Project management officials from member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) gathered recently for the 12th International Conference of the Project Management Institute - Arabian Gulf Chapter (PMI-AGC) in Manama, to discuss how to manage projects in the current economic environment with low oil prices. The three-day conference served as a forum for more than 1,500 industry CEOs, project management practitioners, engineers, planners, academicians and managers to interact, share their experiences, improve their knowledge and showcase their projects and best practices, according to a report carried today by Saudi Aramco's web-site. Earlier, PMI-AGC President Ahmad S. Nasser said the conference theme, “Dawn of a New Era: Paradigm Shift in Project Management,” was crafted to emphasize that there is a need to do things more innovatively, and participants discussed how to manage projects in the current economic environment. “This is indeed a new era of global dynamics shifting the center of gravity back to our region,” said Nasser. “The best way to be prepared to meet the challenges that will come is by having a solid knowledge of your business,” Saudi Aramco vice president of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) Project Management Ali Al-Ajmi said in his keynote address. Given the current economic situation and decreasing workloads in the near future, companies and contractors will need new project planning and execution techniques. “Owners will have to become more flexible and creative in the way they manage projects,” he said, “and contractors will have to match that flexibility to remain competitive.” --MORE
