NEWS
Friday, 18 October 2024
EVENT TITLE: COURTESY VISIT OF ASSOCIATED CONSULTING ENGINEERS (ACE) LIMITED TO PLANADES AND UP SCHOOL OF URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING
Manila, Philippines, (October 18, 2024) - Last 7 October 2024, the Planning and Development Research Foundation, Inc. (PLANADES) invited three delegates from Associated Consulting Engineers (ACE) Limited- Mr. Khaja Moinuddin, Managing Director, Mr. Zahoor Ahmad, Chief Operating Officer, and Mr. Malik Waheed Ahmad, Regional Head Far East, for a courtesy visit at the PLANADES office located at the School of Urban and Regional Planning (SURP) Building, E. Jacinto St., University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City. PLANADES was represented by Dr. Mark Anthony Morales, President, Dr. David Leonides Yap, Vice President, Dr. Tabassam Raza, Executive Director, EnP Arlene Santiago, Corporate Secretary, EnP Jade Agapinan, Auditor, and Ms. Jenie Darang, Accountant and Human Resource Associate. Dr. Mark de Guzman was also present during the visit and represented DBAdsura Engineering Consultancy firm which is also one of the engineering consultancy partner firms of PLANADES, as well as Engr. Dianne Sanchez, Assistant Project Development Officer II, and Arch. Kristine Culaba, Assistant Project Development Officer I from PLANADES.
Photo 1: PLANADES and DBAdsuara Engineering Consultancy meeting with ACE Limited delegates at the PLANADES Board Room. From right in U shaped sitting arrangement is EnP Jade Agapinan, Mr. Zahoor Ahmad, Mr. Malik Waheed Ahmad, Mr. Khaja Moinuddin, EnP Arlene Santiago, in the center is Dr. Mark Anthony Morales, Dr. Tabassam Raza, Ms. Jenie Darang, Dr. David Leonides Yap, Dr. Mark de Guzman, and Engr. Dianne Sanchez
The courtesy visit on 7 October 2024, presided by Dr. Morales, provided a venue for a mutual exchange of ideas in areas of shared interest between the involved organizations. The delegates also met with Dr. Dina Magnaye, the current Dean of the School of Urban Planning (SURP) UP Diliman at the department’s building in UP Diliman. Discussions between PLANADES, UP SURP, ACE Limited, covered topics on the firms’ and institution’s areas of specialization and expertise, relevant projects, and scope of services, and possible future project collaborations among others.
Photo 2: Courtesy visit to UP SURP Dean’s Office, Siting in Roundtable arrangement from the right sitting Dean Dina Magnaye followed by Dr. Tabassam Raza, Dr. Mark Anthony Morales, Dr. David Leonides Yap, EnP Arlene Santiago, Dr. Mark de Guzman, EnP Jade Agapinan, Mr. Zahoor Ahmad, Mr. Malik Waheed Ahmad, Mr. Khaja Moinuddin. The meeting was presided over by Dean Magnaye (rightmost).
Photo 3: Group photo at the UP SURP Dean’s Office. From the right sitting Dr. Mark de Guzman, Mr. Khaja Moinuddin, followed by Dean Dina Magnaye followed Mr. Malik Waheed Ahmad and Dr. Tabassam Raza. From the right standing, Arch. Kristine Culaba, Dr. Mark Anthony Morales, Mr. Zahoor Ahmad, Dr. David Leonides Yap, EnP Arlene Santiago, EnP Jade Agapinan, and Engr. Dianne Sanchez.
The following day, 8 October 2024, PLANADES, represented by Engr. Dianne Sanchez, and ACE Limited delegates, together with Botek Bosphorus Technical Consulting Group President and CEO, Engr. Levent Gelgin visited the office of SYSTRA Philippines Incorporated (SPI) in Ortigas, Pasig City. Ms. Grace Arguelles, Senior Business Development Manager, and Ms. Maria Rhiza Castillo, Value Methodology Associate/Business Development Specialist, represented SPI and facilitated the meeting with the group. After which, the group, with the exception of Engr. Levent Gelgin, headed to the UP National Center for Transportation Studies (NCTS) at the NCTS building, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City to meet with Dr. Jun Castro, UP NCTS Director, and Engr. Sheila Javier, Training Coordinator. The meetings with SYSTRA and UP NCTS provided an opportunity for the organizations to briefly discuss details about their respective companies and look into future partnerships for projects in the field of transportation and infrastructure.
Figure 1 From front left sitting Mr. Malik Waheed Ahmad Mr. Mr. Zahoor Ahmad, Mr. Khaja Moinuddin and Mr. Levent Gelgin, Backside from left Maria Rhiza Castillo and Ms. Grace Arguelles
Figure 2. From left Mr. Malik Waheed Ahmad, Dr. Jun T. Castro, Mr. Khaja Moinuddin, Mr. Zahoor Ahmad, and Engr. Sheila Flor Javier
Overall, the two (2)-day courtesy visits of ACE Limited and Botek Bosphorus Technical Consulting Group provided a productive venue for building connections and fostering open communication with PLANADES, UP SURP, DBAdsura Engineering Consultancy, SPI, and UP NCTS. In the end, the organizations were able to align their agendas and explore possible project collaborations in the fields of urban and regional planning and transportation and infrastructure in the future, both local and international.