Construction Conferences, Oct 2009: Preface by the Chief Editors

Preface by the Chief Editors

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh or peace be upon you, and dear all.

The following conferences; Inaugural Conference Construction in the Muslim World, 21^st October 2009; 5^th International Conference on Multi-national Joint Ventures for Construction Works, 21^st – 22^nd October 2009; and 2^nd Conference and Workshop on Construction Law and Economic Circle in Asia and Pacific (CLECAP), 23^rd October 2009 are being organized and staged, one after another within the same week, by the same Organizing Committee i.e. the International Islamic University Malaysia. In addition, most participants, at registration, have indicated interest to participate in all three conferences. In the interest of economy and to reduce costs the Organizing Committee therefore considers it to be most appropriate to compile the proceedings of the three conferences and published them into one book. To this end, a committee of Chief Editors was appointed.

For each conference there is a panel of Editors and the conference’s international scientific and review committee. The key task of the Chief Editors of this book is to carry on the good works of these Editors and review committees by compiling into a book the papers that have been accepted for presentation and publishing the book. Added to this task is the task of giving a name to the book, a name considered most appropriate to reflect the focus and without compromising the integrity and maturity of each of the three separate conferences. To this end, the committee of Chief Editors decided on Collaborative Efforts in International Construction Management as the title of the book.

Collaborative Efforts in International Construction Management is presented in three parts:

· Part 1 are for the Inaugural Conference Construction in the Muslim World. The papers contained therein review pertinent issues, problems and strategies related to the construction industries, the state of education and training and on aspects of Shari’ah compliance in construction management relevant to the countries of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and beyond. We, the Chief Editors, believe this new area of study has a strong prospect in the future especially in terms of understanding the many issues and problems facing the Muslim countries and on the relationships, construction-wise and beyond, between the Muslims and others.

· Part 2 are for the 5^th International Conference on Multi-national Joint Ventures for Construction Works. The papers contained therein examine concepts, theories, practice and discusses problems and strategies in multi-national joint ventures for construction works. The number of papers and the quality of their contents illustrates the maturity of the grouping.

· Part 3 are for the 2^nd Construction Law and Economics Circle of Asia Pacific (CLECAP) conference and workshop. The papers contained therein relate to education, training and development in construction law, construction economics and in construction contract administration for experts from countries of the Asia and Pacific region.

The continuous and upward trends in globalization and liberalization of the world’s economies and of the construction industries coupled with the ravages of economic downturn of the 2007-2008 induced by the economic downturn in most of the more developed countries have made many of the world’s construction key players: developers, consultants, contractors, financiers, facilities manager, etc to consider newer strategies and to make aggressive moves to newer markets including to the countries of the Muslim world and those in the Asia and Pacific region.

On the one hand many countries of the Muslim world are known to be blessed with incomes derived from oil and other minerals yet are relatively backward in terms of socio-economic growth and developments with some labeled as the least developed developing countries. While on the other hand many countries of the Asia and Pacific region are relatively wealthy, some even have achieved the so called middle-income economies or soon to be labeled developed economies status. To induce and to sustain growth in these economies would require investments in socio-economic infrastructures, but in many of the countries – Muslims or in the Asia and Pacific region – with a few exception the presence of constraints notably in the key areas of technology and management capability are main inhibitors.

The scenario is therefore quite clear: on the one hand the world’s construction key players are hungry for projects in order to maintain turnover and profitability while on the other hand there are demands for socio-economic infrastructures by the countries of the Muslim world and of the Asia and Pacific region. The one sure implication of this scenario is that demand for highly reliable and credible information will increase.

This book is considered most appropriate to fill in information gaps for in essence it presents wide ranging issues, problems, solutions, concepts, theories, practices and education and training of experts in international construction management focusing on countries of the Muslim world and in the Asia and Pacific region. The authors of the papers and the respective conferences’ panel of editors and paper review committee have done a great service to the world’s construction management community: the former by putting forward their ideas and reporting their research outcomes and the latter through their tireless efforts in ensuring credibility and quality of the papers are not compromised.

We, the Chief Editors, believe this book will become one of the key references to be sought by practitioners, academics, students, researchers, civil servants and policy makers and others related to construction management in general but especially to construction in the Muslim world and in the Asia and Pacific region.

Thank you, Wassallam.

Khairuddin Abdul Rashid, Kiyoshi Kobayashi, Christopher Nigel Preece and Sharina Farihah Hassan

Chief Editors,

Collaborative Efforts in International Construction Management

Kuala Lumpur, 20^th October 2009