International Federation of Consulting Engineers

FIDIC News

December 2006
Online at FIDIC.org/news
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Activities
FIDIC discusses new initiatives with contractors' representatives
Contracts
FIDIC and the Confederation of International Contractors' Associations plan a joint Copenhagen
private sector approach to the World Bank.
8-9 Feb07
Partnerships are the key to global quality
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Member firms are urged to reflect upon the main outcomes of the FIDIC 2006
conference that will be taken up at the 2007 Singapore conference.
EventsUsers conference provided a vital opportunity to discuss recent trends
The first contracts users conference confirmed the need for a new platform.
Forthcoming visits and meetings
Regional events in Asia and Africa feature.

Contracts
Abu Dhabi
26-27 Feb07
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Contracts
FIDIC awarded contract to supply ADB training
FIDIC to train Asian Development Bank Resident Missions in five countries.
Training agreement for Jordan signed
FIDIC contracts training courses to be launched in Jordan in early-2007.
Representation
Gulf Engineering Forum addressed industry organization
Many countries in and around the Arabian Gulf are establishing associations topromote capacity utilisation and development.
Central European Initiative forum focussed on services trade
A FIDIC delegation addressed procurement issues in Romania at a Central
European Initiative summit and with FIDIC's Member Association.
UAE membership discussed and training consolidated
A visit to the United Arab Emirates allowed FIDIC to follow up on discussions ofmembership and ongoing joint training activities.
Business practice

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Scope definitions task group envisages nine project phases
A FIDIC task group that is working closely with a European Union project is to
propose scope definitions based on nine phases to a project.
Business development
Sustainable buildings initiative soon to release first products
A UNEP initiative to develop policies for sustainable construction takes stock of its
first few months of operation.
ESCONE-Egypt to help raise the profile of consulting engineers
A FIDIC delegation met with representatives from Egypt and nearby countries toplan a regional event to promote consulting engineering.
EthicsOECD reviews integrity best practice in national procurement
A FIDIC presentation confirmed the consulting engineering industry's role inestablishing procurement best practice, notably business integrity.
FIDIC participates in first UN anticorruption session
FIDIC joined industry representatives in promoting and monitoring
implementation of the 2005 UN anticorruption convention.
Malaysian business integrity seminar attracted over 200 participants
A FIDIC Business Integrity Management Seminar organized by ACEM-Malaysia
attracted over 200 participants, including government representatives.
Antibribery principles reviewed in the light of major anticorruption initiatives
Steering committee aimed to harmonise compliance for business principles.
Image
ASPAC looks ahead to 2007
Regional conference to be the focus for Asia-Pacific activities in 2007.
Young Professionals Forum newsletter launchedYoung professionals newsletter to promote and coordinate networking.
Notices to Member Associations
MA Notices: December 2006

Regional
Conference

CoursesponsorActivities
FIDIC discusses new initiatives with contractors' representatives[full item: 88Ac]

Contracts
Copenhagen
8-9 Feb07
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FIDIC took part in late-November 2006 in the annual discussions in Dubai on
procurement between the World Bank and CICA, the Confederation ofInternational Contractors' Associations www.cica.net, that represents international
contractors. CICA reiterated its appreciation of FIDIC's efforts to ensure theavailability of internationally accepted standard contracts for infrastructure works,
Contracts
while continuing to discuss possible modifications. Corruption was high on the
Abu Dhabi
agenda, with the contracting industry acknowledging the work undertaken by
26-27 Feb07
FIDIC in developing efficient anticorruption business tools. Quality as the key for
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successful procurement was also a major concern, with the contracting industry
becoming more aware of the positive features of quality based selection. A joint
initiative to the World Bank is now planned that recognizes the value of aconsolidated approach from the private sector. It will be based upon industry's
response to the Bank's fight against corruption and the ongoing push for
improved procurement procedures.
Partnerships are the key to global quality [full item: 89Ac]
Comprehensive summaries of key points raised during each of the 2006
International Consulting Engineering Conference workshops included
recommended actions for the conference's main organizers (FIDIC and theEuropean federation EFCA), for Member Associations and for firms. The
summaries are available online as a plenary presentation (PDF) and as acondensed list (PDF). The 2006 conference highlighted the consulting engineering
industry's capacity to offer quality services at the crossroads between acting as atrusted advisor and commodity supplier. Under the theme "Global services,enhanced partnerships", FIDIC 2007 Singapore (9-13 September;www.fidic2007.org) will carry forward the 2006 outcomes by exploring theessentials for developing successful partnerships to deliver quality globally.

