The 5th International Dredging Technology Development Conference of China dropped the curtained in Beijing on November 29. After the closing ceremony, Mr. Qian Xianguo, the Secretary General of CHIDA held meeting with Mr. Padman, President of WODA and EADA, Mr. Laboyrie, President of CEDA, Mr. Dobson, CFO of EADA, Mr. Dhollander Public Relations and Project Manager of IADC, Chen Xiuhan Researcher of Technische Universiteit Delft and others. They summarized the achievement exchanged at the conference and sought to establish a multi-lateral international cooperation system in a long-term and stable way.
Mr. Padman, President of WODA and EADA, first expressed his gratitude and respect to the host, CHIDA. He highly praised the fruitful results of the conference. He expressed that the communication between EADA and CEDA used to be little, and there were no in-depth talks between the boards. This conference provided an opportunity for the two parties to have a better understanding of each other, which is of profound significance. Mr. Laboyrie, President of EADA, attended the conference and gave keynote speech, which is unprecedented in the Asian dredging industry. Because of what the CHIDA has done, CEDA has actively integrated into the technical exchange of Asian dredging industry, and this has brought the communication and cooperation between the Asian and European dredging industries to an unprecedented level.
Mr. Laboyrie, President of CEDA agreed with President Padman’s speech and also showed his respect to CHIDA. He said he has never thought the conference could be so successful. To him, the gain of participating this conference has been far beyond his expectation. He noted: “Now I have fully awareness dredging is a big family. The challenges and difficulties CHINA is facing and attempting to resolve are exactly the ones of CEDA. We are at the same stage of the dredging history. Within the recent few days, I had a wide communication with my Chinese peers and I am delighted to see the investment of China’s dredging industry into the ecological and intelligent dredging.” It is agreed by both parties that CEDA and CHIDA should establish a mutual visiting system on a regular basis from 2018—a communication platform for China’s dredging industry and that of Europe.
Mr. Dhollander, Public Relations and Project Manager of IADC gave a passionate speech. He said he felt the same way as President Laboyrie did. What impressed him most was the outstanding young scholars appeared in the conference. Both their speeches and researches are extraordinary, among which two postgraduates form Technische Universiteit Delft also attended this conference. Mr. Dhollander expressed that IADC has been making every effort to bring young people into all kinds of dredging-related activities, and to cultivate reserve capability for the development of dredging industry, which coincides with the conference. Therefore, IADC is also actively discussing about establishing cooperative relations with CHIDA to promote the development of dredging industry together, especially the growth of young talents.
Deeply-touched Mr. Dobson, who has the record of employment period of EADA and the richest experience expressed he had experienced and witnessed the rapid development of China’s dredging industry since the new century. He said, lots of elites in both Asian and European dredging industry gathered in this conference, which made this conference an unprecedented success. The result satisfied him and it is the situation he had always been dreaming to make happen when he was the chairman of CEDA.
Dr. Chen Xiuhan attended the conference on behalf of echnische Universiteit Delft. He was deeply impressed by the number and level of the participants, which was rare in the international academic conference he participated. All kinds of dredging-related parties gathered in this conference: leaders, experts, equipment manufactures, senior scholars from China, representatives of CEDA, academic community from Europe, representatives, owners and consulting industry from Asia and Australia. It is hard and praiseworthy to have so many elites together in a room for the development of dredging industry. He was surprised by the wide range the speeches covered and the high technologies involved, which included aspects like: ecological concepts, construction technologies, equipment R&D, environmental mechanism and other cutting-edge concepts and development. In this conference, participants of different backgrounds were able to exchange ideas and learn a lot from each other. I also benefited a lot from this conference. Secretary General Qian Xianguo expressed his gratitude to the renowned universities and dredging associations for sending their senior representatives to participate The 5th International Dredging Technology Development Conference of China.
In his opinion, dredging industry is a great career playing positive role in ecological civilization. Dredging industry has high technology. The problems to be solved by dredging industry are also very complex. We need to gather consensus, wisdom and strength to make a valuable contribution to the ecological environment we live by, which is the common responsibility and mission for international dredging industry. The international dredging industry has a common destiny, and we need to create a new cooperative community.
From a strategic perspective, the dredging industries, whether in the east, middle or west of the world, do not have direct competition with each other, but a need for cooperation. The main theme of the conference held by CHIDA is to promote a unity and cooperation in the dredging industry, so as to gather energy from all parties to play an active role in building a beautiful China and beautiful world. The conference has made achievements satisfied all the participants, and the most important of which is reflected on the agreement for communication, cooperation and sharing.
The 22nd World Dredging Conference to be held in Shanghai in 2019 will be another important milestone in the transformation and upgrading of the international dredging industry. This conference has laid preliminary foundation for Consensus in Shanghai in 2019. It is our hope that all parties involved in the international dredging organizations will pay full attention to the positive results of this conference and create more conditions for further deepening of the cooperation. He said, from 2018, CHIDA will explore new ways for multilateral exchanges and cooperation. Through a successful exchanges and communications of all dredging associations in the world, all parties will strengthen their contacts, especially in the fields of concept, academia, technology and solutions, to learn from each other and promote each other. If we say that friendship is a tree, this conference sowed a seed, and it is believed that the world's dredging community will grow into a towering tree ever since.
