World Water Day 2023 – Accelerating change to solve the water and sanitation crisis

Water distribution networks play a critical role in protecting the resource of drinking water. Drinking water is a scarce resource, and it is essential to protect it from contamination, pollution, and overuse. A safe and adequate water distribution network is designed to capture, treat, and distribute water from the source to the end-user, while minimizing the risk of contamination and waste. This is essential to protect public health and prevent the spread of waterborne diseases.

Well maintained water networks are also crucial for the sustainable use of the resource by ensuring that water is delivered efficiently and that losses are minimized. This is achieved through measures such as leak detection, pressure management, and water metering, which help to reduce the amount of water lost through leaks and unauthorized use. Finally, water networks are essential for ensuring that drinking water is accessible to all members of society. This includes safeguarding that water service is affordable and that households have access to safe and reliable water sources, regardless of their location or socio-economic status. In conclusion, water networks play a critical role in protecting the resource of drinking water. For us the water and sanitation crisis is a complex and multifaceted challenge that requires a collaborative effort from all stakeholders. We believe that an essential component of solving the water and sanitation issues is connected to functional water networks. Therefore, we are proud to be of service to local communities and state agencies during their efforts to construct new and/or to rehabilitate existing water networks.

Please follow the link for a selection of our projects in the field of water supply and wastewater networks.

World Engineering Day 2023 – Engineering Innovation for a More Resilient World

Inhambane and Maxixe are two cities located in the Inhambane Province of Mozambique, and they are highly vulnerable to the effects of storms, flooding, and sea-level rise due to their coastal locations. The goal of the project is to develop a comprehensive plan for these cities which will improve their infrastructure and provide protection from the effects of these natural disasters.

Our services include an analysis of the existing infrastructure and systems in place in both cities, as well as a review of the current coastal protection measures. In addition, we are conducting a detailed assessment of the social and economic impacts of the proposed coastal protection measures. The project considers developing economic opportunities and stakeholder participation. The study will provide to our client a comprehensive plan for the implementation of the proposed coastal protection.

International Day of Education – Malawi Education Joint Fund Project

Following heavy rains, floods and hurricane winds over the past years in Malawi around one million people were affected with deaths and injuries in large number reported. The global warming and climate change have contributed to the returning disasters and have triggered significant damage to Malawi’s educational infrastructure including public primary schools, teachers’ houses, furniture and textbooks. Where buildings were left standing, many classrooms were converted to shelters for approx. 90,000 displaced people, whose homes had been swept by the floods.

To restore effective teaching and learning in the affected areas, CES Consulting Engineers is supporting Malawi Government to rebuild school facilities with an emphasis of “building back better” with new more resilient structures and WASH facilities more responsive to the safety needs of boys and girls with financial support funded by the German Financial Cooperation through the Education Services Joint Fund.

CES wins FIDIC award for Outstanding Project of the Year

At a gala dinner event held in Geneva on 12 September 2022, the International Federation of Consulting Engineers FIDIC announced the three winners of the Award “Outstanding Project of the Year” in the three categories small, medium and large. Our Managing Director Dr.-Ing. Ralf Meyerhoff participated on behalf of CES and had the honour of receiving the coveted trophy for small projects.

Despite the seamless and highly successful implementation of the project and the great impact it had on the beneficiary population, the award came a bit as a surprise, as Project Director Matthias Fritz pointed out: “The project is not a typical civil engineering project and we prevailed against major international competition. Usually, prizes go to major infrastructure projects such as bridges, airports or tunnels. In our case, however, the special challenges in the context of international cooperation were recognised. The achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals has also become especially prominent.

Indeed, this year’s 28 shortlisted projects were covering all the 17 SDGs goals across a significant range of project values.

FIDIC CEO Dr. Nelson Ogunshakin emphasized during his speech: “The strength of this year’s winners is a testament to the enduring excellence of the work of consulting engineers and the value that our industry brings to society by delivering excellent construction and infrastructure projects that transform people’s lives.”

Sustainable Land Management in Somaliland is a project to save the Biji catchment area from erosion, and to improve rainwater harvesting and storage of water for drinking, food security and livestock. This catchment area links to aquifers that represent the main water resource for the region’s population, making recharge of these aquifers a vital aim.

