President and CEO of Mercury MENA, Mr. Adnan Mian joins region's experts to discuss the importance and widening role of an evolving MEP sector.
Joining a panel of leaders and decision makers of the region's MEP (Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing) community, President and CEO of Mercury MENA, Mr. Adnan Mian participated as a speaker in the MEP Conference 2014, highlighting the growing importance of the sector within the construction industry. The event held on Wednesday, 4th of June 2014 at the Grand Hyatt Doha, Qatar, provided the ideal platform for leaders to discuss the sector's future and ways for the evolving nature of the industry to be addressed to ensure both short- and long-term growth. The conference also provided an opportunity for industry professionals to meet, and to network with potential customers and existing clients.
The forum underlines the MEP sector's rapid evolution and widening encompass. Today the sector's approach is a more integrated service delivery pattern, incorporating a wide spectrum of services that include everything from design and procurement through to supply, installation, integration, testing and commissioning. The focus of MEP services is also shifting to include operation and maintenance, creating challenges and immense opportunities for MEP contractors.
As CEO of a leading MEP engineering company in the region, Mr. Adnan Mian has brought about sweeping and dynamic changes in the company, well known for high standards of quality and delivery. The changes have resulted in a marked streamlining and enhancement of operations and engineered a global expansion of Mercury MENA. As a highly articulate advocate for the MEP community, Mr. Mian expressed his appreciation for the effective platform that the forum provided for the sector. He talked about the unprecedented growth of MEP construction in Qatar, but cautioned that in the midst of this opportunity, the MEP industry should look also at the challenges it faces and take steps to assess and mitigate the risks that could potentially delay mega projects linked to the Qatar World Cup infrastructure development.
During the conference, keynote addresses, panel discussions and case studies brought forward the tremendous contribution that MEP services will add to the overall project value in Qatar's projected spend in the run-up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup and its expected growth in 2014. Mr. Adnan Mian participated in a panel discussion, which tackled the subject of "Opportunities and Challenges for MEP in Stadiums." Qatar is currently planning to build 12 international-class football stadiums following its successful bid to host the tournament, a few of which are close to completion and will be sourcing out eligible MEP partners very soon. With the extreme weather conditions in Qatar, cooling and energy efficiency would be key factors of consideration. The panel analysed the opportunities for MEP contractors in stadiums and whether the MEP community is ready with the latest solutions. Speakers also discussed the challenges of ensuring an iconic look for the stadiums in order to maintain the country's cultural identity.
Mr. Mian expressed the view that the focus should not merely lie with the issue of stadiums only but rather on the overall issues of infrastructure and all issues related to it. It is important, he said, that a culture of collaboration is developed among all contractors, from the lead contractor to the MEP contractor and others involved to ensure a successful outcome. He further mentioned the importance of achieving sustainability in the construction stage by pricing health, safety and sustainability below the line cost.
Mr. Mian presented five key initiatives that government and the major clients should consider seriously when procuring MEP works on mega projects. He said, "MEP contractor should be engaged at the same time as the lead contractor and the design consultant and this can be done through pre-construction services agreement, which at a later stage can be converted to a full construction contract. Lead contractor's overhead and profit margin on the MEP works should be ring fenced and pre-agreed between the client and the lead contractor. The design risk and responsibility should be shared between the client, design consultant and the MEP contractor. Change in client expectations and design changes must be managed carefully. Regulatory authorities should come on board pre-award of the contract. Collaborative approach should be made mandatory in the form of contractual obligation especially when it comes to changes in client requirements and the resulting design changes."
Mr. Mian emphasised Mercury MENA's commitment to growth and development and mentioned the idea of the T5 approach that holds true in Qatar. The T5 agreement is a unique legal contract in the construction industry, which creates considerable incentive for performance.
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About Mercury MENA
Mercury MENA is an MEP (Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing) Contractor within the construction industry with a strong operational presence in the region. It delivers an extensive range of engineering services across a multitude of sectors from management contracting to building services requirements.
Media enquiries for Mercury MENA:
Rhizlaine Benabid
Chief Communications Officer
Tel : +973 17741404
E-mail : rhizlaine.benabid@mercurymena.com
Abdulrahman Al Jowder
Assistant Communications Manager
Tel : +973 17741404
Mobile : +973 36050701
E-mail : abdulrahman.aljowder@mercurymena.com
© Press Release 2014
