The emergence of BIM technology as a strategic design and planning tool to generate and manage building data is expected to become a major business driver for UAE’s infrastructure projects, according to Omnix International.

The leading regional technology service provider and distributor of Autodesk products hosted a seminar entitled, ‘Autodesk Live Event 2011’ on September 28, to increase awareness on the potential of utilising BIM software and solutions.

According to Business Monitoring International's  (BMI) Q3 UAE Infrastructure Report, the total value of the country’s construction industry is projected to reach Dh 69.2 billion ($18.8 billion), and the seminar aims to highlight Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite 2012 as an essential tool in executing complex projects, reducing environmental impact and achieving better results across the country's current crop of major projects.

Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite 2012 is a comprehensive BIM software solution for infrastructure that combines the tools needed to plan, design, build and manage transportation, land, water, and energy infrastructure projects.

The Autodesk suite is offered in three versions- standard, premium and ultimate editions. The standard edition offers a familiar AutoCAD software workflow with foundational planning, design and coordination capabilities in a single economical and convenient package, the company said in a statement.

The platinum edition has been made specifically for civil engineering, planning, and GIS professionals, and adds model-based design, analysis and visualisation capabilities for a comprehensive BIM solution for infrastructure projects.

The ultimate edition offers advanced coordination and clash detection capabilities to help civil, infrastructure design and construction professionals resolve issues virtually and improve the overall outcome of projects, the statement said.

“BIM solutions is now widely being recognised as an essential tool needed in generating and managing all building data, allowing users coming from across different disciplines to implement necessary changes and revisions while in the design stage,” said Dr Jayant M. Deshpande, director, CAD division, Omnix.

“With the growing number of large scale investment projects from various Middle East economies, the launch of the new Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite 2012 could not have come at a better time. These projects will require extensive coordination with other engineering disciplines and using the new suite will allow users to integrate models from the extended team to improve coordination and easily identify potentially costly conflicts before breaking ground,” he said.

Omnix remains confident that 2011 will see the UAE’s move towards faster recovery from the effects of the economic downturn, seeing the value of the infrastructure and construction sector returning to a normalised growth trajectory with growth to be moderate and sustained mainly by investment in Abu Dhabi.

The company has also maintained that the adoption of new technologies will continue to play a crucial role in the development of infrastructure and transportation, also highlighting an urgent need for more cost effective and energy efficient building practices, it said. – TradeArabia News Service