Over 600 leading experts and engineers will meet in Dubai next week to discuss international best practices required to address the region’s growing expertise demand in the tunnelling sector.

The inaugural Arabian Tunnelling Conference (ATC) 2013 will be held at the Intercontinental Hotel, Dubai Festival City on December 10 and 11, under the theme ‘Sustainable Tunnelling in the GCC, Challenges and Opportunities.'
 
The event is being hosted by the The Society of Engineers - UAE (SOE-UAE) in collaboration with the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (ITA).

The summit will also include an exhibition, which is expected to feature over 50 local and international organisations that will showcase their products and services in the field of sustainable underground space utilisation.

Essa Al Maidoor, president of the SOE-UAE, said: “The onset of Dubai Expo 2020 is expected to boost the UAE economy with an estimated $6.9 billion earmarked for infrastructure projects around the event and the development of a 438-hectare site next to Dubai World Central and Jebel Ali Port.

“The conference will serve as a platform to draw strategic plans in ensuring that the sustainability and safety of the country’s tunnels and underground space is rightly unitised, especially with the projected amount of constructions expected to take place until 2020.”

The conference aims to explore opportunities and focus on the challenges associated with sustainable underground space utilisation, and the underground space use for above the ground transportation system, energy, water and telecommunication, he said.

Other focus topics will include developments in underground space that can be utilised as fuel storage, service reservoir facilities, basements, warehouse and sewerage and water treatment facilities. - TradeArabia News Service