News Detail

Connecting with the Middle East and North Africa

2/1/2024

In my January memo, I gave an account of the unveiling of ACI CODE-323-24, Low-Carbon Concrete—Code and Commentary, at COP28 in Dubai, UAE. The Dubai event was part of a presidential visit that included three other countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region: the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Egypt. This trip was planned and organized by Ahmad Mhanna, ACI Middle East Regional Director, and Bernie Pekor, ACI International Business Development Director. In the cities we visited (Riyadh, Muscat, Dubai, Cairo, and Alexandria), we conducted meetings with various local authorities and professionals and visited research centers and universities. Furthermore, we participated in two conferences (the ACI Middle East Concrete Conference on Codes, Standards, and Best Practices, Riyadh, and the Eleventh Alexandria International Conference [AICSGE-11], Alexandria), one workshop (organized by the Muscat Municipality), and the International Big 5 Global, Dubai, with participation and presentations by ACI staff and ACI international members.

The commitment and continuous presence of ACI in the MENA Region is part of the Institute’s strategic vision that started with the opening of the office in Dubai and is intended to provide technical and educational support to the thriving construction industry that has no parallel in the world. It is a multifaceted approach that includes critical components, such as the establishment of local chapters (students and professionals), training of the workforce through certification (also for engineers to show proficiency in ACI 318), and support for the adoption of ACI codes and specifications. For the success of this strategy, it is essential to engage local practitioners and the next generation of engineers.

Tangible results cannot be the outcome of sporadic visits. Rather, continual effort and interaction are required, and through those we have built credibility, confidence, and respect. Without any doubt, there is a worldwide awareness of the technical competence of ACI in the space of concrete construction as well as in the quality of its documents. However, awareness alone is not sufficient for developing a working relationship. This requires presence and commitment that are at the foundation of trust.

The use of concrete as the primary construction material in the MENA Region is at unprecedented levels, and it is expected that in the next decades this growth will extend to the rest of the African continent. In the case of Saudi Arabia, there are several giga projects (each of them having access to billions of dollars to fund their developments) beyond the well-known City of NEOM, namely: Qiddiya, Roshn, Red Sea, and Diriyah. We had an opportunity to visit Diriyah—the city of earth, a mixed-use development spread over 5.5 square miles (14.2 km²) on the outskirts of Riyadh adjacent to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of At-Turaif. Saudi Arabia has been recognized as the world’s fastest-growing tourism destination among the G20 countries, and this is a trend that can only further increase due to the occurrence of international events such as the World Expo 2030 (announced on November 28, 2023, during our visit in Riyadh) and the FIFA World Cup 2034.

In Egypt, we visited iconic buildings (and a stadium with seating for 92,000 spectators) in the New Administrative Capital located about 30 miles (48 km) east of Cairo, halfway to the seaport city of Suez. The New Administrative Capital will accommodate government, ministries, and embassies. Over an area of about 270 square miles (700 km²), it is expected to house a population of 6.5 million people. How can ACI not be part of what is occurring in the MENA Region? We have a moral obligation to not only share our current knowledge, but to also learn from these projects to make construction safer and more sustainable.

One of the reasons for traveling is to learn about engineers and their projects. Contrary to architects, engineers do not spend much time recognizing and celebrating the exceptional works of our peers. During my visit in Egypt, we stayed at one of the most iconic and historic hotels in Cairo overlooking the Nile River. From my room on the ninth floor, I could see two remarkable structures: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building, rising to more than 40 stories, and the 6th of October Bridge, a key part of a main artery in Cairo carrying more than 100,000 cars daily. I later found out that both structures were designed by the late Michel Bakhoum, a renowned structural professor and engineer, and one of the most famous and pioneering engineers in Egypt and the region. Bakhoum was one of the early introducers of prestressed concrete in Egypt, and a leader in its application in numerous structures (bridges, buildings, and silos). He received two PhDs in structural engineering, the first from Cairo University in 1945, and the second from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) in 1948. Bakhoum was an ACI member from 1943 until he passed in 1981. Throughout his career in academia, he published multiple archival papers. These include three papers in the ACI Journal Proceedings, focusing on stresses in concrete sections during his time at UIUC, as well as supervising four experimental theses at Cairo University in the then-nascent field of prestressed concrete.

Bakhoum co-founded the first structural engineering consulting firm in Egypt, ACE Consulting Engineers (Moharram – Bakhoum). Today, ACE has more than 70 years of experience and has grown to more than 1300 professionals. He would later lead the full design of the 6th of October Bridge in the 1970s. The bridge, constructed by the cantilever carriage method, was the first bridge to be fully designed and constructed by Egyptian engineers, technicians, and laborers. To this day, Bakhoum is still remembered as an exceptional teacher, researcher, structural engineer, and company manager.

With Egypt embarking on an ambitious journey to revolutionize its cities and infrastructure in the past decade, ACE was at the forefront of leading the design and supervision of many of the new iconic structures in Egypt’s New Administrative Capital. These venues are among the largest in Africa and the Middle East. On our way to the Mediterranean city of Alexandria to attend AICSGE-11, we crossed over the new Rod El Farag Cable-Stayed Bridge (Tahya Misr). This Guinness World Records holder and Post-Tensioning Institute (PTI) award-winning bridge boasts 12 lanes of traffic, making it the widest cable-stayed bridge in the world (about 280 ft [85 m]).

I cannot provide details of every single activity we participated in; however, I want to mention the last event I attended on December 19, 2023, in Alexandria, Egypt. It was the National Egg Protection Device Competition held at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport. Thirty teams from 12 engineering schools participated in this event with stellar enthusiasm. I rarely feel optimistic about the future, but in instances like this one, when I am among our future professionals, I realize that hope becomes reality. It was a privilege to be part of this event that mirrors what I witnessed in other countries I visited this year. Whether it be Morocco, Mexico, or Indonesia, the students’ desire to be involved and make a difference is palpable. Let’s keep on investing in our next generations!

Antonio Nanni