No Objection Certificate (NOC) Program
CLIENT: Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Center
LOCATION: Abu Dhabi, UAE
STARTING YEAR: 2011
Under the direction and support of Abu Dhabi Government and in an ongoing effort to realize the government objectives, Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Centre (ADSIC) has initiated the No Objection Certificate Program for Utilities and Infrastructure in Abu Dhabi (NOC) as a strategic government initiative. Within a collaborative partnership framework with ADSIC, The GPC Group has embarked on addressing the project strategic planning and implementation by combining local expertise with global sound practices. The business engagement was initiated in 2011 with the Master Planning phase while the three-stage-program implementation started in early 2013. The program was designed in collaboration with the municipalities and 19 stakeholder entities to streamline NOC operations and operating procedures among all the stakeholders, which shall contribute to improving the efficiency of permits and approvals procedures and processes. The Vision of the NOC Program is to enable “An investor friendly government and society proactively encouraging and facilitatingsustainable and resilient community development opportunities in Abu Dhabi”.
The NOC Program initiation was triggered by the rapid pace of urban development in Abu Dhabi which fuels an average of 15,000 permits and approvals transactions annually. These result in approximately 100,000 No-Objection-Certificate (NOC) transactions being prompted every year by public, private and government entities, with each having to endure the processing complexities of the system. Such complexity consumes excessive time and effort by involved parties, thus adding financial burden on investors. Therefore, the prime objectives of the program focused on protecting valuable infrastructure assets, enhancing integrated government business processes, raising customer satisfaction and improving the overall investment environment.
In delivering the NOC Project’s planning, GPC employed its methodology which included addressing the NOC process full life cycle and tackling the business, institutional and technological frameworks to ensure delivering a comprehensive solution with tangible short and long term results. To make sure the NOC Common Solution satisfies business needs while being feasible to implement and deploy, continuous involvement of stakeholders is integrated within the program development processes. The NOC Program is planned along three stages of implementation: the foundation and establishment stage, the reinforcement and institutionalization stage, and the adaptation and performance management stage. The current foundation and establishment stage includes the development of a governance framework, implementing a common NOC Solution and addressing related policies and legislations. The reinforcement and institutionalization stage includes integrating with and supporting the development of individual entities’ NOC systems, the implementation of a one-call location facility and further developing the institutional and governance tracks. The final stage focuses on the adaptation and performance management, which includes the development of systematic processes for continually improving management practices and policies and reaching a matured integration with Abu-Dhabi e-Government Program.
Having the NOC Program sustainable success as the ultimate goal, a multifaceted operations approach is adopted in the implementation phase which includes: securing the commitment and collaboration of all stakeholders; developing a solid governance model; conducting capacity building; aligning related business processes unification of roles and responsibilities among the stakeholders entities; securing the availability of high quality data and leveraging related government services, among other activities. Today, the NOC program community has expended covering stakeholders from various sectors including municipal, utilities, transport, oil & gas, safety & security among others. Each entity is represented by specialists from various business and technical domains related to NOCs including strategy & planning, corporate services, asset management & planning, projects, customer service, IT/GIS, HSE, and permits & approvals. The continual integration of all business, technical and human aspects topped with a close supervision and continuous direct support from the leadership are among the most critical factors of the NOC Program.