Sunway BRT and Second Penang Bridge bag global awards

KUALA LUMPUR: Sunway's Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line and Second Penang Bridge projects have been awarded with 2016 Global Road Achievement Awards (GRAA) by the International Road Federation (IRF).
 
Sunway Construction Sdn Bhd was selected as the winner for the best Urban Planning and Mobility while Jambatan Kedua Sdn Bhd was awarded as the best entry for Construction Methodology category at the gala dinner of the Second IRF Asia Regional Congress and Exhibition held at Sunway Putra Hotel last Wednesday.
Both projects were described by IRF as "leading the way in innovation across major road and highway disciplines" alongside 12 other projects globally honoured by the federation this week.
The winners of the 12 projects for the IRF awards this year range from a 10km bridge that blends into the natural landscape of the Qiantang River (China), to the Ras Al Khor Crossing (UAE) built to the highest quality management standards, to the Penang's Second Bridge as well as the country's first elevated BRT in Sunway.
 
"By embodying our ideal of better roads for a better world, these 12 projects join an elite circle of international laureates," said IRF president and chief executive C. Patrick Sankey.
Sankey said in the past 16 years, the IRF award programmes have constituted an industry reference for innovators across the globe.
 
The selection of the winners for the 12 categories was conducted by an international panel of senior road development specialists.
 
The IRF is a network of public and private sector members in more than 70 countries providing world-class knowledge resources, advocacy services, and continuing education programs which offer a global marketplace for best practices and industry solutions.
IRF chairman Abdullah Al-Mogbel said the accomplishments in the transport sector on the global front have been unnoticed by the hundreds of millions of people who benefit so greatly from the availability of safe, smart and interconnected road networks.
 
"This is precisely why the IRF's Global Road Achievement Awards provide a rare opportunity to celebrate our industry's successes, and highlight how our work supports broader societal goals," said Abdullah.
Among the winners of the 2016 GRAA competition were
* Traffic & Roads Agency of Dubai for the Asset Preservation and Maintenance Management System category,
* Design Award for China's Zhejiang Jiashao Bridge Investment & Development Co. Ltd for the Jiaxing-Shaoxing Bridge Project - the world's longest cable-stayed bridge so far.
* Volvo Group Latin America (Brazil) won the award in safety category for its Traffic Safety Program and
* Taiwan's Far Eastern Electronic Toll Co. Ltd won the Traffic Management and Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) category for its innovation and contribution to Taiwan's smart city concept via ITS.