More than 250 delegates attend the Asia Pacific Conference

Over 250 delegates attended the annual Asia Pacific Conference at the Cordis Hotel in Hong Kong in November. Bringing together high-profile speakers from across the world, the topic for this year was “Collaboration, Innovation, Transformation” and celebrated 15 years for the use of NEC contracts in Hong Kong.
 
Ricky Lau, Permanent Secretary for Development (Works) at Development Bureau opened the conference with remarks celebrating the 15th year anniversary of NEC’s use in Hong Kong. He also announced the launch of the Hong Kong Edition of the NEC Term Service Contract, which will be available from the NEC website in early 2025. The TSC Hong Kong edition is designed to meet specific requirements of procedures and legislation and enables further use of the contract in the region.

This was followed by the keynote presentation on Transforming Procurement, delivered by Peter Winnicott, commercial and procurement director, SMP Alliance. His keynote presentation featured a case study in the use of the NEC4 Alliance Contract (ALC) and considered how the use of NEC can support a simple and flexible approach to procurement.

A panel session entitled “Unlocking Opportunities in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) Region for NEC Contracts,” featuring topics on collaboration, driving project excellence, innovation and mutual trust was preceded by a talk on sustainable development in Hong Kong, and a pre-recorded session on Peru’s journey in implementing standardised contracting.

After lunch, two further panel sessions looked at the important topics of implementing collaboration best practice and strategies to promote the adoption of advancing technologies. The first of the two discussions highlighted the importance and key benefits of collaboration, while the final panel session provided insight into how AI can optimise moving parts of a project. 

In the afternoon, two optional workshops concluded the event, with topics including the NEC4 Term Service Contract briefing session and NEC4 ECC in Building and Construction projects.

Renee Paik, Head of Asia Pacific, NEC Contracts, said of the event, “the NEC Asia Pacific Conference 2024 demonstrated how Collaboration, Innovation, and Transformation are shaping the future of construction. With insightful presentations from expert speakers and engaging discussions among over 250 delegates, the event explored NEC best practices, sustainability, and emerging technologies."

The presentations are now available in the NEC Community app.