WSP Anticipate is WSP Middle East’s thought leadership platform, where you will find a series of regular articles, podcasts, interviews and more, with special features from WSP’s experts, clients and thought leaders from across the engineering and construction industry. On this platform, we regularly share content that is created with the goal to capture unique perspectives, expert knowledge, and Future Ready insights. Our experts anticipate trends, explore industry hot topics, challenge the ...
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Beyond Green: Driving Client Value Through Sustainability
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In this episode of the WSP Anticipate Podcast, David Leversha, Decarbonisation Lead for WSP, discusses driving value for clients through sustainability with Catriona Brady from the World Green Building Council and Daniel Socha from WSP's Global Sustainability and ESG Services. They explore the growing prominence of sustainability, the influence of …
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Ambition vs. Reality: Can MMC Truly Transform the Construction Industry?
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The UN-Habitat program estimates that by 2030, 3 billion, about 40% of the world’s population, will need access to adequate housing. This translates to 96000 accessible housing units every day. Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) holds the promise of helping builders and developers meet the rising demand for housing. However, it represents a profo…
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Elevating Exteriors: The Criticality of Façade Refurbishment in the GCC
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Imagine a skyline dotted with high-rises, each a testament to architectural ambition and economic growth. What happens when these towering structures, built around the same time, begin to show their age? In this episode of the WSP Anticipate Podcast, Susanna Noureddine, Head of Facades interviews Andy Dean, Senior Technical Director - Asset Transfo…
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From Awareness to Action: Carbon Literacy for Organisational Change
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In a world where climate disasters are not just warnings but daily realities, the urgency for effective climate action is more pronounced than ever, and the need for carbon literacy is becoming increasingly important. In this episode of the WSP Anticipate Podcast, The episode discusses the barriers and enablers of Carbon Literacy and it offers guid…
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Leaning into Digital: A Key Transformation for an Agile Construction Industry
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In this episode of the WSP Anticipate Podcast, Karisha Trotman-Welch, Principal Engineer - Enhancement & Lean Manager is joined by Dean Speer, Head of Technology and Digital at WSP in the Middle East to discuss the challenges and opportunities that arise from weaving technology into the fabric of traditional construction practices. They also envisi…
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From Rainfall to Resilience: Crafting Flood Solutions for the GCC Region
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As the Arabian Peninsula experiences shifts in weather patterns and faces more intense and frequent rainfall events, the demand for effective flood mitigation strategies has never been more critical. In this episode of the WSP Anticipate Podcast, Daymion Jenkins, Advisory Director - Environment & Sustainability is joined by Nariba Gittens, Associat…
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Blueprints of Tomorrow: AI's Role in Shaping Our Urban Future
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Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is more than just a rapidly evolving futuristic technology. It is already an integral part of our daily lives, from the recommendations on your favourite streaming service to the algorithms that power critical business decisions. But what is AI exactly, and how does it work? How can we use it to create smarter, safer…
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Atlantis The Royal: Engineering one of the world’s latest architectural marvels
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Atlantis The Royal Resort and Residences is the new Dubai landmark on The Palm and one of WSP’s most exciting recent projects in the region. But what makes Atlantis The Royal so special, and what does it take to create a project of such scale? In this episode of the Anticipate Podcast, Liam O’Connell, Associate Director of Building Services, is joi…
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From the ground up: Shaping healthy spaces
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In today's modern world, people spend most of their time indoors where air quality is found to be two to five times worse than outdoor air. But this is only one aspect of our indoor life and there are many more additional aspects that require our immediate attention. In this episode of the Anticipate Podcast, Dalia Abdalla, Service Lead of Sustaina…
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Decoding the UAE’s Energy Roadmap to Carbon Neutrality
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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has set ambitious targets to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, making it the first Middle Eastern and North African nation to do so. In this episode of the Anticipate Podcast, Eman Husain, Senior Consultant ESG Advisory and Muhammad Qureshi, Manager - Energy Advisory, are joined by Dr. Hassan Javed, Energy Service Le…
