Asia Pacific Contract Users Conference postponed until the end of 2020

Until recently, FIDIC conferences generally took place in-person, at various designated venues around the world. The regional conferences were no exception, providing a platform to discuss issues and local priorities as regards.

Last year’s FIDIC Asia Pacific Contract Users’ Conference (ASPAC) conference was held in New Delhi with the theme of “Quality infrastructure for clean and sustainable development.” Its 22 members considered the challenges and potential benefits to investments in infrastructure development, as well as a platform to engage with regional partners to discuss and develop business opportunities for regional cooperation.

In light of the current global pandemic and its resulting uncertainties, this year’s event has been postponed to November 2020. In addition, the conference will be held virtually with invited participants from Asia, as well as from Europe and Africa.

Some of the distinguished panellists expected at this event will include high-level representatives from the China Civil Engineering Corporation, Sinohydro Corporation, JICA, Energy China International, and the World Bank. It is also expected that experienced FIDIC contract users from the region will share their experiences of using FIDIC forms of contract to underpin some of the most challenging infrastructure projects in Asia.

The conference, under the theme of “Development and management of infrastructure projects” had initially been slated for Bangkok, Thailand may not be held in person but will, through a virtual platform, consider some of the many pressing challenges faced regionally and how the lessons learnt could be used to address them.

This is in line with the objective of such conferences which is to encourage regional cooperation and the sharing of information and knowledge. In the past, the conference has been beneficial and has provided practitioners and other stakeholders with a deeper understanding of the practical challenges in the practical application of FIDIC contracts and for considering ways to optimize opportunities.

Similarly, it will be critical to consider the part that dispute mitigation can play in addressing some of the industry challenges and conflicts.