steering Committee. He is the member of Project Management Institute. His special interests are Project Financing, Strategic Planning and OPM3.

Mr. Abdul Nabi Al Sabah, Advisor, Roads & Traffic, Ministry of Works, Bahrain
He is a member in many professional organization such as Project Management Institute (USA) and Institute of Engineers (USA) Mr Abdul Nabi has a Master Degree in Civil Engineer (Leeds University) and and Advance Management Diploma (Bahrain University). He joined the Ministry of Works in March 1981 as a Trainee Engineer, has occupied many senior positions. Since 2005, he is Advisor, Roads & Traffic in Roads Affairs. He is Certified Project Manager Professional (PMP) and has over 29 years of experience in civil engineering design and project management with particular expertise in the fields of highways, traffic and transportation planning, development appraisal and infrastructure planning and design. Since 2005, I have been responsible for planning, design and implementing the Highway Strategic Master Plan. Heavily involved in planning, design and implementation of key strategic projects in Bahrain such as Formula-1 Project, Sh. Isa Bin Salman Causeway, Sh. Khalifa Bin Salman Causeway, Seef flyovers, Sitra Causeway, Strategic Highway Master Plan ( 2005 – until now) and Sh. Khalifa Bin Salman Highway.

Prof. Dr. Waleed Al-Zubari, Professor, Water Resources Management Water Resources Management Program, Arabian Gulf University, Bahrain
Prof. Zubari holds the academic position of Professor of Water Resources Management at the Arabian Gulf University (AGU). He holds the administrative positions of Dean of the College of Graduate Studies, Director of the Water Resources Management Program, and the coordinator of the UN Water Virtual Learning Center for the Arab Region. He obtained his PhD degree in 1990 in the field of groundwater mathematical modeling from Colorado State University, and joined AGU in 1990. Since joining AGU, he has taught many courses in Hydrogeology and Water Resources Management and Planning in Arid Regions, and has published more than 45 papers in peer-reviewed journals, conferences, and seminars. In December 2002, he received the Award of Best Researcher in the Arab World in the field of Water Resources from the Arab League Educational, Cultural, and Scientific Organization. He serves as a consultant for many international and regional organizations, including UNESCO, UNEP, UNDP, ESCWA, and FAO. He has been active in the Water Science and Technology Association (WSTA), a regional water NGO in the GCC countries, and has made significant contribution to its conferences scientific committee (chairman of the 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th, and 9th Gulf Water Conferences), and was elected as its president from 2001 to 2003. In March 2008, he published his first book on Water Issues and Challenges in the GCC (in Arabic).

Mr. Peter Josef Haaks, Executive Director Near & Middle East, DB International, Germany
Peter is operating from DB I’s offices in Frankfurt/Main and Berlin and from their branch offices in Jeddah, Abu Dhabi and Amman.In his current function as Executive Director Near & Middle East for DB International a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn Mobility Logistics, which is the biggest Railway Operator in Europe, Peter is responsible for DB I’s projects in the Region. His clients include Saudi Railways Organisation in Dammam, the Syrian Railway Organization CFS in Aleppo and Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs in Jeddah. During the last years Peter has been involved for reputed engineering companies in railway projects of different nature, such as freight cargo, passenger railway and urban transport (Metro, LRT). He possesses a great international experience in above subjects and is very familiar with the whole process for the realisation of railway projects.Peter’s key qualifications comprise Project Management, Project & Business Development in the fields of Transport, Energy and Municipal Infrastructure, Engineering Contract Monitoring and Training of Personnel.Peter J. Haaks has been involved in international infrastructure projects for more than 20 years. He studied Environmental Technology and graduated in 1990 with a Master in Science. During his career he managed and supervised numerous engineering and consultancy contracts in Eastern Europe, Latin America and in the Middle East.

Dr. Jutta Niederste-Hollenberg, Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI, Germany
MSc in civil engineering, with focus on water and environment at the University of Hannover. Also, freelance work in a consultancy for environmental issues. From 1999 to 2003 scientist in the Institute for Wastewater Management and Water Protection at the Technical University of Hamburg-Harburg with doctorate on the subject of "Nutrient recovery of municipal wastewater through collection and treatment of partial wastewater streams in urban areas". Afterwards freelance work on drainage questions and on the Water Framework Directive. From 2005 to 2008 responsible for the field "strategic planning" at the Association for Sewage Treatment – AZV Pinneberg (now: AZV Südholstein). Since September 2008, scientist at Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI. Jutta Niederste-Hollenberg is also Member of the DWA workgroup KA-1.8 of the DWA committee KA1, "new sanitation systems".

