Industry leaders have called for changes to the way the region delivers major water projects, so that they are completed on schedule and on budget.

One area highlighted for improvement by speakers at MEED’s Mena Water 2014 conference, being held in Abu Dhabi on 29-30 September, was the prequalification of contractors. “There are a lot of experienced contractors in the region that are very capable, but many are not capable of delivering complex jobs in a complex region such as the Middle East,” said Corrado Sommariva, managing director of ILF Middle East and past president of the US-headquartered International Desalination Association.

“There is no point in prequalifying contractors that you know cannot deliver the job. A stronger, more robust prequalification process is needed.”

Jesus Sancho, Middle East director at Spain’s Acciona Infrastructure, said projects could be delivered more effectively by following the example set by the oil and gas industry. “The water industry could look at oil and gas, where time is allocated just for design,” he said. “It is good to separate those things.”

Sommariva also suggested that once a project has started, all parties – clients, consultants and contractors – should work together to solve problems and agree to settle any additional cost incurred at the end of the scheme.

“A way of mitigating delays is management controls,” he said. “All parties need to accept that things are uncertain and agree that any additional costs are put into a basket and resolved at the end of the project.”

Khalifa Ebrahim al-Mansoor, assistant undersecretary of Bahrain’s Works Ministry, said that ultimately all parties must improve the way they operate and work together.

“Clients do have to learn, but contractors and consultants must improve also,” he said. “I think they can do it, provided they don’t cut corners.”