Engineering the Ground Beneath
Mena’s Mega Projects

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2 DAYS. 18 CPD POINTS. REAL INDUSTRY INSIGHT.

Join IGIC KSA 2026 and earn 18 CPD points while exploring the latest developments, project challenges and innovations shaping geotechnical and ground engineering across Saudi Arabia and the wider region.

Conference Overview

The 3rd Annual International Ground Innovation Conference (IGIC 2026) is MENA’s leading ground engineering platform, purpose-built to support the region’s, especially Saudi Arabia’s, unprecedented scale of infrastructure, urban, mining, and giga-project developments. The conference brings together project owners, contractors, consultants, technology and machinery providers shaping the future of ground engineering in MENA and the wider markets.

IGIC 2026 Objectives

  • Support the delivery of MENA’s mega and giga projects by bridging the gap between design and limitations arising from challenging ground conditions, enabling timely on-site execution
IGIC 2026

Event In Numbers

Engineering • Innovation • Industry
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Technical Advisory Committee

Keynote Speakers

Geotechnical Manager
Cerema

Professor
University of Coimbra

Geotechnical Engineer
SRK Consulting

Professor, Department of Energy Resources Engineering College of Engineering
Seoul National University / Vice President for Asia, ISRM

Distinguished University Professor Director
Thompson Centre for Engineering Leadership & Innovation Western University

Founder Director
BUET-JIDPUS

Associate Director
Rock Mechanics

Abstract Submission is Now Open

We invite practitioners, researchers and technical experts conducting extensive work in the field of geotechnics and ground engineering in the MENA to submit abstracts. Deadline: 31 August 2026

PUBLISH YOUR PAPER

If your work / research focuses on geotechnical engineering in the MENA region, we invite you to submit Abstract for consideration.

Accepted papers will be published in the Journal of Geotechnical Innovation under Emirates Scholar, the official publishing partner of IGIC 2026.

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Current and Upcoming Mega Projects in MENA

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Primary Delegate

$25

Workshop
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$999

Vendor Delegate

$999

VENUE & ACCOMMODATION

Venue Information

Accommodation

Kindly note that we don’t have an accommodation link. The guaranteed room is only enough for speakers and staff. You can secure your booking at Fairmont Riyadh by contacting the reservations department at your earliest convenience.

Visa Information

For visa invitation letter requests, please email operations@gmevents.ae and include the event name in your subject line: 3rd Annual International Geotechnical Innovation Conference – Visa Invitation Letter Request.

*Please note that there is a fee for the issuance of a visa invitation letter. We collaborate with a local partner who provides these letters specifically for visa application purposes.

Travel Information

Great Minds Events has partnered with the following travel agency for all your travel needs. For any inquiries regarding flight bookings, please contact the agency below and copy aura@gmevents.ae  for a prompt response.

Nitheesh TR

Venue

Fairmont Riyadh,
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Dr. Sebastien Burlon

Geotechnical Expert, Cerema

Sébastien Burlon is a geotechnical expert in Cerema, the major French public agency for developing public expertise in the fields of urban planning and ecological and energy transition. His expertise in geotechnical engineering covers various aspects based on experiences in both private and public companies: geotechnical structure design and consultancy (soil structure interaction, numerical modelling), research and development by leading national and European projects, teaching in various universities and standardization. He has been strongly involved in the development of the 2nd generation of Eurocode 7 for which a specific safety framework has been developed for numerical modelling and he is now the Vice-Chair of Eurocode 7.

Pedro Simao Pinto

Consulting Engineer

Education: Licentiate in Civil Engineering (6-year course, 1965-1971) (with honors);

from 1971 to 1975 worked with Industry; Master of Engineering (1975 – 1977) (with high honors); 1977-1978 – Fulbright scholarship granted by USA with training periods in MIT (Boston, USA), United States Bureau of Reclamation

(Denver), and University of California (Berkeley); Specialist in Geotechnique (Ph.D Level) 1979 – 1983 (with high honors); from 1992 – Director of Research (Full Professor level) (with high honors).

ISSMGE Since 2021 Advisor for HTC of ISSMGE, Appointed ISSMGE Board member (2017-2022), and before Immediate Past President (2009-2013), President (2005-2009), Vice President for Europe (2001-2005) and Chairman of TC4 “Earthquake Geotechnical Engineer Committee” (1994-2000).

Positions: President of Scientific Committee of XVII ECSMGE (2024),

– Member of the European Union Academy of Sciences

– Fellow of the Portuguese Institute of Engineers

– Past Member of the ICOLD Committee on Seismic Aspects of Dams

– Past Member of the Portuguese Committee of Large Dams

– Research Director of LNEC (currently retired)

– Full Professor of Geotechnical Engineering of University of Coimbra (1995-2005), currently retired),

– World Bank Consulting for Dams Safety (2013-2015),

– Professor of Master Courses “Soil Mechanics” and “Engineering Geology” of New University of Lisbon (1983-1995),

– United Nations Consulting for Design and Instrumentation for Dams (1988-1992).