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Nature's Balance Sheet: Assessing Natural Capital in the GCC
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How can we protect and restore nature while also creating value for businesses and society? This is the question that many leaders and organisations are grappling with, especially after the ambitious Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted at COP 15 in 2022. The framework aims to safeguard at least 30% of the world's land and ocean ecosystems by …
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Breaking Barriers: Prioritising Mental Health in the Workplace
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Prioritising mental health in the workplace isn't just compassionate; it's a fundamental investment that can foster productivity, resilience, innovation, and a culture where everyone can thrive both personally and professionally. The public surveys conducted in the MENA region in 2021 indicate a significant prevalence of stress among respondents, w…
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Empowering Saudi Engineers: WSP's Path to Transformation
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In this episode of the Anticipate Podcast, Tariq Shehabaddin meets with a diverse panel of experts, Saudi engineers, and graduates to uncover the inspiring journeys of Saudi professionals within WSP’s dynamic Accelerated Graduate Programme (which has recently evolved and been rebranded into ‘Al Masar’). The episode also explores how national talent…
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In this enlightening podcast episode, we delve into the depths of WSP's groundbreaking Future Ready programme. Hosted by Sophia Key, Head of Future Ready for WSP in the Middle East, and featuring the insights of David Symons, Climate Change and Sustainability Director at WSP in the UK, this episode demystifies the evolution, implementation, and imp…
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UNiting Nations for Change: A Glimpse into the UAE’s Global Climate Summit
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With COP28 around the corner, the question that looms large is whether the world's leaders will rise to the occasion and take bold, decisive actions to address the pressing challenges of climate change. In this episode of the Anticipate Podcast, Dana Darwish, ESG Advisory Consultant, and Maitha Alremeithi, Graduate Consultant - Sustainable Developm…
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Smart Moves: Exploring AI's Impact on the Future of Mobility
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Over the past five years, the mobility sector has witnessed an unparalleled surge in the adoption of Artificial Intelligence. However, alongside this remarkable progress, we must recognise that significant technological advancements bring not only opportunities but also challenges. In this episode of the Anticipate Podcast, Terry Smith, Intelligent…
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Sailing towards Sustainability: Unveiling the Secrets of Eco-Friendly Marine Facilities
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From ports and harbours to marinas and offshore wind farms, marine structures facilities play a crucial role in protecting our coastlines. But as we confront the challenges of climate change and rising sea levels, it's more important than ever to ensure that these structures are sustainable, resilient, and environmentally friendly. In this episode …
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The Big Picture: Driving Sustainable Change with Health & Safety Transformation
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With the adoption of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), many countries have begun to invest in health and safety transformation programs. In Saudi Arabia, Vision 2030 highlights the importance of health and safety as key factors in achieving sustainable development. The common factor between the UN SDGs and Saudi Vision 2030 i…
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Smart Cities Deep Dive – From Dubai to AlUla
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While urbanisation continues its momentum in our region, our cities are under pressure to maintain a high level of livability and productivity. A smart city is where traditional networks and services are made more efficient with the use of digital solutions for the benefit of its inhabitants and the city as a whole. Smart cities go beyond the use o…
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Boosting local expertise to preserve heritage and nature in Saudi Arabia
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16:08
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Saudi Arabia has been pushing the boundaries of innovation with its futuristic developments and cities while still keeping a firm focus on its culture, identity, and natural environment. From the Kingdom's Capital, Riyadh, to its new mega-city Neom in the Tabuk province and the newly announced Mukaab, Saudi Arabia is on a mission to create a divers…
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Saudi’s Transformation: Engineering the way to Vision 2030
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In recent years, the Saudi government has undertaken a number of reforms aimed at modernizing the Saudi economy and improving the country’s social welfare. These reforms have included increasing access to education and healthcare, promoting women’s rights, and diversifying the economy away from oil. Saudi engineers are at the forefront of this mass…
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The road to COP28: What lessons have been harvested from our experience at COP27?
