Project management has emerged as one of the most critical areas of expertise in the Gulf region in light of the wide-ranging, high-value development initiatives being pursued all over the region, according to an expert.

Decisions involving risks, prioritising and selecting investments are among important areas of concern of the project management team, and these decisions are usually critical to the success of the project, said Dr Firas Abou Zaki, senior VP of Project Management Institute-Arabian Gulf Chapter (PMI-AGC) ahead of its key seminar.

"The collective value of the GCC's 100 largest projects currently underway or completed in the last two years has already been projected to reach over $1.3 trillion," Dr Firas said, citing Meed reports. "Contracts worth $49 billion were awarded in the first half alone," he added.

The PMI-AGC conference will be held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Sheikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al-Khalifa, Prime Minister of Bahrain from January 24 to 26 at the Gulf Hotel in Bahrain, he added.

Speaking at the Qatari launch of the 13th PMI-AGC International Conference, Dr Firas said, "In light of the accelerated pace of urban development all over the GCC, particularly in Qatar, it is critically important to remember that the success of any project is greatly influenced by the professional expertise of the project management team."

Many project management practitioners, engineers, planners, academicians and management executives from Qatar have already confirmed participation at the event, which underlines the growing need for a dedicated professional networking event catering to the project management sector.

"The PMI-AGC seminar has been organised specifically to cater to the otherwise underserved needs of project management professionals in terms of networking, benchmarking and sharing of best practices," he added.

The event will serve as a centralised platform to interact, share experiences, improve knowledge and showcase the latest projects and best practices of project management professionals in the GCC.

The theme of the upcoming conference is “Delivering Value and productivity through Project Management: Lessons Learned from the Boom and Bust Cycles.” It has been chosen to emphasize the importance of lessons learned from boom and bust cycles to enhance the value of projects through adopting innovative and collaborative approaches.

Mohammed Hammad, the PMI AGC President, attended the Qatar launch ceremony along with Dr Khalid Naji, PMI AGC Qatar president.-TradeArabia News Service