A strong lineup of speakers consisting of ministry officials and leading industry professionals will be delivering presentations and participating in interactive sessions at the upcoming Oman Construction Summit, which will be held on Jan. 29-31, 2012 at the Grand Hyatt Muscat.

The event organizers – Global Exhibitions & Conferences LLC (GEC) and International Quality and Productivity Centre (IQPC) – recently announced the list of speakers at what is shaping up to be the leading conference focusing on Oman’s construction projects and the investment opportunities in the industry.

Said bin Hamdoon bin Saif Al-Harthy, undersecretary for ports and maritime affairs, Ministry of Transport and Communications; Abdullah Bin Rashid Al-Kiyumi, director general of projects, Ministry of Housing;  Hamid Al-Ghazali, project director general, Royal Court affairs, Muscat; Cengiz Gursel, deputy director general, General Directorate of Free Zones, Overseas Investments and Services, Ministry of Economy, Turkey; Peter Broers, CEO, Port of Duqm Company; Maurice Girgis, adviser, Special Economic Zone Authority at Duqm; Sami A. Redha A. Baqi Al-Lawati, infrastructure director, Petroleum Development Oman (PDO); Nasser Al-Maqbali, VP construction, OMRAN; Theuns Kotze, regional director Middle East and Africa, British Standards Institution (BSI); Sadek Owainati, co-founder, Emirates Green Building Council, founding chairman, World Green Building Council MENA Network are amongst the key speakers announced.

A year after the exclusive coverage of the Duqm comprehensive master plan presented at the first edition of Oman Construction Summit, key decision makers involved in Duqm projects will gather on Sunday Jan. 29 to discuss the Duqm projects achievements in 2011 as well as planned and future investment projects and opportunities and development strategies for 2012.

“With the presence of high-profile speakers who will share their valuable insights on matters of wide importance to Oman’s building and construction industry, the Oman Construction Summit 2012 is truly the event for learning about the latest development in the industry and its prospects for the future,” said C.J. Paul, chief executive officer, GEC.

The Oman Construction Summit 2012 is held in cooperation with the Ministry of Housing, and is officially supported by the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Concrete Society (UK) and the UKTI. The Diamond and Gold Sponsor of the event are STFA and Makyol respectively, while VOLKMANN & ROSSBACH is the Associate Sponsor,ABB the Panel Sponsor, Baker Wilkins & Smith LLC (BWS) the Registration Desk Sponsor. Doka and Target LLC are the Coffee Sponsors for the event.

The event will also feature companies that will showcase their range of innovative products, equipments and services for the building and construction industry. Exhibiting organizations include Oman Cables, Arminox, Pitchmastic, Peri and Kayson Al-Omania.

”We are looking forward to welcoming the distinguished speakers and guests to share their objectives and challenges in developing the country’s infrastructure. The delegates will also learn from international experts on best practices and solutions that could be implemented in Oman,” said Rozenn Cornec, divisional director – Oman at IQPC Middle East.

According to IQPC Middle East, over the past decade, has been pursuing a . As a result, the economy was spared the worst effects of the global economic downturn and the country is increasing its international profile.

To take advantage of Oman’s geographical position that gives it strong potential in are required. Driven by its Vision 2020, the is set to with every economy sector benefiting from increased public spending. is expected to grow at an average between 2010 and 2014.

Spend on building construction in Oman is expected to reach more than , according to research from Ventures. , and are the three most active sectors for construction over the next three years in the Sultanate, with mixed-use accounting for over of total budgets.