Sri Lanka to host PAQS conference 2011

by P. Krishnaswamy

Sri Lanka has been bestowed with the rare honour of hosting the six-day International Congress of the Pacific Association of Quantity Surveyors (PAQS) this year, according to President of the Institute of Quantity Surveyors of Sri Lanka Prof. Chitra Weddikkara.

Prof. Weddikkara announced on the confab at a press briefing held at Galle Face Hotel last week.

Nearly 15 countries including Australia, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Malaysia, New Zealand, Brunei, Sri Lanka and South Africa will participate at the six-day International Congress of the Pacific Association of Quantity Surveyors (PAQS) to be held from July 22 -27, 2011.

The decision to select Sri Lanka to host the 15th International Conference of the PAQS was made even before the dawn of peace in Sri Lanka in 2009 which is a clear indication of the highest honour the profession of quantity surveying and the practising quantity surveying professionals have placed in this country amidst several challenges faced by the construction industry.

Sri Lanka is a newly accredited member of the association and was confirmed as a member with full membership status only two years ago. Practice of quantity surveying was not well-known in Sri Lanka a few years ago until the recent construction boom created a high demand for practising quantity surveyors in the construction industry in the Middle and Far Eastern countries, she pointed out. Considering the mammoth development undertakings that had already commenced during the last couple of years, the construction industry of Sri Lanka will be benefited most as the chosen subject as theme for deliberations is "Cost Control in the World Emerging from Adversity", Weddikkara said, adding that the global warming and its adverse effects faced by the future generations in the form of national disasters will also be considered in the deliberations.

The conference would also focus on new subject areas such as Source of Low Energy, their efficiencies and the development of such energy sources to make them affordable commodities for the emerging markets. Introduction of greener foot prints in the field of construction and sustainable technology for the construction industry are two areas that the conference would be looking at in the deliberations, she said.