Addis Abeba — As part of the University Capacity Building Program (UCBP), Ethiopian Construction firms participated in the 'Bautec Construction Industry Trade Fair' held from 19 - 23 February 2008 in Berlin, Germany.

According to the report from UCBP officials, 27 representatives from the Ethiopian construction sector, the Construction Contractors Association of Ethiopia (CCAE) and Ministry of Works and Urban Development (MoWUD) participated in the trade fair for the five days visiting scenarios. The participants have had the opportunity to observe and share experiences on latest construction equipments, softwares and techniques, thus creating awareness about the benefits of modern technologies.

Demisew Abate, Managing Director of Equator Engineering Construction plc. opined that the trade fair enabled his company identify its position at the international level.

"We understood the construction systems from beginning to end and also learnt how to manage time by using machine-intensive technologies," Demisew said.

The coordinator of Capacity Building Construction to University Capacity Building Program, Mr. Martin Hintereder, says that the trade fair visit, as part of the on-the-job capacity development project, aims at the modernization of the Ethiopian construction sector. The Ministry of Education (MoE) and Ministry of Capacity Building (MoCB) fund and guide the UCBP; the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ IS) is the implementation agent.

According to Martin Hintereder, the program covers the entire value chain within the construction sector including construction management consultants, architects and engineering companies, construction companies, local and regional enterprises and cooperatives. These firms receive support in adopting modern contract, financial and equipment management, as well as the ISO 9001:2000 quality management system.

As described by Steffi Noelting, Public Relations UCBP, the design and construction of 13 universities on 15 sites is carried out by Ethiopian companies. 121,000 students will be admitted until the end of 2009. Already now, 24,000 students live and study on all UCBP functional campuses while the construction continues on the other buildings of the university site.

Describing the scope of the UCBP, Mr. Martin says "the program identifies new methods and adapts the technologies to the Ethiopian context for improved quality and cost effective methodology that allows rapid construction and subsequent increase in the intake of students to each universities." Another participant of the trade fair, Elias Mamo, the General Manager of Macro General Contractor and Trading PLC notes that the fair visit helped to share experiences on methods and techniques of construction, design, subcontracting and implementing projects.

He adds "I can say from my observation that we need to work more in the area of handling tenders, contracting and invoicing as well as subcontracting as interlinked process".

GTZ IS Program Management Unit Coordinator Addisalem Nega, on his part, observed that participating contractors of such scenarios is of paramount importance and the results are seen from past visitors who are tending towards international competitiveness.

Furthermore, the information about the Bautec 2008 trade fair indicates that 780 exhibitors from 18 countries introduced the latest techniques in the areas of construction machinery, building materials, associations and consultants and other areas related to building and construction safety and facilities.