De

Boer supplied facilities for a crucial international conference on the future

of Afghanistan staged in London and attended by

world leaders from more than 70 nations. 

The

International Conference on Afghanistan

attracted representatives of the coalition forces operating in the country along

with Afghanistan’s

newly-elected President Karzai and United Nations’ Secretary General Ban

Ki-Moon. 

De

Boer, one of the world leaders in the supply of temporary structures, provided

more than 5,500 square metres of accommodation in the grounds of Lancaster

House off Pall Mall where the summit was held. 

De

Boer was appointed by Host Broadcast specialists Feltech to provide a range of temporary

structures to form a press centre, media briefing rooms, broadcast studios,

delegates areas, catering, kitchen and toilet facilities for the event which

attracted more than 600 journalists from around the world. 

Construction

work on the mammoth project was conducted amid the tightest of security, with

De Boer and several hundred contractors also working through bitterly cold and

snowy conditions in one of the most severe winters the UK has seen in more than 30 years. 

Sales

Manager David Tunncliffe, who co-ordinated De Boer’s role in the event, said:

“This has certainly been one of the most challenging and demanding projects

that we have tackled.  Despite the severe

weather and the intense security involved, our team managed to ensure that the

structures were handed over on time. The fact the media centre is situated

within a royal park also provided further challenges for us. We had to ensure

that that trees and plants in the park were not damaged by the tonnes of

equipment shipped in.” 

A

huge Jumbo structure measuring 60x40 square metres formed the centre-piece of

the media village with range of 15 further structures including Alu Halls, Chalets,

Pyramids and the unique De Boer Walkway. In addition, De Boer was also

responsible for overseeing all carpentry, carpeting and heating requirements

within the structures. 

Brackley-based

De Boer has provided facilities for a number of major political and royal

events in the UK over recent years including the G8 Summit of world leaders at

Gleneagles, Scotland.

Internationally,

De Boer Group has also provided conference facilities inside Afghanistan where

the company supplied structures for an historic meeting of 1,500

representatives of Afghan tribes back in 2002 as part of the early discussions

on the democratic future of the country.

The

London conference on Thursday, January 28^th,

was arranged by UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown as part of the developing

democratic process in Afghanistan

and was hosted by Foreign Secretary David Miliband.

John

Cochrane, De Boer’s Sales Director – Events, said: “We are very proud to have

been selected to provide facilities for such an important international

conference.  Everyone hopes that this

event will help to bring about a peaceful resolution to the Afghan crisis. It’s

amazing to think that 10 years ago we shipped equipment into Kabul itself for an event which helped to

pave the way for the democratic processes which have now taken place and which

are on-going.

“This

particular project has been a massive challenge for our build team having to

cope with such severe weather conditions in London and working to a very tight schedule

amid strict security. However, once again it demonstrates De Boer’s ability to

deliver solutions fast and reliably for even the most sensitive or complex

functions.”

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