CTF KSA
Agenda 2025
| Day 1: Wednesday, 30 April 2025 | ||
| Conference Hall A | ||
| 08.00 | Registration and networking |
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| The Keynotes | ||
| 09.50 | Opening Rob Jones, Partner, b2b Connect |
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| 10.00 | Will AI significantly change the industry OR just make certain jobs easier? AI is undeniably changing how we work, but its current role is less about world domination and more about practical improvements, from automating mundane tasks to offering new tools for creativity and collaboration. However, is this just the beginning? Whether you are excited or cautious - the future of work will be shaped by now we choose to integrate this technology responsibly. Tariq Qureishy, CEO & Founder, Future Readiness Institute |
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| 10.15 | Panel: Are you taking technology to its full usage? Extremely few organisations are utilising technology to its full potential. With a distinct lack of use-cases integrating technology to its full day to day usage onsite and throughout the supply chain, is cultural resistance the main culprit? These regional leaders present hardtalk on the current gaps in implementation as well as provide examples of who has successfully taken it to the ground for daily routine use. Led by: Rob Jones, Partner, b2b Connect In conversation with: Fady Sleiman, CIO, Al Bawani Faiek Haddadin, Vice President Projects, DAMAC Properties Lee Miles, General Manager, Procore Jayesh Maganlal, Group Chief Information & Digital Officer, ROSHN Group Mayank Bhargava, CIO, ARADA |
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| 10.40 | Fireside chat: Redefining digital workflows to avoid the same mistakes Until development practices and contracts catch up with digital transformation, the industry is trapped in an endless cycle of replicating traditional workflows using digital tools rather than redefining new, better approaches. From contracts, to reviews and handovers – how can the sector collectively transform and make space for innovation? Amr Saad, Executive Director, Osool Integrated Real Estate Company Juan Tena, Executive Director Digital Services, KEO International Consultants Yazan Alkhalidi, Chief Commercial Director, MERED |
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| 11.05 | Panel: Ensuring organisation-wide digital adoption The industry is famous for tasting technology. Utilising it for one project but then not cascading it into others or materialising it into day-to-day business processes. What is the best way to ensure full implementation and adoption throughout an organisation when starting with a new concept or technology? Aisha Ali, Chief Operating Officer, PREMIER Eisa Al Ali, Executive Director - Business Transformation, Dubai Holding Real Estate |
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| 11.30 | Leveraging AI for competitive advantage This session explores the future of AI-driven solutions in construction, their practical applications and strategies for implementation and change management in adoption. Aisha Ali, Chief Operating Officer, PREMIER |
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| 11.45 | Morning networking break |
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| Track 1 | ||
| Conference Hall A | ||
| 12.00 | Panel: Modern methods of construction: Still buzz word or gaining substance? As key clients in the region push for offsite efficiencies into their projects, are proof of concepts and exploration on large scale moving forward? How can these projects work on a mega scale with tangible results and how will the supply chain feed in? Mansour Faried, Chief Engineer, China State Construction Engineering Corporation Middle East Eng. Mohammed Al-Otaibi, Senior Manager, National Housing Company Muntaser Kalahji, President & COO, Shurfah |
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| 12.30 | Talk: A proof of concept | value for MMC on mega scale |
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| 12.45 | Talk: How to integrate modular into future designs on a large scale? Wees Abraham, Managing Partner, Shade Corporation Ltd. |
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| 13.00 | Talk: Redefining the value chain through MMC Neil Hanks, Senior Client Executive, Dassault Systèmes Julien Bachschmidt, Senior Technical Manager, Dassault Systèmes |
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| 13.15 | Talk: How MMC can change the critical path of the region’s giga projects ALEC | AMANA | International Case studies |
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| 13.30 | Panel: How autonomous robotics are changing construction – success and failure stories With new robots for new functions emerging all the time, robotics gain steam for contractors to improve efficiency, quality and H&S. this sessions reviews some of the latest use cases for robotics deployment from onsite to offsite In conversation with: Alain Waha, Chief Technology Officer, Buro Happold Eng. Bader Alkowaifel, Projects and Design Director, Motoon Real Estate Imad Itani, Head of Innovation, ALEC |
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| 14.00 | Networking lunch |
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Success stories: Bringing the site to the office – data connection and integration Now, it’s not just about data, it’s about how the industry can capture and visualise data, integrating site operations with delivery workflows for better stakeholder engagement, progress monitoring, supervision and decision making. This session views the latest use-cases in data capture, visualisation and integration. |
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| 15.00 | Success | failure story: Photogrammetry | Lidar | Point clouds |
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| 15.15 | Best Practices for Successful PMIS Implementation in Capital Projects Mohammad Alshenqiti, PMO Director, Madinah Region Municipality |