– Invited Guest Lecturer of the University of California, USA (1992-1994).

– President of Portuguese Society for Geotechnique (1996- 2000).

Professional Experience: Pedro Sêco e Pinto is a Consulting Engineer and has participated in more than 450 major projects in Dams, Power plants, Bridges, Tunnels, Landslides and Quay Walls, in Portugal, Angola, Argelie, Brazil, Cabo Verde, China, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guine- Bissau, Guine Ecuatorial, India, Lebanon, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Senegal, Syria, Tunisia, Uganda, Venezuela and Zambia, covering field and laboratory testing, dynamic analyses, earthquake engineering, numerical analyses, ground improvement, slopes, special foundations, instrumentation and safety evaluation.

Lectures: He has presented more than 350 State-of-the Art Lectures and Special Lectures in 80 countries of the 5 Continents.

Awards: Pedro Sêco e Pinto has received more than 50 international Awards including 3rd Victor de Mello Lecture, 3rd Braja Das Lecture, American Biographical Institute USA, “Special Volume for the Contributors of Earthquake Engineering, Nagadi Lecture by Indian Geotechnical Society, Széchy Lecture by Hungarian S M Society and Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Nonveiller Lecture by Croatia Geotechnical Society, Sukle Lecture by Slovenia Soil Mechanics Society, Chin Lecture by Huanzhou University (China), Qian Jia Huan Lecture by Hohai University (China) and Chin Fung Kee Memorial Lecture by Institute of Engineers of Malasia.

Journals: Related to his role with Editorial Boards and Reviewer, he acted as:

– Associate Editor of International Journal of Earthquake Engineering (since 2017)

– Editor in Chief of International Journal of Case Histories (2011-2017)

– Co-Editor of Geotechnical and Geological Engineering Journal, Springer Publisher (2005-2011)

– Member of Editorial Board of several Journals, namely: “Geotecnia”, “Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering”, “Acta de Geotecnia”, “International Journal of Geotechnical Engineering” and SEAG Journal.

Author/Co-Author: Pedro Sêco e Pinto is the author or co-author of 500 Technical and Scientific Reports, more than 185 papers for national and international conferences and journals, and has contributed to 15 Books.

Editor: of the Proceedings of 6 International Conferences.

Dr. Alejo O. Sfriso

Geotechnical Engineer SRK Consulting

Dr. Alejo O. Sfriso is a geotechnical engineer at SRK Consulting with more than three decades of professional experience. Dr. Sfriso is widely recognized for expertise in the design, analysis, and optimization of geotechnical projects, with a particular focus on advanced numerical methods and construction procedures. Professional experience spans projects in more than 25 countries and covers a broad range of soil and rock mechanics applications, including tunnels, embankments, dams, foundations, retaining structures, slopes, and mine waste facilities. Alongside professional practice, Dr. Sfriso has served at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) since 1989. Academic and professional outreach includes more than 100 courses and lectures delivered worldwide, as well as authorship of over 100 technical and scientific publications. Leadership in the discipline is underscored by service as Vice President for South America of the International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) from 2017 to 2022, and as President of the Argentinean Society for Geotechnical Engineering from 2011 to 2015.

Prof. Ki-Bok Min

Professor, Department of Energy Resources Engineering College of Engineering Seoul National University / Vice President for Asia, ISRM

Ki-Bok Min is Professor of Geomechanics in the Department of Energy Resources Engineering at Seoul National University (SNU). He received his BSc and MSc from SNU and his PhD in Engineering Geology from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden. His research focuses on anisotropic rock mechanics and coupled processes in fractured rock, with applications to the geological disposal of nuclear waste and enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). He has also served as a guest scientist at the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in 2025 and 2022, respectively. He is Associate Editor of the International Journal of Rock Mechanics and Mining Sciences, ISRM Vice President for Asia (2023–2027), and Chair of the Organizing Committee for the 16th ISRM Congress, which will be held in Seoul in 2027.

Prof. M. Hesham El Naggar

Distinguished University Professor Director, Thompson Centre for Engineering Leadership & Innovation Western University

Dr. Hesham El Naggar is a Distinguished University professor and a world leader in foundation dynamics and geotechnical earthquake engineering. He is an elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Academy of Engineering, the Engineering Institute of Canada and the American Society for Civil Engineers. He is Editor-In-Chief of International Journals of Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, and Urban Resilience and Earthquake Engineering.

He advanced the state-of-the-art in soil-structure interaction analysis and design of foundations for dynamic loads. He published more than 800 technical papers and book chapters including 565 papers in selective and prestigious journals (21,500+ citations, H72, i423). Dr. El Naggar graduated more than 180 PhD and Master students. In recognition of his outstanding research contributions, He received many prestigious awards including the Cross-Canada Lecture Tour, Geosynthetics, Meyerhof and Canadian Geotechnical Colloquium Speaker Awards from the Canadian Geotechnical Society and the Ontario Professional Engineers Medal for Engineering Research & Development. His work was recognized with several best paper Awards in international journals and conferences.