MEAP takes a leap with dedicated project management office

A dedicated project management office (PMO) is to be established for the ICAO Middle East Air Traffic Management Enhancement Programme (MEAP).
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A specialised project manager is to head the initiative and will be appointed within the next four months, according to Ahmed Ibrahim Al Jallaf, Assistant Director General, Air Navigation Services Provider of the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).

“An interim PMO, an industry-led initiative, has been put into place to get things moving,” said Al Jallaf (pictured left)  who chairs the MEAP Board. “We are working with international organisations to sponsor the initiative and the UAE will make an in-kind contribution.”

“The permanent PMO will look at developing the masterplan and evolve project charters and produce projected cost and benefit analysis and we anticipate the first studies coming through in time for the next ICAO MEAP meeting in Cairo in October.”

The ICAO MEAP initiative is aimed at developing regional co-operation for air traffic management and route network optimisation in one of the highest air traffic growth regions.

Al Jallaf was speaking on the side lines of the Global Airport Leaders Forum in Dubai when he said the way ahead for the industry required collaboration at national, regional and global levels.

The MAEP initiative, he said, is “a great demonstration of collaboration” and said a memorandum of agreement with the Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research (SESAR) initiative was a possibility “at some time in the future.”