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EventsUsers conference provided a vital opportunity to discuss recent trends[full item: 52Ev]

Nearly 100 participated at the first-ever annual FIDIC International Users
Conference (London, 11-12 December 2006). The conference was developed by
FIDIC and its training partners Cornerstone, ECV and SF-Consult in association
with the global event organizer Informa as the premier conference for users of
FIDIC contracts needing to learn about the latest developments worldwide. As
pointed out by Jorge Diaz Padilla, FIDIC President, who opened the conference
and summarized the main results, present were the "who's who" of FIDIC
contracts: most of those involved in managing, drafting, promoting and training
related to the FIDIC contracts were able to attend, along with participants from
21 countries. With Geoff French, FIDIC Executive Member, as the first-day chair,speakers from the consulting engineering industry, contractor organizations andthe multilateral development banks (MDB) confirmed the positive experience with
FIDIC MDB Harmonised Construction Contract given that it is intended for MDBfinanced works projects under international competitive bidding. There were also
other leading-edge presentations on a draft version of FIDIC's Design-BuildOperate contract, on ways to handle issues that arise with FIDIC's existing works
contracts (Construction; Plant and Design-Build; EPC/Turnkey), and on the latest
developments in dispute boards. A feature of the conference were several
interactive "hot topic" workshops led by Hans Ammendrup (Denmark), Ellis Baker(France), Gwyn Owen, (UK) and Nick Henchie (UK). FIDIC's programme ofcontracts courses, workshops, seminars and international conferences willcontinue to act as the build up to the next users conference, planned for
December 2007.
Forthcoming visits and meetings [full item: 32Ev]
FIDIC Executive Meeting, New Dehli, 29-30 Jan 07
FIDIC-CEAI Capacity and PSM Seminars, New Dehli, 31 Jan and 1 Feb 07
Cornerstone Dispute Resolution Workshop, Copenhagen, 8-9 Feb 07
FIDIC-IFC ADR Roundtable, Sarajevo, 14 Feb 07
FIDIC-UAESoE-ECV Contracts Course, Abu Dhabi, 26-27 Feb 07
FIDIC-VBI-VUBIC Contracts Seminars, Berlin, starting Mar 07
FIDIC-OICM Seminar, Bamako, 11 Mar 07
FIDIC-ECV Dispute Resolution Course, Brussels, 12-13 Mar 07
FIDIC ASPAC-TCDPAP Regional Conference, Lahore, 20-22 Mar 07

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CoursesponsorContracts
FIDIC awarded contract to supply ADB training [full item: 64Co]
FIDIC in association with its training partner ECV has been awarded a project tosupply training on FIDIC contracts for construction works and dispute resolution
mechanisms in project administration to the staff of Asian Development Bank
(ADB) Resident Missions in five countries (Viet Nam, India, Bangladesh,Indonesia, Pakistan) from mid-January to mid-March 2007. The programme aims
to "to help staff understand FIDIC contracts for construction works and dispute
resolution mechanisms, and therefore, facilitate contract administration in ADBfinanced projects". It developed from a FIDIC-supplied pilot course in Beijing in
2006, and a series of courses that had been organized at the Bank's headquartersin Manila staring in 2001. While the training materials and programme of the twoto three-day courses are based on Modules 1 and 2 of the FIDIC Contracts
Manual, the ADB's need to focus on staff core competencies in the contractsrelated aspects of project procurement and project management called for anenlarged scope. FIDIC is discussing similar programmes for other regions, as wellas their extension to other aspects of project management and procurement,
notably integrity management and sustainability management.
Training agreement for Jordan signed [full item: 65Co]

