Regulations in the region are often lax at the design stage, causing delays when engineering drawings are submitted says, Adnan Mian, president and CEO of UAE-based Mercury Mena.

Speaking at MEED’s Construction Leadership Summit today in Dubai, Mian told the audience that “getting the subcontractors involved at early stages is a good idea and it means all challenges can be looked at then”.

The conference also heard that clients have a role to play in ensuring they are sufficiently informed about the services they are tendering.

David Barwell, CEO of Middle East and India at the US-based Aecom, added that a smart client is “one that brings together all the parties involved and trusts them”.

Panellists at the conference also discussed the importance of functionality being central to design concepts.

“Value is about the functionality and its ability to deliver that functionality. You can reduce the costs year on year if you are building for functionality,” said Dheeraj Bhardwaj, consulting director at PwC.