ASTAD and QSE officials exchanging memento during their meeting.
ASTAD recently hosted Qatar Society of Engineers (QSE) at their headquarters to showcase ASTAD’s flagship product SANAD and how it can support Qatar’s construction projects.
The meeting was attended by Ali Al Khalifa, ASTAD Chief Executive Officer; Ahmad Jassim Al Jolo, Chairman, Qatar Society of Engineers, Abdullah Mohamed Al Baker, President of Federation of Arab Engineers and Board Members, and Yacoub Youssef Al Mulla, President of the Architectural Chapter and QSE treasurer.
Al Khalifa highlighted that SANAD can be used to bring all parties involved in construction projects together, ultimately promoting the efficient delivery of projects.
“Over the years, we grew to fully understand the unique contractual challenges within Qatar’s construction industry which often led to disputes and claims between parties and inevitably delayed projects. This presented an opportunity for us to develop SANAD while maintaining fair and appropriate risk for all parties by offering more balanced contract terms and conditions,” Al Khalifa.
He stressed on how SANAD reiterates ASTAD’s commitment to supporting Qatar’s vision of a knowledge based economy. “SANAD aims to act as a supportive tool within the construction industry, refining contractual procedures within Qatar, while simultaneously utilised as an educational reference,” he said.
Meanwhile, Al Jolo stated: “We have a common goal with ASTAD to successfully contribute towards the urban and industrial development of Qatar through enhanced engineering practices.”
“SANAD is a product that has been developed as a result of the common contractual challenges found in Qatar and we actively support such home grown initiatives that aim to initiate a positive outcome throughout the construction industry,” he said.
SANAD was launched in April 2017 and includes a suite of four contract templates and standardised forms covering construction, design and build, design services and professional services. It complies with local laws, regional realities, and global best practices while holding equity, flexibility, balance, and effectiveness at its core.In addition, ASTAD and QSE discussed the prospect of having a Memorandum of Understanding and discussed ways to support QSE with local initiatives including engineering specialised conferences, awareness seminars, activities, training courses and the establishment of an engineering magazine specialised in QSE’s activities.
