News Release

AECOM, Rice, UH to help modernize Libya's housing, infrastructure

Business Announcement

Rice University

Houston Mayor Bill White, Rice University, the University of Houston and AECOM Technology Corp. today announced a collaborative program to train Libyan engineers to build and maintain homes, roads and water systems in their homeland.

The initiative is part of a $50 billion-plus capital-improvement program managed by AECOM and the Libyan Housing and Infrastructure Board (HIB) to modernize urban housing and water systems for major Libyan cities. The project is being led from AECOM's Houston and Tripoli offices.

"The City of Houston is excited and honored to host the Libyan engineers over the next year as part of this program," White said at a news conference at Rice University, where he welcomed three senior HIB executives who will be living in Houston for a year. "Our city will play an integral role in the sustainability of Libyan housing and infrastructure as the HIB professionals study our public agencies and learn from our top research universities."

The initiative will include a civil and environmental engineering training program for HIB employees who are currently managing various parts of Libya's national infrastructure and housing.

"Rice University is pleased to partner with the University of Houston and other Texas institutions to provide the education and expertise that will contribute to improved living standards for the people of Libya," Rice President David Leebron said. "This kind of engagement builds knowledge and understanding that can build stronger relationships between our two countries and, in turn, contribute to a more prosperous and peaceful world."

The training is a 12- to 13-week program focusing on urban systems and urban development. The curriculum was developed by two of Houston's renowned engineering professors – Philip Bedient from Rice and Hanadi Rifai from the University of Houston – and is specifically tailored for the Houston-Libya Knowledge Transfer Program. Faculty from Rice, UH, Texas A&M and other institutions will teach numerous courses on water and wastewater treatment, road and bridge systems and residential development. Four groups of 25 students each will be trained over the next two years.

For the next year, the HIB executives – Abdulgader Mohamed Slama, Ibrahim M. Khalifa Shoukrie and Ali A. Rashaida – will participate in an intensive program to hone their project- and construction-management skills to help prepare them to oversee and maintain Libya's housing and infrastructure on a long-term basis.

The executives will tour projects, facilities, laboratories and other sites in the greater Houston area and learn firsthand from Houston's Public Works Department, area transportation officials and other public and private entities involved with housing- and infrastructure-related capital-management programs. In addition, they will explore capital-intensive projects managed by AECOM nationwide to learn about the issues and strategies employed in the delivery of large-scale, complex projects.

"Transfer of knowledge is an integral component of AECOM's long-term partnership with the Libyan Housing and Infrastructure Board," said Jim Thompson, president of AECOM Libya Housing and Infrastructure. "By spotlighting and sharing the expertise and best practices in urban development and engineering, AECOM – together with Rice University, the University of Houston, Texas A&M University and the City of Houston – will help the people of Libya enhance and sustain the built, natural and social environments of their country."

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