9th World Construction Symposium from 9-10 July

The World Construction Symposium – 2021, organised by The Ceylon Institute of Builders (CIOB) and Building Economics and Management Research Unit (BEMRU), Department of Building Economics, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka will be held from 9-10 July. 

Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, this year’s World Construction Symposium will be held online as a virtual event. The theme of the WCS2021 will be ‘Reshaping construction: Strategic, Structural & Cultural Transformations towards the Next Normal’. The inauguration will take place on 9 July at 3 p.m. with participation local and global academics and professionals in the construction industry. The symposium website is being constantly updated and could be accessed at www.ciobwcs.com.

This annual symposium will provide a special forum for researchers and practitioners in the areas of built environment and construction industry related research worldwide to share their knowledge, experiences and research findings.

Expressing his views on the proposed 9th World Construction Symposium, Ceylon Institute of Builders President Dr. Rohan Karunaratne said: “In the midst of this global pandemic, prioritising the health and safety of our symposium participants, including the researchers, practitioners, students, partners, sponsors and everyone who works tirelessly to help make WCS a reality each year, is our main concern. Hence, this year’s symposium will take a hybrid form with virtual paper presentations and minimal onsite participants for inauguration and sum-up events. This will allow us to connect with our global WCS community and share our research and experiences while ensuring the health and safety of participants. We are confident that together we can make WCS2021 a successful and rewarding experience as ever for our delegates, speakers and sponsors.

“The advancement of green building practices was identified by the CIOB Council as one of the possible avenues of making Sri Lanka a more sustainable place to live in. With the objective of giving an impetus to the industry, the CIOB Council decided to hold the first World Construction Symposium – 2012 jointly with the International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB) and the University of Moratuwa. We need to create greater awareness on green buildings amongst all industry stakeholders in Sri Lanka. The CIOB took the initiative of sufficiently educating itself on the concept of green buildings, and embark on chartering a course for future work to encourage the construction of green buildings in Sri Lanka.”

The Ceylon Institute of Builders is the premier professional body of building and construction professionals established 1961 in Sri Lanka. Its membership comprises architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, construction companies and builders, etc. The institute is affiliated to the Chartered Institute of Builders of the UK and the Council of Research and Innovation in Building and Construction in The Netherlands. It has also developed partnerships with the Construction Federation of India and Building and Construction Authority of Singapore. 

The Main Sponsor will be Siam City Cement (Lanka) Ltd. and Event Sponsors will be Nippon Paint Lanka Ltd. and S-Lon Lanka Ltd., while Tokyo Cement Group, Taian Lanka Steel Company Ltd., Sanken Construction Ltd., Nawaloka Construction Ltd., AKK Engineers Ltd., Sripalie Contractors Ltd., Sierra Cables PLC and True Value Products Ltd. will join as Industry Sponsors.

Chairperson of the World Construction Symposium is Prof. Chitra Weddikkara. Prof. Yasangika Sandanayake is the Chairman of the Scientific Committee and Prof. A.K.W. Jayawardena will be the Chief Guest of the Symposium.

Keynote Speakers of the WCS 2021 will be Dr. Ioannis Brilakis and Prof. Steve Rowlinson. Prof. Mike Kagioglou, Dr. Priyath Bandu Wickrama, Eng. Nissanka Wijeratne, Prof. Andrew Ross and A.P. Gajendran will serve as the panellists and Ch.Qs. Suranga Jayasena will be moderator.

CIOB President Dr. Rohan Karunaratne, CIOB Secretary Eng. Saliya Kaluarachchi, CIOB Vice President Ruwan de Silva, CIOB Vice President Jaikish Tudawe, WCS Chairperson Prof. Chitra Weddikkara, WCS Co-Chair Eng. Sagara Gunawardena, and WCS Co-Chair Kalana Alwis will participate. 

Co-Chairpersons are Prof. Mike Kagioglou, Prof. Andrew Ross, A.P. Gajendran, Ministry of Water Supply Secretary Dr. Eng. Priyath Bandu Wickrama and Chamber of Construction Industry Sri Lanka Secretary General CEO Eng. Nissanka Wijeratne.