CEMEX Announces the First Phase of "CEMEX Building Award 2016" Winners

• CEMEX initiative aims at developing a culture of innovation and creativity in the field of construction
• Ramon Piza: Our purpose is to build a better future and offer a sustainable development for Egypt and Egyptians

As an affirmation of CEMEX leading role in supporting innovation and creative projects, and its belief that innovation is one of the main pillars for development, progress, and nations’ welfare, CEMEX in Egypt has organized an event on Tuesday the 17th of May, 2016 to announce the winners of ”CEMEX Building Award 2016”. This year marked the 25th anniversary of the award on the global level, and the 6th anniversary in Egypt. The participation of Egypt in this award comes as a result of the collaborative efforts between the government and the private sector to develop and advance the Egyptian construction sector.

The event was held under the auspices of Dr. Mustafa Madbouli, the Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities, and under the auspices and in the presence of Engineer Yasser Al Desouki, Assiut Governor, and General Ahmed Taimour, the Acting Governor of Cairo. Mr. Ricardo Ballesteros, the Attaché of International Cooperation and Commercial Affairs of Mexico in Egypt has also attended the event, in addition to a number of outstanding construction companies that participated in the award, as well as a number of CEMEX in Egypt key representatives. During the event the nine winning projects of the award first phase were announced, and were declared qualified for the second phase of the award. During this second phase winners will be selected on a global level which is planned to take place next November in Mexico.

In the event, the Country Manager of CEMEX in Egypt, Mr. Ramon Piza has commended the remarkable role of Egypt on both the regional and international levels, and in his speech he stated that " the mega national projects that Egypt has launched in recent times will make the country a hub for foreign investments, which will contribute to building a “New Egypt”, pointing out that this objective is fully consistent with CEMEX purpose.

Piza stressed in his speech that building a better future for Egypt and Egyptians is a shared objective that is reflected in the initiatives executed by CEMEX which revolve around sustainable development, production quality, high efficiency, the development of human resources, and disseminating a culture of innovation and creativity in the field of construction, which made CEMEX products occupies the leading position in its industry. Piza also referred to CEMEX social efforts in Egypt which aim at developing education, protecting the environment, and creating a generation of distinguished Egyptian athletes.

Piza concluded his speech confirming that CEMEX in Egypt will proceed with its role of supporting innovation and creativity together with promoting quality to maintain the uniqueness that is known about the Egyptians since the beginning of history.

Following Piza’s speech, Mr. Jesus Cavides, the Marketing and Commercial Vice President of CEMEX in Egypt, explained the details of the award and the proceedings of the local phase in which remarkable innovative and distinct projects have participated from Egypt, and which was concluded by selecting a winner for each of the award nine categories that complied with the award global standards. These categories include as an example: affordable housing for the low income segment, infrastructure projects, and projects that serve the purposes of sustainability.

The admission for the award has started in February 2016, and was closed last March. The evaluation of participating projects was concluded in April, and winners were announced on the evening of the 17th of May, 2016.

The award focuses mainly on national projects that serve developmental aspects such as low cost housing projects, infrastructure projects similar to Assiut Power Plant, New Assiut Barrages, and the concrete Cairo-Suez highway that were all winners for this year.

“CEMEX Building Award” aims at supporting innovation and continuous development, encouraging creative constructional ideas, and highlighting outstanding works in the field of construction that add value to the field, and address its usual and repetitive problems.

The award encompasses two phases: a local phase which is carried out on the country level- in this case, the Arab Republic of Egypt, and a global phase that is organized on the level of all countries where business units of CEMEX operate.

The local phase includes the participation of Egyptian innovative and distinguished projects, and selecting a winner for each category of the award nine categories that comply with the identified global standards of the award.

“CEMEX Building Award” is one of the most outstanding awards in the field of construction that is only granted to the best and the most distinctive in the field of architecture and construction around the world.