Being financed by the BMZ through the German development bank KfW the project was implemented by CES in close cooperation with the client, the Ministry of Agricultural Development. As the national construction companies worked for the first time with FIDIC contracts, CES provided permanent training contributing to a remarkable strengthening of national construction capacity. Furthermore, the challenges in this project arose less from engineering issues than from the management and implementation of the measures, taking into account local and especially social conditions: The determination of type of measures, construction method and materials, location and number required a high level of coordination with local ministries and the rural population as final beneficiaries. The involvement of all stakeholders throughout the project cycle resulted in a high level of acceptance, which was necessary to sustainably improve living conditions in the region.

For us at CES, this award is a major achievement that we are very proud of, but at the same time another spark of motivation to continue giving our best effort for the improvement of living conditions through our infrastructure projects.

We would like to thank the entire CES team, all project participants, in particular the team of the Ministry of Agricultural Development and KfW for the trust we received when implementing this outstanding project.

A detailed description of the project in Somaliland can be found in this article:

#ShowYourStripes

The warming stripes are a visual representation of how temperature has changed in locations around the world. They were created by Ed Hawkins, a climate scientist from the University of Reading in the UK. He also created the „warming spiral“ graphic that was used during the closing ceremonies of the Rio Olympics. Each stripe represents a year. Blue means it’s colder than average. White means it’s about average. Pink means it’s warmer. And red means it’s a LOT warmer!

World Water Day 2022

Groundwater provides almost half of all the drinking water worldwide, about 40% of the water for irrigated agriculture and about 1/3 of the water supply required for industry. It sustains ecosystems, maintains the baseflow of rivers and prevents land subsidence and seawater intrusion. Groundwater is a key resource for the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Agenda for 2030 (UN Water). At CES, the responsible use and protection of groundwater of groundwater is deeply embedded into our understanding of implementing sustainable water supply, wastewater and hydraulic engineering projects.

Water related projects are the core competence of CES. The following examples of our ongoing worldwide projects cover the complete water cycle:

Science based target approved

We are proud to announce that our science based target has been approved. Our science based target is an emissions reduction goal in line with what the latest climate science says is needed to prevent the worst impacts of climate change. Our target (covering greenhouse gas emissions from our operations (scopes 1 and 2)) is consistent with reductions required to keep global warming to 1.5°C. We committed ourselves to the most ambitious goal of the Paris Agreement. For more information on SBTi see: https://sciencebasedtargets.org/

Happy New Year

We wish you and your family happy holidays

Tirana Water Supply and Distribution Project

The overall project objective is to contribute to the improvement of the living conditions of about 800,000 inhabitants of the City of Tirana, by securing safe and continuous potable water supply.

The purpose of our consultancy services is to support UKT in developing the necessary analysis and preparatory work required in the process to improve and rehabilitate the water distribution system in Tirana, in accordance with the EIB standards and financing conditions.

SDG 6
Clean water and sanitation

After contract signature: Mayor of Tirana – Erion Veliaj (right) / CES Managing Director – Dr. Carl Philip Huegin (left)

Lake Victoria Basin – Integrated Water Resources Management Programme

Lake Victoria Integrated Water Resources Management Programme (LVB-IWRMP) is a regional programme coordinated by Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) and implemented in the Partner States of the East African Community (EAC). The infrastructure development module of LVB-IWRMP aimes at the physical reduction of the current pollution of Lake Victoria by high priority investments (HPI) in liquid and solid waste management.

The Programme consists of Feasibilty Studies, Detailed Design, support for Tendering and Construction of the selected HPIs, capacity development for the operators and sensitization of the beneficiaries.

CES proudly announces that the Feasibility Studies of the following investment projects have been succesfully finished:

  • – Faecal Sludge Treatment Plant (FSTP) in Kigali/Rwanda
  • Infill sewers and Ablution Blocks for informal settlements sanitation in Kisumu/Kenya
  • Connection upgrading program for the existing Ilemela Sewage Treatment Plant in Mwanza/Tanzania

SDG 6
Clean water and sanitation

Envisaged FSTP site Kigali (Rwanda) P1
Sewer line in Magadi Villag
Envisaged FSTP site Kigali (Rwanda) P2
Pit latrines in Corner Mbuta and Flamingo

Irrigation Improvement Project (PACT II) in Tungurahua Ecuador and new Branch Office of CES in Ecuador

The project’s objective aims to achieve the modernization of irrigation systems, as well as other measures for the protection of the water resources of the province. The sustainability of the investments is intended to be achieved through the involvement and technical assistance of beneficiary groups and organizations and the establishment of sustainable marketing chains.

Tungurahua is a province with very fertile and productive lands, because of the influence of the volcano with the same name. Agricultural lands cannot be cultivated without supplementary irrigation, which farmers apply mostly in the traditional way by gravity.

