ICE President Richard Coackley visited Oman in October as part of his Presidential tour to the Middle East region where he also attended the ICE’s 3rd MEA Convention in Dubai.
Mr Richard Coackley the President of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) and his wife Mrs Isabella Coackley visited Muscat on Thursday 25.10.2012 as a part of the Presidential Middle East tour.
Mr Ranganathan Subbaraman, ICE Representative for Oman organised the visit and guided the party while they were in Muscat. The guests were initially taken to the Al Qurm Resort in Muscat and on the way to the hotel, the President and his wife had a good opportunity to see the city along the main highway (Sultan Qaboos Street), especially the Grand Mosque at Ghala, The Royal Opera House Muscat (ROHM) and other features.
This was followed by a site visit to a construction site in Ras Al Hamra, a residential development project for the Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) Company, presently under construction by contractor Al Turki Enterprises (ATE). At the site, Mr David Skinner (Operations Director for ATE) and his team welcomed the guests. Mr Skinner presented a power point briefing of the project after which the HSE officer for ATE provided a site induction. The guests were introduced to the design team and other office staff prior to undertaking a compressive visit of the site. During the site visit, Mr Skinner and his team explained all the relevant features of construction including methodology, sustainability, project planning and the health and safety aspects of the project.
Later in the day, the President was welcomed to a reception attended by Dr. Sadiq Al Muscati (Fellow of the ICE) as well as other ICE members and participants. Mr Stephenson, a member of the ICE Oman committee, moderated the function and Dr. Sadiq Al Muscati gave a welcome speech which was followed by a Presidential address. During a half hour speech, the President talked about various aspects of civil engineering sustainability, asset management and the responsibility of the civil engineer. He also shared his experiences on various projects that he has witnessed around the world. On conclusion of his speech, Mr. Stephenson invited questions from the audience. At this point, the ICE Muscat branch presented a framed “khanjar” (traditional Omani dagger) to the President as a memento of his visit (see photo).
Mr Subbaraman then gave a short summary of further ICE activities of the ICE Muscat Branch and possible development of potential members, after which Mr Stephenson gave vote of thanks. Mr Coackley concluded the session by presenting gifts in recognition of the efforts for organizing the event to Mr Subbaraman, Dr Al Muscati, Mr Stephenson and Mr Skinner. Afterwards, all the participants had an opportunity to meet the president during a buffet prepared by the hotel which contained a mouth-watering selection of local dishes.
Mr & Mrs Coackley and Mr Stephenson were then treated by Dr Al Muscati to a visit to the Omani Traditional Souq in Muttrah and the party enjoyed a sightseeing trip around the area and corniche. In the evening, the party returned to the hotel to pack up and proceeded to a dinner hosted by Dr Al Muscati which gave an excellent opportunity to discuss various issues and other ICE Development activities with the President.
For more information about ICE activities in Oman, please contact Ranganathan Subbaraman at Subbaraman.Ranganathan@atkinsglobal.com