A projected $700 billion will be spent on refining infrastructure projects in the GCC region over the next few years, said an expert, adding that it was vital to design new projects to minimise maintenance costs and maximise reliability.

Bapco chief executive Gordon Smith was speaking at the second Middle East Maintenance Conference (Maintcon) held at the Gulf Hotel in Bahrain, according to a report in our sister publication, the Gulf Daily News.

The Middle East needs to develop its manufacturing sector in order to boost local investment and produce parts for different industries, Smith added, stressing that the region needed its own manufacturing industry to support different industries and projects.

Maintenance needed to be considered seriously in order to ensure reliability and safety, he added.

Life cycle costs, for instance, need to be included in the project design from the conceptual stage to the commissioning and on-going operations of the plant.

Bapco acting general manager - maintenance Mahmood Mirza chaired a session on asset integrity management on the first day of the conference. – TradeArabia News Service