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| 15.30 | From months to hours: Automating construction monitoring with AI & computer vision Ismail Azam, Acting Director of Construction Technology and Applications, NEOM |
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| 15.45 | Panel: Winning the productivity war: ‘’Connected CDEs’’ – the next CDEs With the realisation that multiple interactions, across multiple sources with multiple people are required to get a complete and live view of a project, stakeholders that can connect or reconnect existing CDEs and solutions to provide ALL relevant project data (planning, progress, BIM, GIS, CAFM) in one central location will win the productivity war. This session explores integration stories underway and the impact on performance and competitive edge. Puneet Narang, Senior VicePresident Transformation – Engineering & Projects, Damac Group |
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| 16.15 | Panel: Streamlining construction | development ERPs for maximum performance Following the recent push to digitise various project and corporate functions over the last few years, organisations are now looking to streamline these scattered initiatives into an upgraded construction focused ERP. This session explores ERP success and failure stories. In conversation with: Amin Aljaber, CIO, Nesma & Partners Christos Emmanouilidis, Chief Customer and Commercial Officer, DANAOS Projects Yamin Shihab, Chief Development Officer, Prestige One |
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| 16.30 | Close of day 1 | Track 1 |
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| Day 1: Wednesday, 30 April 2025 | ||
| Track 2 | ||
| Conference Hall B | ||
| 12.00 | Panel: Avoiding industry dark data (a sustainability and efficiency threat) – ensuring quality data management throughout the life cycle The construction and real estate sector are the most data generating industries in the world. Through sensors, IoTs, drones and 3D scanning millions of terrabytes are flooding the industry but with limited purpose and benefit. In this data driven age, the industry will need to be vigilant about burning energy on AI and data centres without the right business case. How can the industry ensure that it is collecting the correct data and segregating it for decision making - ensuring quality data management throughout the life cycle? Amjad Abou Said, Head of Business Development, Dubai Holding Asset Management Arjun Mohan, Founder & CEO, TENDERD |
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| 12.30 | Panel: Powering data centre efficiency in the GCC Regulations in the UAE and KSA mandate that certain data, such as personal or financial information, must be hosted within the country, leading to increasing reliance on local data centres. Given that data centres are increasingly essential, to become more energy efficient they require specialised architectural and engineering design to contribute to tough ESG expectations. This panel will delve into the challenges and opportunities of developing robust and sustainable data centres in the region, focusing on regulatory compliance, energy, water and cooling efficiency, and the cutting-edge construction technologies required. In conversation with: Ramachandra Nimbargi, Head – Data Centre (Design), International, Larsen & Toubro Ras Scollay, Director, Data Center Business, du Samir Abdullah, Director of Smart Cities, KEO International Consultants Sanjay Kumar, Director‑Design Data Centers, EDGNEX Data Centers by DAMAC |
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| 13.00 | Panel: Navigating compliance in data sovereignty and cross-border transfers As ConTech and PropTech transform the real estate landscape in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, the management and security of data are becoming increasingly critical. Local regulations governing data sovereignty and cross-border data transfers have grown more complex, especially considering global data protection trends. This session will explore the specific challenges companies face and offer actionable insights on how to ensure compliance with data sovereignty laws while leveraging the benefits of global data flows. |
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| 13.30 | Panel: Securing data in the digital built environment As cloud-based and decentralised data usage rises within the extended construction supply chain, cybersecurity is becoming ever more critical. Companies must protect valuable data but in an industry known for thin margins, it must also meet ROI expectations. This discussion will explore evolving threat landscapes as data becomes more decentralised, best practices to minimise local and third-party risks, emerging technologies, regulatory compliance, and data protection laws. In conversation with: Ahmed Gadelhak, Senior IT Director, Saudi Binladen Pavlina Nikolova, AEC Practice Lead, EMEA, Egnyte Kim Rosenberg, Partner, Freshfields |
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| 14.00 | Networking lunch |
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| 15.00 | Panel: ‘BIM’ is banned! Let’s talk what matters - intrinsic information management (ISO 19650) As competency increases, so does the wider realisation that digital delivery is underpinned and driven by robust information management processes that impact the organisation, project lifecycle and supply chain. With technological, process and procurement related aspects, understanding the right ISO 19650 principles and how to implement them is the key to transformation. The rest of it is ‘bolt on’. In conversation with: Andy Boutle, Head of Digital Construction, ALEC Jason North, Group BIM Lead, Robert Bird Group Mahmoud Adly, Digital Engineering Director, Abu Dhabi City Municipality Mina Nessim, Head of Engineering & BIM, Binladin Contracting Group |
