Cape Town Mayor Councillor Patricia De Lille will deliver the keynote address at the FIDICGAMA 2017 Conference to be held from 7-10 May 2017 at the International Convention Centre in Cape Town.
The conference will connect leading global players and partners in the infrastructure and consulting engineering sector to create innovative sustainable solutions and business opportunities.The conference will bring together over 200 delegates from across Africa and the rest of the world under the theme: “African Partnerships for Sustainable Growth”.
The FIDIC-GAMA Annual Conference is the biggest networking event for consulting engineers in Africa and provides a forum for consulting engineers, government officials, State Owned Entities, local administrative authorities, funding agencies, contractors, suppliers of construction equipment and materials, investors and other stakeholders in the built-environment.
CESA President Lynne Pretorius stated that lack of investment coupled with lack of maintenance are the main causes of under-development of Africa’s infrastructure, one of the five economic challenges facing the continent.
GAMA Chairperson Ing Kofi Asare-Yeboah added that advances in engineering and technology have transformed the world we live in, contributing significantly to longer life expectancy and enhanced quality of life. However, a sizable part of Africa has not benefitted from improved healthcare, energy supply, transportation, communication, water-supply and sanitation. These shortcomings indicate the deficiency in infrastructure development on the continent.
De Lille, Pretorius and Asare-Yeboah will be joined by other keynote speakers at the conference, who will be shedding light and deliberating on issues pertaining to improving connectivity of ports, airports, national roads, water and energy, as catalysts of sustainable growth and development of countries across the continent.
The Conference will provide opportunities for investors and funding agencies to give insight into the various models and opportunities available for investment in infrastructure.
