Project management is a key to greater productivity and work satisfaction regardless of the nature of business, a government official said on Monday.
“Project management is not just about overseeing the construction of roads and railway links or buildings. In today’s world, every job is compartmentalised to focus on different aspects and we develop strategies to link all these compartments into an organic whole,” Dr Nizar Sadiq Al Baharna, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs told the opening session of the PMI-AGC 13th International Conference and Exhibition 2011.
The opening session was also addressed by the Minister of Works Essam bin Abdulla Khalaf, who earlier joined Dr Nizar Al Baharna and opened the Exhibition in which Tamkeen, Saudi Aramco and Kuwait Petroleum Corporation are taking part as official sponsors of the event.
“It is proper project management that brings leadership, cultural awareness of the region and knowledge in contract and project controls to strengthen the project and ensure that the deliverables are met,” he said.
Over 700 delegates attended the opening ceremony of the two-day PMI-AGC 13th International Conference and exhibition being held at the Gulf Hotel under the patronage of the Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa.
The theme of the conference is “Delivering value and productivity through project management: lessons learned from the boom and bust cycles”.
The organizers say that the theme was very carefully crafted to emphasize the importance of lessons learned from boom and bust cycles to enhance the value of projects through adopting innovative and collaborative approaches.
The event serves as a forum for project management practitioners, engineers, planners, academicians and management to interact, share their experiences, improve their knowledge and showcase their projects and best practices. The conference lasts for three days and is accompanied by an exhibition. A number of parallel pre and post conference tutorial sessions will be held.
“In the Middle East, the project landscape is changing and increasingly, which translates to increased opportunities for project managers in the region. As the region moves from its concentration on oil and gas sectors to new private sector areas and expanded public sector infrastructural support, there will undoubtedly be many new projects in the pipeline. Stakeholders are demanding more value in terms of returns and this in turn means projects are expected to be more tightly and efficiently managed,” the Minister said.
“This has opened new doors for people in the region. Indeed, when Tamkeen conducted its skills gaps survey, project management was a key area where new career growth was predicted by the surveyors. We are sure that organisations such as the Project Management Institute will undoubtedly help Bahrain to develop the skills and strengths of professional project managers who can build new careers and raise the bar on productivity and quality across the workplace,” he added.
“We are gathering here today to sift through the lessons learnt from the Boom and Bust Cycle. Project Management is a component that is as important during boom-times as it is during leaner cycles. During both times, project management serves to stabilise national productivity and deliver value,” he said.
“In the complex work of nation-building, project management is of vital importance. It helps us to plan, organise, secure and manage resources effectively and is a valuable input in our nation building efforts. Nation-building is a large-scale project which involves almost every facet of public and private sector co-operation. A well-integrated project management approach pulls together all the players so that they dovetail their individual approaches and work into a seamless mosaic of national development and progress. What makes project management exceptionally important for Bahrain and the GCC is not just the need for improved productivity and quality, though. It is true that the region is in the middle of an ambitious infrastructural overhaul – such as major railway links and multibillion-dollar construction projects and consumer infrastructure projects. But while these do drive the need for project management talent, I want to stress how valuable professional project management is in the Middle Eastern workplace so that we can effectively manage the aspirations and ensure top productivity levels of the multi-cultural workforce that has to share knowledge across very different cultural spectrums,” Al Bahrana added.