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Success | failure stories: Extending BIM usage (but we prefer information management) to its full potential Extremely few organisations are utilising BIM to its full potential to drive value in workflows. With a distinct lack of use-cases integrating BIM to site or into operations and maintenance, this series of stories tackle the current gaps in implementation as well as provide examples of who has successfully integrated such workflows on the ground for construction monitoring, supervision and O&M. |
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| 15.30 | Success | failure story: Extending BIM use to site | field operations for increased productivity Cristina Sánchez, BIM Manager, Lendlease Europe |
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| 15.45 | Success | failure story: How developers use BIM Amarnath Patnam, Vice President - Design Technology, Sobha Realty |
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| 16.00 | Success | failure story: BIM in operational efficiency | Use after handover |
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| 16.15 | Success | failure story: Post Dubai’s BIM mandate | Open BIM use (building smart) |
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| 16.30 | Close of day 1 | Track 2 |
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| Day 2: Thursday, 01 May, 2025 | ||
| Conference Hall A | ||
| 08.00 | Registration and networking |
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| Track 1 | Conference Hall A | ||
| 09.50 | Opening Rob Jones, Partner, b2b Connect |
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| 10.00 | Future state of construction report: A data-driven look at the next decade of construction As the construction industry stands at the edge of unprecedented opportunity, emerging technologies like AI, machine learning, robotics, augmented reality are no longer just possibilities-they are the catalysts for a smarter, safer, and more sustainable future. And it’s never been more important to stay competitive by knowing what’s coming in the future. Please join Procore to take a deep dive into what the next 2, 5 and 10 years of construction will hold, based on today’s data and trends. Andrew Rampton, Industry Transformation Director, Procore |
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| 10.15 | Metaverse in construction With the advent of the metaverse – a collective virtual shared space that’s the product of augmented reality, virtual reality, and the internet – the boundaries of construction will be pushed beyond traditional confines. From digital twin technology and virtual collaboration to sustainability efforts in the metaverse, this session explores how this new frontier is set to redefine construction processes, promising unprecedented innovation, efficiency, and possibilities. |
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| 10.30 | A quantum leap in construction | development Quantum computing is one of the most promising, yet least understood advancements on the horizon. It has the potential to radically impact the sector, solving complex problems at unprecedented speeds, revolutionising everything from project management to material science, unlocking efficiencies and innovations that are currently unimaginable. While still in its infancy, could the emergence of some early quantum engines reshape the industry sooner than expected? Sam Kumar, Principal of Studio Operations, U+A |
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| 10.45 | Keynote panel: Creating the Blueprint to meet 2030 UAE emissions targets The UAE aims to achieve an ambitious 85% reduction in construction-related emissions by 2030. The initiative, known as UAE Sustainability Built Environment Blueprint, unites key local and international organisations to collaborate on enhancing working practices and significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Advancements in construction technology and the use of sustainable materials are critical to achieving these improved efficiencies. This session brings together key members of the working group as they outline the measures being implemented to meet the rapidly approaching target deadline. In conversation with: Abdullatif AlBitawi, CEO, Emirates Green Building Council Alida Saleh, Head of Sustainability, JLL and Senior Advisor, Climate Champions Built Environment Team Dr. Jagannathan P Ramaswamy, Senior General Manager | Sustainability & Climate Action, Sobha Realty Nazly Asadollahpour, VP Sustainability, Majid Al Futtaim Holding |
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| 11.30 | Morning networking break |
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| Track 1 | ||
| Track 1 | Conference Hall A | ||
| 12.00 | Panel: AI beyond chat bots As AI becomes more structured and intuitive, most major companies are embedding dedicated frameworks and strategies to explore how AI can benefit their business and leverage existing data for the best use-cases. But minimal applications beyond chat bots exist in the market. This session explores the state of tangible AI uses out there and debates if AI will significantly change the way the industry works OR if it will just make certain jobs easier. In conversation with: Feda Tahboub, Head of Projects, Deyaar Development Mohamad M. Kassir, Global BIM & GIS Manager, Egis |
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| 12.30 | Success | failure story: AI in design: Bidding visualisation and model automation for time and cost optimisation Chris Smeaton, Global Digital Design Director, HBA |
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| 12.45 | Success | failure story: AI and AR in enhanced BIM workflows & scheduling Kendall Wilson, Senior Manager, Digital Twin, Modon Real Estate |
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| 13.00 | Success | failure story: AI in Construction Chiara Simonetti, Director - Project Governance Technical Project Management Office, Red Sea Global |
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| 13.15 | Success | failure story: AI in site safety, efficiency and predictive maintenance Ramy Abdelwahab, IT Director, NMDC Group |
