Emad Sharif, ChairDFI Middle Eastemad.sharif@gtc-lab.com

The DFI Middle East (DFIME) Regional

Chapter supported and participated in the

Geotechnical Middle East (GeoMEast)

Conference, which was held in Cairo, Egypt,

from November 10-14, 2019, at the

historical Marriott Hotel on the River Nile.

There were more than 250 registered

participants for the conference. The program

included lecturers and presentations from

different continents along with an exhibition

of ground engineering suppliers, including

deep foundation equipment and services

and geosynthetics products.

In conjunction with the overall con-

ference, DFIME organized a specialty

workshop that included several presen-

tations on different topics reflecting the

areas of interest in ground engineering in

the Middle East, from testing and quality

control to design and case histories to

applied technology. DFIME set up a small

booth to distribute materials and mag-

azines and to engage in important

discussions including an especially

important conversation with the Egypt

Society of Geotechnical Engineering for

future collaboration.

Recap of GeoMEast Conference

DEEP FOUNDATIONS • JAN/FEB 2020 • 49

DFI Middle East

REGIONAL REPORT

• Marcel Bielefeld, Allmanics/Verbeek

Management Services, “Rapid Load

Testing – the Latest Developments”

Many thanks to the presenters for

making the workshop a success:

• Dr. Marwan Alzaylaie, Dubai

Development Authority, “Modulus

of Deformation of Soft Rock of

Dubai – Back Analysis of Pile Load

Tests for Rock Modulus”

• Dr. Man Buitan, GTC–Lab, Dubai,

“Advanced Geotechnical Laboratory

Testing and Applications”

• Patrick Hannigan, PDI, “New Innova-

tions and Improvements in Bored Pile

QA/QC Methods”

• Dr. Salah Al Dilimi, RTA, DFI Helical

Piles Committee, “Helical Piles and

Anchors, History, Theory, Design and

Practical Applications”

• Sean Beirne-Lewis, Dywidag Systems

International, “Overview of Advances

on Ground Anchors Technologies –

Case Histories”

• Ahmed Abdullah, BAUER Interna-

tional FZE, “Deep Tunnel Storm Water

System Terminal Pumping Station &

Sea Outfall”

Big 5 Heavy Geotechnical SummitThe DFIME hosted a one-day geotechnical

summit on November 25, 2019, during the

Big 5 Heavy construction exhibition in

Dubai at the Dubai World Trade Centre. The

seminar was presided by Emad Sharif,

director at GTC and chair of DFIME, and Dr.

Salah Al Dilimi, RTA, DFI Helical Piles

Committee, and included 11 presentations

Outdoor luncheon with views of the River Nile

Speaker Dr. Marwan Alzaylaie

• Nick Chittenden, BASF, “Innovation for

Below Ground Construction”

• Dr. Hesham Elsazly, ADM, “A Forensic

Study of a Puzzling Ground Subsidence

Case: Interesting Findings”

50 • DEEP FOUNDATIONS • JAN/FEB 2020

• Hazem Sarhan, ADEC Engineering

Consultancy, “Thermal Integrity

Profiling of Deep Foundations”

• Ahmed Ali Ghareeb, RTA, “Challenges

of Finite Element Modelling and

Correlation with Site Monitoring”

• Yasir Husain, Ischebeck Titan Middle

East, “Foundation Strengthening and

Remediation of Differential Settlement

of a Commercial Building in Dubai”

• Karim Khalaf, Fugro, “Geology Risk

Assessment for Tunneling”

• Andrea Di Eugenio, Soilmec, “Latest

Developments in Diaphragm Wall

Technology – Focus on Middle East

Projects”

Thank you to the presenters:

by specialists representing designers,

contractors and suppliers. Approximately

70 participants attended this workshop.

Last year, the DFIME hosted a similar event,

and the chapter is planning a larger event

during the Big 5 Heavy in 2020, which

attracts hun-dreds of companies during the

five-day event.

• Dr. Salah Al Dilimi, RTA and DFI

Helical Piles Committee, “Introduction

to Helical Piles and Helical Anchors”

• Luke Bernhard Brouwers, “Petro-

graphic Analysis of Weak Rock of the

Ghayathi Formation”

Speaker Dr. Salah Al Dilimi