Contracts
Copenhagen
8-9 Feb07
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Contracts
Abu Dhabi
26-27 Feb07
ORDER NOWMDB Contract
ORDER NOWThe Jordan Engineers Association (JEA;
www.jea.org.jo), the organization that registers
engineers and firms in Jordan, and Jordan's A/E
Business Council (Architecture/Engineering; A/EBC;
www.aeb-council.org), a newly established forum that
represents business interests, have agreed to establish
a FIDIC-JEA-A/EBC training programme in Jordan. The
photo shows, on the left, Bisher Jardenah, A/EBC
Chairman, and Wael Saqqa, JEA President, signing the agreement in the presence White 4
Infoof Enrico Vink, FIDIC Managing Director, in Amman on 14 December 2006. It calls ORDER NOW
for training courses based on the FIDIC Contracts and Guide to Practice training
manuals to be held at the well-equipped JEA Engineers Training Centre in Amman
starting in early-2007. Meanwhile, JEA and A/EBC are discussing membershipbased on an umbrella organization that groups the A/EBC and the JEA'sEngineering Offices Committee. Another goal is to establish certification similar tothat being developed on a pilot basis with CNAEC-China (see News item).
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Representation
Gulf Engineering Forum addressed industry organization [full item: 50Re]
The 10th Gulf Engineering Forum "Professional authorities and their role indeveloping and protecting the engineering profession" (Khobar; 10-13 November2006) organised by the Saudi Council of Engineers, a FIDIC Member Association,
was devoted entirely to different approaches for organizing engineering activities.
The conference was opened by Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd Bin Adbul Aziz,
Governor of Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, on behalf of Crown Prince Sultan Bin
Adbul Aziz, Deputy Premier, and Peter Boswell, FIDIC General Manager, gave theinternational perspective in a keynote talk emphasizing the need to differentiate
between society's regulation of the quality of individual engineers to meetinternational standards and the consulting engineering industry's role as thereservoir of capacity to service clients' requirements. A professional entity for Gulf
Cooperation Council States was discussed, and several countries, notably Saudi
Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, and Oman, described how professional and industry
interests were being regulated and represented.
Central European Initiative forum focussed on services trade [full item: 51Re]
Government officials and some 1000 participants gathered in Tirana on 22-23
November 2007 at the ninth Central European Initiative Summit Economic Forumsponsored by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to explore
initiatives to enhance trade between Europe's emerging economies. Given theimportance of infrastructure needs, trade in services was a special focus (seereport at www.ceinet.org/SEF). Jorge Diaz Padilla, FIDIC President, made a strong
plea for quality in procurement, emphasising the need to eliminate price from theinitial assessment of qualified consultants. With corruption also on the agenda,
FIDIC was able to explain the benefits of Business Integrity Management (BIMS),
with FIDIC's Consultant Selection Guidelines and the BIMS publication attracting
much attention. FIDIC also took the opportunity to support the FIDIC member,
the Albanian Association of Consulting Engineers, in its efforts to be heard by theagency responsible for Albania's public sector procurement.

CoursesponsorUAE membership discussed and training consolidated [full item: 52Re]
Massive infrastructure developments and the accompanying influx of many
consulting engineers will probably lead to greater harmonization on procurement
between the seven Gulf states, and increased recognition by governments of thebenefits of international contracts and codes of business practice. A visit inNovember 2006 by Jorge Diaz Padilla, FIDIC President, and Enrico Vink, FIDICManaging Director, confirmed the growing use of, and interest in, FIDIC
documents, and a strong desire to establish closer links to FIDIC. A meeting with
the United Arab Emirates Society of Engineers (UAESoE) that has some 12000
individual engineers as members, mainly from outside the UAE, focused on asuitable model to represent the business interests of the consulting engineering
industry, as well as further discussion on training. The first two-day FIDIC-ECVUAESoE contracts course on the practical use of FIDIC contracts (Module 1 in the
FIDIC Contracts Manual) takes place in Abu Dhabi on 26-27 February 2007), andan equivalent two-day FIDIC-Cornerstone Workshop on understanding the FIDIC
contracts on 16-17 May 2007 in Dubai.

Contracts
Copenhagen
8-9 Feb07
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Contracts
Abu Dhabi
26-27 Feb07
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Business practice
Scope definitions task group envisages nine project phases [full item: 71Pr]MDB Contract
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For greater transparency in procurement, to reduce or even remove technicalbarriers to open competition, and to eliminate price-dominated selection
procedures, the FIDIC Definitions of Scope Task Group is developing standard
definitions for the scope of services offered by consulting engineers at the various
phases of a project. These definitions will help clients understand the types ofquality services that are provided. In a complimentary European Union funded
project, the task group is collaborating with the European federation EFCA on thestandardization of consulting services (see News item). Firms will shortly becontacted through Member Associations for their views on proposed definitions for White 4
Info
a project's nine phases.
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Business development
Sustainable buildings initiative soon to release first products [full item: 50De]
Staying abreast and assisting the development of policies to promote sustainable Regional
Conference
infrastructure is a key FIDIC objective. UNEP's Sustainable Buildings andConstruction Initiative (SBCI) launched in mid-2006 has the potential to makemajor contributions. FIDIC is represented on the SBCI Board by Iksan van der
Putte, a member of FIDIC's Sustainable Development Committee. Ike is also anexpert on a SBCI think tank "Public finance mechanisms to increase investment in Course
sponsorenergy efficiency in buildings". A report (PDF available online) of the UNEP/SBCI2006 Annual Meeting summarises the results to date, including the main thinktank output, a SBCI report Buildings and Climate Change. FIDIC is positioning
Project Sustainability Management (PSM) as the way to link the various
certification systems for buildings with sustainability (there will be a presentationof PSM at the UNEP/SBCI 2007 Annual Meeting, Rabat, Morocco; 2-4 April 2007)
at which the SBCI will take stock of its impact on policies. FIDIC has recently been
invited to provide experts for a think tank on "Policies and economic incentives
supporting a life-cycle approach for the design and construction of buildings".
ESCONE-Egypt to help raise the profile of consulting engineers[full item: 51De]

