The Ethiopian Chapter of the American Concrete Institute (ACI) has honoured Nigussie Tebege, professor emeritus, for his outstanding lifetime achievements in the Ethiopian construction industry, at a ceremony held at the Addis Hilton Hotel.
Concluding its third annual event on March 4, 2013, the Institute also selected Mugher Cement Enterprise, the nation’s first industrial cement manufacturer, for the contributions it has made to the industry, since its founding in the early 1980s.
A practicing structural engineer, Nigussie, 71, is the founder and manager of ACME Consulting Company, as well as being the founder of Africa Networks of Scientific Technological Institutions(ANSTI) and Zede journal – a journal of the Ethiopian Society of Engineers & Architects (EAEA). He came on Thursday, adorning a rare suit, and wearing a tie spotted with the current logos of Addis Abeba University, where he taught structural engineering for over a generation.
He was chair of the committee within the University, as head of the technology department, when the logo, which was designed by Alefelge Selam, a prominent Ethiopian painter, was selected, back in the late 1990s. Close to 200 engineers, architects and students from the Addis Ababa Institute of Technology (AAiT) honoured him with a standing ovation, at the grand ballroom at the Hilton.
“I’ve never seen people moved in recognition of the contribution someone makes in his long career,” Abebe Dinku (Prof), president of the ACI-Ethiopia Chapter, told Fortune.
The ACI-Ethiopia Chapter is a member of ACI International, which is based in the United States. It is the first chapter in sub-Saharan Africa and the third in continental Africa, next to Algeria and Egypt. The Chapter began recognising individuals and companies with notable contributions to the industry from last year.
It was Varnero Construction that was selected last year, in recognition of its services in building many of the landmark structures in Addis Abeba over the past 40 years. Examples of which include; the Addis Abeba Municipality and the circular built headquarters of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE).
“We chose them based on what they have contributed to society, in the construction industry,” said Ephraim Senbetta (PhD), founder and executive committee member of the Chapter. “But, there is no monetary reward for such awardees. It is just to show our respect for them.”
ACI-Ethiopia honoured Nigussie for his contributions in the design and construction of concrete structures in Ethiopia. Born in Debretabor, Gonder, and trained in the United States, Nigussie has received his doctoral degree from Lehigh University. He is hailed for his role in revising the nation’s building code, in 2012\13.
He has his hands all over the design and supervision works of structures, such as; the AAiT library, Dashen Bank in Adama, Getu Commercial Centre, Meaza, Johny and Afework buildings, and the headquarters for Awash bank and insurance. But, he is more known for crisscrossing the country, supervising the constructions of bridges over the rivers of Kechin, Angereb, Serde and Tekeze.
In the capital, his fingerprints are engrained on the constructions of roundabouts on roads in Sarbet, Olympia and Wollo Sefer roundabouts, as well as the Rwanda flyover and Meshualikia railway line. Nigussie has also redesigned, in order to reinforce, bridges on the Abay and Gilgel Gibe II sites, which now allow vehicles up to 213tn weight, up from 146tn, to pass through.
“I’m surprised,” Nigussie, a father of four, told Fortune. “I didn’t expect this.”
Another unexpected receiver of recognition was Mugher Cement Enterprise, a state owned plant erected in 1984, near Mugher River, located 90Km west of Addis Abeba.
Known for its records for good corporate social responsibility, Mugher has succeeded in increasing its production capacity amost five-fold last year, from half a million tonnes a decade ago.
Employing close to 20,000 workers, the state owned cement plant has a cement grinder in the Tatek area, at the outskirts of Addis. It is in the final stage of launching the production of a variety of cement constructions on Gilgel Gibe III and the Great Renaissance dams, according to Mekonen Zergaw, Chief Executive Officer of Mugher.
Nigussie Tebege.
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