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The 2015 Paris Agreement committed nearly 200 nations to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. However, the pledges countries made in Glasgow’s COP26 put the world on track for a temperature increase of 2.4 degrees Celsius by the end of the century! Was COP27 successful in reviving the 1.5 degrees goal and in turning climate pledges into act…
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Changing the game of event transportation and venue development
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Efficient transport, mobility, and infrastructure are key factors in the successful hosting of major international events. This is mainly because of the significant role that these elements play in creating positive and memorable experiences for guests. But the challenge is being able to strike a balance between providing these essential elements f…
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Anticipating COP27: What To Expect From the Next Major Climate Change Summit
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In November 2022, as world leaders and industry experts gather at the 27th annual session of the UN Climate Change Conference, known as COP27, WSP experts will be on-site to work alongside delegates as they seek to accelerate climate action. This follows from COP26 and the Paris Agreement of 2015, which aligned signatories to curb temperature rise …
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Establishing a Mindful Approach to Mental Health in the Workplace
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In today's fast-paced, high-stress work environment, it's more important than ever for organisations and individuals to priotise mental health. However, for many of us, this is easier said than done. We often put the needs of our jobs ahead of our own well-being, leading to burnout, anxiety, and depression. Organisations find it difficult to addres…
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The Hidden Benefits of ESG for the Healthcare Industry
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While environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) is still in its relative infancy, it has been growing rapidly in recent years. As more healthcare organizations adopt an ESG-minded stance, it is important to consider the motivations behind this shift, the limitations to its growth, and how to accelerate the rate of its adoption. In this …
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Closing the Social Infrastructure Gap: The Role of Public-Private Partnerships
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Public-private partnerships (PPPs) are playing an increasingly important role in the development of social infrastructure in the Middle East. As governments seek to address the region's growing infrastructure needs, PPPs offer a flexible and innovative way to finance, design, build, operate, and maintain vital infrastructure assets. From hospitals …
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From Pledges to Actions – How do we accelerate the transition to circular economy?
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Global warming, climate change, ecosystem damage, and pollution are all linked to our current take-make-waste production model. In line with the ethos of the 2020 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP26, many organisations and governments started to integrate circular economy and sustainability targets into their agendas. However, a lot has…
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Is the Built Environment Ripe for Decarbonisation?
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The world is undergoing widespread transformation in response to the climate emergency, with decision makers in almost every sector reimagining how to innovate, mitigate, and adapt to a changing world. In the retail sector, industry leaders such as Majid Al Futtaim are working to address challenges specific to retail in energy transition, adaptatio…
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The Power of Data - How Digital Twins are Revolutionising Airports
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The concept of digital twins is not new, but the ability to create accurate digital replicas has been limited by the availability of data and computing power. With the advent of the Internet of Things, big data, and cloud computing, it is now possible to create digital twins that are virtually identical to their physical counterparts. In this episo…
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The Untapped Potential for Water in the Middle East
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Water is the basis of life on Earth. However, this precious resource is drying out as climate change impacts the availability of vital freshwater resources. As temperatures rise and weather patterns become more extreme, the amount of water available for consumption is decreasing. This is particularly true in areas that are already water-stressed, s…
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Environmental, Social and Governance – To invest or not to invest…
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Until recently sustainable investing inevitably meant sacrificing returns. But the evidence is mounting that proves this is no longer the case… Hosted by WSP’s Katherine Bruce, this episode explores Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) risks and engages industry insights from First Abu Dhabi Bank’s Head of Corporate Sustainability, Belinda S…
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What does the future hold for health & wellbeing in the construction sector?
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The need for better industry approaches to physical, mental, and behavioural health in the contemporary context has irked a response across many sectors to nurture better working environments for people. In this episode, Matthew Jackson, Head of HSE at WSP in the Middle East is joined by Jimmy Quinn, President Institution of Occupational Safety & H…
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Is micro-mobility a macro solution towards accelerating the future of transit?