Thanks to the support of ESCONE-Egypt, Jorge Diaz
Padilla, FIDIC President, and Enrico Vink, FIDICManaging Director, were able to hold discussions in
Cairo in late-November 2006 with representatives from
Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Sudan and Egypt on ways to raise
the profile of consulting engineers in Egypt and nearby
countries. A newly appointed ESCONE Executive
Committee has taken the lead by proposing to organize
by mid-2007 a conference in Cairo that will focus on consultant selection (thephoto shows, on the right, Jorge Diaz Padilla, FIDIC President, with Gamal Nassar,
ESCONE Secretary-General). Meanwhile, discussions are continuing with ESCONE
and representatives from other Arabic-speaking FIDIC Member Associations andpartners on the licensing of ESCONE's translations in Arabic of FIDIC documents
as the first step in preparing standard Arabic versions, notably of the FIDIC works
contracts and services agreements. There is an unfortunate trend towards the
publication of unauthorised versions that confuses users and complicates theestablishment of training programmes.

Ethics
OECD reviews integrity best practice in national procurement [full item: 28Et] Contracts
Copenhagen
A lack of transparency and accountability was identified by OECD member
8-9 Feb07
countries in 2004 as a major threat to fair and equal treatment in procurement.
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The results of a subsequent survey of national procurement systems reported at a
recent OECD Symposium "Mapping out good practices for integrity and corruption
resistance in procurement" (Paris; 29-30 November 2006) that was attended byPeter Boswell, FIDIC General Manager, gave a remarkably comprehensive
Contractssummary of both top-down good governance and bottom-up best practices. The
Abu Dhabi
survey focussed on how to handle so-called "grey areas" at all stages of
26-27 Feb07
procurement, from needs assessment to project completion, that are less subject
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to transparency requirements. The main findings are summarised in a draft reportthat is online at FIDIC.org.
Following a presentation of FIDIC's initiatives in the areas of Business Integrity
Management Systems (BIMS), Project Sustainablity Management, contract
harmonisation and scope of services definitions, participants concluded that theprivate sector was taking the lead in many areas. BIMS in particular helps resolve
many problems because of its low overhead and standarised classification of
procurement activities. FIDIC Member Associations are being asked to comment
MDB Contract
on the draft report of the survey by 15 January 2006 for feedback to OECD in
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time for the release of a definitive final report in March 2007. Meanwhile, theOECD has invited FIDIC to help it establish ways to engage more comprehensively
the private sector in ongoing discussions on national procurement policies andprocedures.
FIDIC participates in first UN anticorruption session [full item: 29Et]
As a member of the main international anticorruption initiatives, FIDIC wasinvited to participate in the first session of the Conference of States Parties to theUnited Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC; Jordan, 10-14 December
2006; UNODC website), the first legally binding international agreement to fightcorruption. With monitoring, technical assistance and asset recovery as the main
topics, Antonio Maria Costa, Executive Director, UN Office on Drugs and Crime(UNODC), in a final declaration "commended NGO's and business leaders for theircommitment to fighting corruption", adding that "their pressure will be importantto nudge governments which have been less than whole-hearted so far in their
enthusiasm for tackling corruption". This message should encourage the business
community to continue seeking a level playing field by promoting and monitoring
the convention's implementation. Industry representatives (comprising mainly theInternational Chamber of Commerce, the World Economic Forum and FIDIC)
participated in discussions on public-private initiatives and prepared a declaration(available online) calling on governments to show greater leadership in the fightagainst corruption, and to verify compliance with the various agreements. The
declaration was distributed to all government delegations and became part of theoutcome of the conference. Second and Third Sessions take place in 2007 and2008, respectively.
Malaysian business integrity seminar attracted over 200 participants[full item: 30Et]

