3rd International Ground Innovation Conference (IGIC 2026)

The International Ground Innovation Conference (IGIC) is a geotechnical and ground engineering conference built around the ground challenges of Saudi Arabia's mega and giga projects. The third edition brings project owners, contractors, consultants, machinery and technology suppliers and academics to Riyadh for two conference days with an exhibition, preceded by a workshop day. Attendees can earn 18 CPD points, and accepted papers are published in the Journal of Geotechnical Innovation (Emirates Scholar).

Conference themes

The 2026 programme is organised around Saudi ground conditions and the delivery of large projects.

• Ground improvement for sabkha, collapsible and weak soils
• Tunnelling and trenchless works in karst and fractured rock
• Rock mechanics for hard-rock mega projects
• Geotechnics for the mining sector: tailings dams, pit slopes, underground excavation
• Geosynthetics, pavements and geo-environmental protection
• Geohazard management with LiDAR, InSAR and remote sensing
• AI, digital twins and data-driven geotechnical design
• Forensic geotechnics and contractual risk

Workshops

Pre-conference workshops are sold separately.

• Workshop A: PLAXIS 3D for Pile and Piled-Raft Foundations
• Workshop B: De-Risking the Mine (mining geotechnics)

Who attends

Government authorities, developers and project owners, main contractors, consultants, research institutions and universities, geotechnical contractors, laboratories and equipment manufacturers from across MENA and abroad.

Partners

The 2026 edition lists strategic partners including ISSMGE, the Deep Foundations Institute, the International Geosynthetics Society, ASCE's Geo-Institute, IAEG, ISRM and Deltares, with NYU Abu Dhabi as academic partner and ASTM as standards partner.

Tickets & passes

• Primary Delegate — USD 25: Government authorities, academia, consultants, research institutions, main contractors, developers; plus 5% VAT
• Vendor Delegate — USD 999: Geotechnical contractors, machinery manufacturers and solution providers; plus 5% VAT
• Workshop — USD 999: Workshop A (PLAXIS 3D) or Workshop B (De-Risking the Mine)