Confederation of International Contractors’ Associations (CICA)

Irwin Perret
Irwin Perret
President

ACTIVITY REPORT NOVEMBER 2021 – OCTOBER 2022

CICA President, Irwin PERRET (Venezuela)

CICA Director General, Fanny DASTUGUE (France)

November 2021: CICA launched a new Working Group on Housing chaired by Edwin Chirivi, Vice President of the Colombian Chamber of Construction (CAMACOL) 

 

A decent place to live is one of the most prominent necessities of humankind, and it was made even clearer during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, public and private sectors face challenges providing high quality homes. The main topics addressed by the working group are affordable housing, demographic transition, resilience and sustainability, urban planning, tax regimes. The National Home Builders of America (NAHB) and International Housing Association (IHA) are also involved in this working group.

Learn more: https://www.cica.net/housing/ 

 

December 6-7, 2021: CICA’s Autumn General Assembly 

The CICA Autumn General Assembly was held in Paris in a presential format. In addition to statutory matters, a seminar was organized to discuss Collaboration and Innovation in the Construction Industry. Among the panelists, Stephen Mulva from the Construction Industry Institute (Austin, Texas). 

Learn more: https://www.cica.net/cica-autumn-seminar-general-assembly/ 

 

December 2021: Publication of the FIDIC Green Book

CICA is regularly liaising with FIDIC. As a recent example of collaboration, CICA was an active Friendly Reviewer of the FIDIC Green Book published in December 2021. Many of the CICA comments were incorporated in the new edition. The FIDIC Green Book can be used even for large infrastructure projects, when less contractual complexity is required.

 

Since January 2022: CICA’s participation in the B20 Bali

The Business 20 (B20), platform for dialogue between political leaders, the civil society, and businesses, was hosted by Indonesia this year. It brings together businesses and business organizations that formulate concrete recommendations to support economic growth and development. These recommendations are addressed to the member countries of the G20. CICA is involved in the two task forces of interest to our sector namely: « Finance and Infrastructure » and « Integrity and Compliance ». CICA actively promoted the inclusion of Quality Infrastructure recommendations but also asset recycling and tools to promote the good preparation of infrastructure projects. The final summit is taking place in Bali on November 14, 2022.

Learn more: https://www.g20.org/events/b20-summit/

 

May 17-19, 2022: CICA General Assembly and events in Tel Aviv 

CICA held its General Assembly at the headquarters of the Israel Builders Association (IBA), at the Tel Aviv Shalom Tower. CICA president Irwin Perret took stock of the situation in the construction sector and expressed concerns about the consequences of the war in Ukraine.

In the margins of the CICA General Assembly, a Contech event was organized at the Peres Center for Peace & Innovation in Tel Aviv which brought together Israeli start-ups, industry leaders, experts, and contractors. CICA and its members also had the honor to visit the Israel President’s Official Residence in Jerusalem. During the visit, CICA President and his counterpart of IBA, Raul Srugo, had a discussion with President Isaac Herzog on the challenges currently faced by the construction industry, putting emphasis on Covid-19, the war in Ukraine and the growing inflation. Besides, Irwin Perret and Raul Srugo signed a mutual agreement on the promotion of Occupational Safety and Health in Construction in the construction industry: within this agreement, both parties engaged in the promotion of different measures to strive towards excellence in construction site safety.

 

CICA President, Irwin Perret, at the HQ of the Israel Builders Association (IBA) with his IBA counterpart, Raul Srugo .

 

September 26, 2022: CICA participated in the Multilateral Development Banks’ Heads of Procurement meeting in Rome

CICA Director General Fanny Dastugue and Chairman of the MDBs working group Richard Touroude, (together with representatives of the European International Contractors) participated in the meeting of the Heads of Procurement in Rome to address:

  • The concerns of the industry regarding increased construction costs and the need for a fair allocation of the risks;
  • The need for harmonization of standard bidding documents;
  • The possibility to organize outreach event for our contractors.

October 10-14, 2022: CICA Mission to Washington DC

After several years of virtual meetings due to the pandemic, a CICA delegation visited Washington DC in the context of the annual meetings of the World Bank and IMF.

CICA met with the Chief Procurement Officer of the World Bank but also a representative of the Director for Infrastructure and PPPs to address the concerns of our industry in terms of procurement policies (need for harmonization) and financing in a context of increased construction costs. CICA also organized a meeting with World Bank Executive Directors to raise awareness on the need for Quality Infrastructure and with the Vice President for Integrity, in particular to address the issue of the corruption on the demand side and learn about complaints mechanisms. A session with the International Finance Corporation focused mostly on housing topics.

High level meetings with the Inter-American Development Bank also took place for CICA members to learn about IaDB new procurement policy (more sustainable approach), IaDB Invest programmes and IaDB Housing programmes.

CICA organized meetings with the Millenium Challenge Corporation, a US independent foreign aid agencies to learn about their activities and portfolio as well as their procurement rules (Quality-Price Based Selection applies). Finally, it was an opportunity to meet with American General Contractors and National Home Builders of America to discuss further cooperation with CICA.

 

CICA delegation at the World Bank, October 12, 2022



Global Project Assessment Method (GLOPRAM)

CICA is actively supporting the Global Project Assessment Method, developed by Jeanne Amar, Lecturer at the University of Nice Côte d’Azur and Vincent Piron, Economy and Transport Specialist and co-Chairman of the CICA working group on Long Term Financing of Infrastructure. GLOPRAM is a methodology for evaluating the medium-to-long-term fiscal return generated by the various infrastructure categories. This methodology covers both the construction of new infrastructure and the maintenance/rehabilitation of existing ones. It provides a more detailed assessment of the sustainability of the public debt incurred for the construction of infrastructure. The GLOPRAM facilitates the decision-making for public and private investment choices. This method aims at providing a neutral indication of the social, environmental, and economic expenditures and returns an infrastructure will generate over time. 

Learn more: Global Project Assessment Method (GLOPRAM) – CICA/Glopram | Global Project Assessment Method

 

CICA continues working with the World Association of Public Private Partnerships Units and Professionals (WAPPP) 

CICA and WAPPP have formed a Strategic Partnership. This cooperation agreement aims at promoting more sustainable and successful public-private partnerships.

Learn more: The Latest from CICA (mailchi.mp)

 

CICA's involvement in the Blue Dot Network Initiative 

The Blue Dot Network (BDN) was initially a United States, Australian and Japanese initiative. It is now under a more technical development supported by the OECD.

This private sector focused initiative aims to deliver a certification to promote quality infrastructure investment that is open, inclusive, transparent, economically efficient, financially viable, resilient, environmentally, and socially sustainable and compliant with international standards, laws, and regulations. CICA is a member of the Executive Consultation Group since the inception and participates in the different working groups meetings.

Learn more: https://www.oecd.org/corporate/oecd-and-the-blue-dot-network.htm