Malaysia's National Integrity Plan was thestarting point for a FIDIC Business Integrity
Management Seminar in Kuala Lumpur on 1112 November 2006, with the opening speech
given by the Deputy Minister of Works, Dato Ir.
Mohammed Zin B. Mohammed, stressing theimportance of the plan and a representative of
the Malaysian Institute of Integrity participatingin the discussions. With over 200 participants and a low registration fee throughgovernment support, the seminar was extremely well organised by ACEMMalayisa and attracted media and government attention. The main presentations
were given by John Ritchie, Hatch Energy, Canada, and a member of the FIDIC
Integrity Management Committee (shown on the left in the photo with the ACEMMalaysia organizers) based on a FIDIC Guide to Practice Training Manual modulesupplemented by extensive resources, notably cases studies and descriptions ofintegrity procedures. John emphasised the capacity building environment and thelink between FIDIC's Business Integrity Management System (BIMS) and otheranti-corruption measures, stressing that BIMS alone is not enough to combat
corruption. FIDIC aims to continue the initiative in the region with a workshop
held in conjunction with the FIDIC 2007 Conference (Singapore; 9-13
September).

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CoursesponsorAntibribery principles reviewed in the light of major anticorruption
initiatives [full item: 31Et]
Contracts
A Transparency International (TI) steering committee coordinates activities
related to the TI, World Economic Forum and International Chamber of Commerce Copenhagen
8-9 Feb07
business principles for countering bribery. Enrico Vink, FIDIC Managing Director,
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and Tonny Jensen, formerly convenor of FIDIC's Quality Management Forum, both
attended the last meeting (Washington D.C.; 6-7 December 2006). Featured
were: the use of TI's self-evaluation tool for ensuring compliance with each of theprinciples (see News item); a World Bank briefing on its Voluntary Disclosure
Contracts
Program; the results of the 2006 Ethics and Compliance Officer Association Abu Dhabi
26-27 Feb07
Conference Board Survey "Resisting Corruption" of US 1361 firms, including 165
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multinationals, that reported an increase in recorded incidents of corrupt
behaviour; the presentation of corruption indicators for the new Global Reporting
Initiative G3 version of the Sustainability Reporting Framework.

Image
ASPAC looks ahead to 2007 [full item: 33Im]With a new Steering Committee chaired by Aki Hirotani now in place following the
FIDIC 2006 General Assembly Meeting in Budapest, the Asia-Pacific (ASPAC)
group of FIDIC Member Associations have reviewed current activities and looked
ahead to 2007. The ASPAC newsletter available, online at FIDIC.org/ASPAC
prepares for the run up to the ASPAC-TCDPAP Asia Regional Conference (Lahore;
20-24 March 2007) that has disaster management as the theme (seeprogramme).

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Young Professionals Forum newsletter launched [full item: 34Im]With the successful conclusion of the 2006 Young Professionals Management
Training Programme (YPMTP) and the series of events at the FIDIC 2006
Budapest conference that featured young professionals (YP), eyes now turn to2007. The 2007 YPMTP will start as scheduled in mid-January, with FIDIC now
providing the training platform at www.efidic.org and Steen Frederiksen of SFConsult, Denmark, continuing to provide the training, assisted by the team ofinternational mentors comprising Eigil Pedersen, Ben Novak, Fatma Colasan andKunji Akinaga. In order to provide clearer links between the YPMTP, the FIDIC YP
Forum and Member Association YP activities, the YP Forum Steering Committee
has reviewed its objectives and action plan. Priorities are to organize a workshop
at the FIDIC 2007 Singapore Conference (9-13 September), to monitor andencourage the use of the online net forum at FIDIC.org/ypf and to distribute a
FIDIC YPF newsletter, available in PDF at FIDIC.org/ypf to Member Association YP
groups. YPs in Member Associations are invited to share information on theiractivities with the FIDIC YPF.

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Coursesponsor

Notices to Member Associations
Meetings: see Meetings
Contracts Committee, London, 23-25 Jan 06
Executive Committee, New Dehli, 29-30 Jan 06
MA Letters
14/06: White Book license PDF
15/06: Young Professionals training PDF
16/06: PSM Directors Seminar PDF
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