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| 13.30 | Success | failure story: AI in Construction Aref Boualwan, Chief Initiatives & Startups Officer, Consolidated Contractors Group (CCC) |
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| 13.45 | Close of day 2 | Track 1 |
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| 14.00 | Awards networking reception | Construction Technology Awards |
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| 15.00 | Awards ceremony | Construction Technology Awards |
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| Day 2: Thursday, 01 May, 2025 | ||
| Track 2 | ||
| Track 2 | Hall B | ||
| 09.50 | Opening Rob Jones, Partner, b2b Connect |
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| 10.00 | Panel: Closing the Capex | Opex data gap – the next vital frontier for mega projects Globally there is still a clear disconnect between data created during construction and data required for operation, with asset owners often starting from scratch or undergoing huge data reorganisation between phases and projects. The ability to harness data created from concept to delivery and ensure consistent operations, from sales lead management to property management is the vital next frontier for major projects and needs to be defined early. Hear how these organisations are attempting to close the gap through BIM, AI models and integrated platform plays and who will be responsible for maintaining the data throughout the asset lifecycle. In conversation with: Anastasios Dimas, Regional Technology Director ME, AtkinsRéalis Claire Huhes Munro, Chair, UAE Regional Advisory Board, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Garry Murray, Director of Community Management, Diriyah Company |
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| 10.30 | Fireside Chat: What clients need to know about ISO 19650 as a driver for operational success Khalid Elsharnoby, BIM Manager, Kanadevia-inova Mohamed Raafat, BIM Manager, PIF Confidential |
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Success stories: Operational digital twins only! Tangible examples & results Tired of theoretical digital twin frameworks? We searched the globe to shed light on tangible digital twins in practice from representing design data for better stakeholder engagement & marketing, to feeding in site data for progress monitoring and reducing carbon/cost in project handover and building operations |
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| 10.45 | Success story: Design and stakeholder management |
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| 11.00 | Success story: Construction monitoring, cycle time and carbon reduction Roger Wahl, CIO, Innovo |
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| 11.15 | Success story: Operations and maintenance |
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| 11.30 | Morning networking break |
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| 12.00 | Panel: Digital twin strategies 2025 As the digital twin concept gains maturity, many tier 1 projects in the region are executing a digital twin strategy. This session reviews the latest digital twin strategy developments and use-case scenarios in mega projects from construction to operations and customer experience. In conversation with: Aqeel Bafadel, VP - Smart City & Innovation, KAFD Asim Rehmani, Manager- BIM & VDC, Dubai Holding Real Estate Kendall Wilson, Senior Manager, Digital Twin, Modon Real Estate |
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| 12.30 | Panel: Building a passport to transform data insights A building passport monitors and tracks data on buildings, creating a comprehensive life cycle repository of information. It will be a crucial tool in the future, forming part of the trifecta alongside digital twins and BIM. The passport captures critical details from conception through to operation, playing a significant role in future efforts to track and minimise a building’s environmental footprint. This panel explores whether industry stakeholders have the appetite to create standardised, robust building passports that provide meaningful insights, and avoid them becoming massive dumps of unused and irrelevant data. Led by: Dilip Karpoor, Client Director, RMA Advisory In conversation with: Alain Waha, Chief Technology Officer, Buro Happold Dr. Fawaz Alshehri, Senior Director for Architecture Projects Department, The Royal Commission for Riyadh City Kell Jones, Lecturer in Construction Procurement and Supply Chain Management, The Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction UCL |
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| 13.00 | Panel: Revolutionising urban living through true smart cities As the built environment undergoes rapid digitalisation, we are edging closer to realising true smart communities and cities. The region's giga- and mega-cities will be reliant on the information that smart systems through monitoring will provide, creating safe, secure, and sustainable urban environments. This session explores the pivotal role of technology in enhancing urban living through connected services that integrate building management, city operations, transport and mobility, energy, water and waste management, public safety, cybersecurity, and digital citizen services. Led by: Mohamed Misbah, Director, GSI Government and Commercial, Middle East and Africa, Khatib & Alami In conversation with: Marwan Abu Ebeid, Digital Construction Lead, Turner Construction – International Mohamed Ragheb, Chief Development Officer, Azizi Developments Mohammed Shah, Smart City Director, Knowledge Economic City Sebastian Miller, Manager of Public Realm, Masdar City |
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| 13.30 | Close of day 2 | Track 2 |
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| 14.00 | Awards networking reception | Construction Technology Awards |
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| 15.00 | Awards ceremony | Construction Technology Awards |
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