Senior infrastructure leaders, regulators, consultants and technology experts from across the Middle East were in Dubai for a major forum - Safe Dubai 2026 - to accelerate the region’s shift toward a more structured and unified infrastructure intelligence ecosystem.
Safe Dubai 2026 is a focused, invitation-only forum for senior infrastructure leaders who are responsible for making high-impact decisions across complex, long-life assets.
The second edition of the forum has been built on the foundation established in 2025, which focused on integration and awareness. In 2026, the dialogue moved decisively toward decision intelligence at asset and city scale, reflecting the growing complexity of infrastructure expansion across the Middle East, said the event organisers Encardio Rite, a world leader in providing instrumentation monitoring services globally, for large civil construction projects.
As governments across the region continue to invest heavily in metro systems, tunnels, high-speed rail, airports, ports and large-scale urban development, the need for cross-domain intelligence has become increasingly critical, it stated.
The one-day event saw leading experts discuss why the Middle East must unify instrumentation, surveying, geospatial systems and remote sensing within common frameworks that support engineering judgement and long-term resilience.
A key highlight of the event was the keynote address by Prof. Kenichi Soga of the University of California, Berkeley. Drawing on global infrastructure case studies, Professor Soga explored what decision intelligence truly means beyond dashboards and data integration.
Soga emphasised the importance of continuous monitoring, long-term data archives and disciplined interpretation. He also underscored that machine learning and artificial intelligence can only deliver meaningful value when grounded in robust instrumentation and coherent data foundations.
The technical keynote traced the evolution from fragmented monitoring technologies and isolated reporting toward a multi-layered intelligence framework.
Delegates examined how macro-scale remote sensing, geospatial intelligence, IoT-enabled sensor networks and precision instrumentation can work together to enable confident decision-making, said the statement from Encardio Rite.
The Infinitus 2.0 platform was presented as a model for converting integrated data into structured decisions rather than simply visual outputs.
The event saw leading experts discuss key issues throughout the day focused on the value of integration as a foundation rather than an endpoint.
Regulators, consultants and asset owners discussed governance, ownership models, standards and inter-agency workflows required to build region-wide monitoring ecosystems.
Conversations highlighted the measurable benefits of unified datasets, including risk reduction, improved operational efficiency and more predictable maintenance planning, they stated.
The afternoon sessions examined what comes after integration. Participants explored how the Middle East could transition from project-based monitoring toward system-level intelligence, enabling better prioritisation, resource allocation and long-term infrastructure stewardship over the next decade, they added.
Arushi Bhalla, Managing Director, Encardio Rite Group of Companies, said: "Safe Dubai 2026 reflected the Middle East’s readiness to move beyond fragmented monitoring practices. The region is building infrastructure at an extraordinary scale, and that scale demands coordinated intelligence frameworks. Integration created awareness."
"The next step is embedding decision intelligence across assets and agencies so that infrastructure performance is managed proactively, not reactively," she stated.
Safe Dubai 2026 concluded with a shared understanding that the Middle East is well positioned to lead the next phase of engineering excellence by institutionalising unified monitoring frameworks and advancing infrastructure intelligence at scale, she added.-TradeArabia News Service