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As population density increases within the world’s urban centres, a macro transport problem is arising due to shortages of space and a lack of sustainable, equitable, and feasible transit solutions. However, with global e-scooter usage booming, micro-mobility modes are providing people with more choices and options to move than ever before. Hosted …
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Given the speed and immediacy of the digital world in which we operate, the way we design and engineer urban spaces is changing at a rapid pace. While digital tools are facilitating a new era of capabilities and efficiencies how can we can ensure that we do not lose the skill of freehand sketching and the benefits it can bring to any project? Andy …
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Digital innovations are set to revolutionise the world’s industries, society, and make citizens’ lives more seamless, efficient, safer, and economical. Adding to this, real-world applications of emergent technologies such as artificial intelligence are beginning to illustrate just how effective the convergence of physical and digital worlds can be.…
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Building and Sustaining High Performance Teams: The Art of Unleashing Potential
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The ability to create and maintain high performance teams is critical for any organisation or project in today’s complex and competitive business environment. The question “What makes a great team great?” has been a hot topic in business and academia for many years. In this episode of the WSP Anticipate podcast, Paul Ebbs, Lean Specialist with WSP …
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Net-Zero 2050: Charting A Meaningful Path to An Emissions-Free World
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The shift towards a net zero world is gathering pace as we accelerate efforts to counter the adverse impacts of human-influenced climate change. As momentum grows towards driving net zero commitments, it’s clear that a move to designing, building, investing, and thinking greener is crucial if we’re to avoid a climate catastrophe and to mitigate irr…
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Making Cycle-friendly Cities an Integral Spoke in the Greater Mobility Mix
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From Berlin to Bogota, and everywhere in between, cycling has flourished in the wake of recent global events and the renaissance for alternative modes of transport is showing no sign of hitting the brakes. In Dubai, and many other Middle Eastern cities, recent shifts in thinking are also changing up a gear to promote cycling as a mode of eco-friend…
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The ‘Hard’ Truth: Concrete’s Role in Building a Sustainable Future
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Concrete has been the building block of the world’s civilisation. But the production process of cement, the main ingredient of concrete, leads to considerable carbon dioxide emissions which makes a strong case for finding and using more sustainable alternatives. In this episode of the WSP Anticipate Podcast, Laith Haboubi, Associate Director at WSP…
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Trust as a Prerequisite for Innovation
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The engineering and construction industry has witnessed a slower rate of innovation compared to other industries such as aerospace and automotive. In this episode of the WSP Anticipate Podcast, David Kimmerly, Operations Director at WSP Middle East, and Don Ward, CEO of the International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construct…
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Wellness Matters: Weaving wellbeing into our workplace cultures
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The topic of wellness is nothing new, however the way in which we approach it is continuously evolving. As we celebrate the tenth annual Global Wellness Day, this WSP Anticipate podcast episode aims to question and critique the role organisations need to play in empowering people to thrive both physically and mentally. This special Global Wellness …
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Turning up the Volume on Education in a Post-pandemic World
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Following numerous schools and universities around the world pivoting to online classes in the wake of the global pandemic, there’s now equally as much attention being placed on the return to in-person lessons. With this latest shift in the continuously evolving education landscape, the education sector must now look to adapt their current spaces t…
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Pioneering a Digital Blueprint for Education’s next Frontier in KSA
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As fundamental transformations in the education sector emerge, digital breakthroughs and blue-sky thinking are helping us reimagine learning ecosystems in an evolving world. This is evident in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where world-class education projects aren’t just changing the way knowledge is taught; they’re changing the paradigm altogether …
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Building ‘COP-timism’: The Key Takeaways of COP26
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With COP26 – one of the most important climate change conferences take place in years – coming to a close, questions remain about whether countries can maintain their pledges and beef up commitments towards mitigating climate change. Despite bringing parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework…
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Leveraging Technology to Build People-Centric Cities
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The growing interest in smart cities has been coupled with questions on how to use technology in an efficient, ethical and inclusive way to achieve the public and government’s best interests and to ensure that the needs of local communities are met. In this episode of the Anticipate podcast, Iftikhar Zubair, Head of Building Technology at WSP in th…
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Realising the Full Potential of Digital Twin in Civil Infrastructure Systems
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As technology advances, so does the way we approach infrastructure design and management. One of the most promising new technologies in this domain is digital twin; a technology that provides an unprecedented level of detail in predictive modelling. In this episode of the Anticipate podcast, Dr Mohamed Nazier, Managing Director of Transport & Infra…
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Towards Qatar’s 2030 Vision: The pillars of successful large-scale programme delivery
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Delivering large-scale programmes is no easy feat. It requires careful planning, a well-coordinated team, and an understanding of the various factors that can influence success. In this episode of the Anticipate Podcast, Akram Ashour, Head of Supervision at WSP in the Middle East, is joined by Eng. Mooza Al-Sowaidi, Head of Doha City Section at Qat…
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The Shift to Renewables – Green Hydrogen as One Piece of a Complex Puzzle
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The energy transition is well underway, with renewables gradually becoming more cost-effective and prevalent. The role of green hydrogen in this transition is still being explored, but there are many potential benefits that could make it a key part of the future energy mix. In this episode of the Anticipate Podcast, Richard Lappin, Power Generation…
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500 Days Until Kick-off: Building a sustainable legacy on the road to FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar™
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With 500 days until the 2022 FIFA World Cup™, Qatar is setting the global standard for how to build sustainably and blazing a trail for the delivery of green solutions in the sporting realm. This pinnacle tournament is also set to change the way future World Cup competitions and other sporting mega-events are planned, organised, hosted, and deliver…
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