Dr. Nicolai Ritter, Lawyer, CMS Hasche Sigle , Germany
Dr Nicolai Ritter was born in 1972 in Aachen. He studied law in Bonn, Dresden and Bologna and worked as a scientific assistant at the Center of European Integration Studies (ZEI), Bonn. He is a lawyer at CMS Hasche Sigle in Berlin since 2004. He advices on private construction law, law of engineering and architects as well as real estate law. Main focus of his practise is the legal project management on international plant engineering and large scale construction projects. He advices employers as well as investors and contractors. Dr Nicolai Ritter is member of the Construction Law Group of the German Lawyers Association (ARGE Baurecht), the German Society for Construction Law, the Arab-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry e.V. (GORFHA) and of the Society of Construction Law (SCL) Gulf.

Mr. Peter J. Speight, Managing Director, Dar Al-Handasah Consultants (Shair and Partners) UK Ltd., United Kingdom
He has a particular interest in the valuation of environmental benefits, and alternative mechanisms of community resource management.As a Project Manager he has been responsible for the preparation of a wide range of environmental documentation, including the development of sector and area based environmental policy guidelines, full EIA's (World Bank Category A and B), Resettlement Action Plans and Environmental Management Plans. Major studies completed within the last two years include a 300 km water transmission pipeline, a new international airport, and for 1000km of new railway.Since the beginning of this year he has led a study developing future infrastructure planning Scenarios for the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Commission. As an infrastructure planner he has worked extensively on feasibility studies, typically prepared to meet the requirements of the major international financing agencies such as IBRD, IDB, ADB, African Development Bank, UNDP etc. Major recent projects have included the development of urban infrastructure renewal programmes for two major cities (population > 3 million) in Sub-Saharan Africa. Mr. Speight is the Managing Director of the London office of Dar Al-Handasah Consultants (Shair and Partners). He has 30 years project and technical experience, as an Infrastructure Planner, Environmental Specialist and Urban and Regional Planner. He has acted in a variety of capacities, as a Project Manager, Resident Project Manager and Technical Advisor and has worked on projects in over 30 countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Dr. Robert Stein, Managing Director, S&P Consult, Germany
As a technical advisor he was involved in the feasibility study of the project “Construction of a gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea by pipe jacking” in the area Greifswalder Bodden by order of Nord Stream AG. By order of the federal government he was in charge of the project management for the planning check, supervision and back up of the authorising bodies within the scope of the approval process for the largest pipe jacking project of its kind in Europe, the so called “Emscher Sewer”. Furthermore, Dr. Stein has a long experience in the area of sewer construction and maintenance. Current main focus is the modelling of conditional and substantial developments of supply and disposal pipelines and also the development of demand-orientated maintenance strategies.Dr.-Ing. Robert Stein is the CEO of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Stein & Partner GmbH. His business activities include planning services as well as the expert supervision of defects in the field of underground infrastructure systems. In this connection he has been involved in a multitude of jacking projects. His most manifold research activities had the particular aim of achieving an improvement of the capacities of microtunnelling. He is the author of the reference book “Asset Valuation of Sewer Networks”, of the chapter on pipe jacking works (ATV DIN 18319) and co-author of the book “Mini-Horizontal Directional Drilling” as well as of various technical articles.

Olivier Vion, Executive Director, ITA-AITES, Switzerland
Olivier Vion is the Executive Director of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association since January 2009. He was before in charge of the communication of the Association (NGO in charge of development of use of underground space and share of knoledge in tunnelling techniques). Perviously he has been in charge by Lafarge Group of special cements for underground works (Channel Tunnel, HSL Tunnels), then Deputy sales manager by DTP Terrassement (Bouygues Subsidiary). In 1994, he started his own company of consultancy in marketing in underground works sector worldwide. He is a chartered civil engineer , specialized as structural engineer and former auditor of College for High study in Sustainable Development.

Infrastructure Middle East 2011

International Conferences and Exhibition on Underground Infrastructure, Water and Waste Water, Traffic and Transportation

17-19 January 2011, Gulf International Convention Center, The Gulf Hotel Bahrain, Kingdom of Bahrain