Lao civil engineers gain international acceptance
Lao civil engineers gain international acceptance
The work of Lao civil engineers has gained an international reputation and acceptance after completing a number of mega construction design projects around the world over the past few years.
At a one-floor house office in Vientiane, a group of Lao engineers sit in front of their computers, eyes focused on the screens while clicking their mouses and drawing the structure of a hydropower plant in France, hoping to finalise the mega construction design within the year.
Other engineers are working on the design of factory facilities and roads in France, 10-long-hours flight time from Laos. It's not only construction design projects in France they are working on, but also many others from around the world, with one of their outstanding projects being design work of a bridge in Africa.
The man who behind the success of these Lao civil engineers is 46 year old Mr (Phone)Axel Anothai, who decided to open Anothai Consulting in Vientiane in 2009. Since then he has spent a lot of his time training Lao civil engineers to meet international standards. Partnering with ISC French designer in Paris since 2011 (Vinci group).
“Lao civil engineers can work for international projects if they are trained and supervised properly,” Mr Anothai said in an interview with journalists from Vientiane Times and Le Renovateur . “What they need to learn is how to work for international projects.”
Mr Anothai was born in Laos but educated in France; he got a civil engineering degree from ESTP Ecole d' Ingenieur in France. With over 25 years experience, he has been involved in the design of outstanding construction projects in France, Peru, Qatar and Monaco and Egypt.
Two of the jobs which have made him proud are the designs of railway construction projects in France and the Metro in Cairo, Egypt. He said he not only designed the projects but also helped to train people on how to create the civil engineering design.
He said that after several years of working for international firms, he decided to setup Anothai Consulting so he could become a subcontractor. With the love of his country and people in mind, he decided to train Lao personnel in 2011 for the first time and brought a dozen Lao engineers to help design a parking lot with 2800 places in Qatar.
“I have trained a number of engineers from many countries and I realised that I needed to train Lao people. Lao people can do the same jobs as foreigners,” he said.
Mr Anothai said that one of the main reasons which made him decide to open the company in Laos was due to his love of the country, adding that he and his family enjoy living in Laos where they have relatives and friends to take care each other.
“I find that there's no place better than home; that's why I decided to come back,” he said.
Improved communication facilities in Laos, such as provision of high speed internet, has also made his job easier to contact and stay in touch with his customers overseas.
He also expressed optimism of getting more work in Laos as construction in the country is booming. He added that his company can help design hydropower plants, railway and other mega construction projects.
He emphasised the importance of civil engineering, which can help investors save their budget if they have good project designs. He added that good construction project designs also help protect the environment.
Countries around the world were paying greater attention to protecting the environment and therefore, well planned designs for construction projects were very important, he explained.
Mr Anothai also expressed hope that Laos can become a country which can export design work for construction projects once the Asean Economic Community is established in 2015. He also expects to gain more design work over next few years once the regional community takes place.
vientiane times