SDG 6
Clean water and sanitation

Recently installed pipelines in Puñapí near the Tungurahua volcano

Since the available water in the natural sources is no longer sufficient to irrigate all area, the provincial government promoted the change to more efficient pressurized irrigation methods since 2010. During this first phase of the project with assistance of CES, a smart methodology was developed to transform gravity irrigation systems to pressurized irrigation, through which the irrigation area was doubled without increasing water extraction from the sources in the vulnerable paramos.

Beneficiary in the Tungurahua province

The very promising results of the pilot phase led to the extension of the project with the now started second phase comprising pressurized irrigation of 2000 hectares from 4000 farmer families. The project is financed by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) via KfW Development Bank with 19 million Euros and contributions of €3.5 million from the province and €2.5 million from the beneficiaries.

Signing of the Consulting Contract by Manuel Caizabanda, prefect of Tungurahua (left) and Hugo Olazával, representative of CES (right)
Project inauguration with representatives of the provincial government, beneficiaries and CES

The Consulting services of CES commenced on August 1, 2021 and will have a duration of 4 years. The scope of work comprises among others: provide technical and methodological assistance to the provincial government in the management, planning, implementation, supervision and monitoring of the program at a conceptual, technical, organizational, administrative, and financial level. In addition to technical support in the irrigation area, environmental studies and watershed conservation are important topics in consulting services.

In the meantime, CES has registered a branch office in Ecuador for the execution of the mentioned irrigation project as well as for upcoming project. Besides CES’ presence in Peru and Bolivia with branch offices counting on almost 50 years of sustained and successful activity, our new branch in Ecuador is our third one in Latin America.

Sucessfully ISO 9001:2015, 14001:2015 and 45001:2015 certified

We are now certified according to DIN ISO 9001:2015 (Quality Management), DIN ISO 14001:2015 (Environmental Management) and DIN ISO 45001:2015 (Occupational health and safety management). As part of our integrated management system, we committed us to the highest quality and work safety as well as to environmental protection and legal compliance. The idea of constant improvement guides us on our mission to improve living conditions, worldwide. With the newly obtained ISO 14001:2015 and DIN ISO 45001:2015 certificates, we underline our responsibility to the environment and the highest work safety standards.

Successful Completion of the Primary School Programme in Niger

Quality Education is one of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. Education is a key factor to escaping poverty. Despite progress made in the last decade, nearly one fifth of the global population in the relevant age group has no access to schools. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic now jeopardizes hard won gains made in improving global education.

In this context it is even more important that in Niger, one of the poorest countries worldwide, more than 200 new classrooms could be handed over to the beneficiaries despite the pandemic in the final stage of the construction.

SDG 4: Quality Education

School Médersa Tondibiah, Niamey
School Cité Diaspora, Niamey (Latrines and complementary work)

The project was carried out in Niamey as well as in the rural regions of Tillabéri and Tahoua, both partly very remote and characterised by unstable security. It included the construction of primary school classrooms, latrines and housing for teachers, as well as equipping school furniture and equipment for servicing, maintenance and education. The project created 126 classrooms in Niamey and 120 classrooms in the rural regions of Tillabéry and Tahoua, providing a total of 12,600 school places in 41 primary schools.

Workshops with the Parents Committees in Tillabery
Workshops with the Parents Committees in Tillabery

The Programme further included accompanying measures for the promotion of girls’ schooling as well as strengthening the communities, namely by empowering the local parent committees in the creation of activities in the new school buildings to generate additional income. These measures contribute to more confidence in the value of education and to solving the problems of the schooling of their children.

School Route Filingué 8, Niamey: Provision of education material

CES marks the International Day for Biological Diversity

Just in line with this year’s slogan, we are continuously working on the development and implementation of sustainable water and sanitation solutions aiming to improve the water quality at various locations worldwide. Our efforts contribute to the minimization of anthropogenic impacts on the nature and encourage the protection of natural water resources which are essential for the conservation of the biodiversity on our planet. Hence, we can proudly say „We’re part of the solution #ForNature.“

Kenya – Lake Nakuru National Park Biodiversity Conservation Project

World Water Day 2021

At CES our worldwide operating water supply, wastewater and hydraulic engineering teams do their very best to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 6 “Clean water and sanitation”. Clean, accessible and reliable water supply as well as sound wastewater discharge and treatment are the key to improved living conditions and sound environmental protection!

Goal 6 infographic, source: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2020/

As a participant of the UN Global compact initiative, we underline the importance of the UN sustainable development goals and we committed ourselves to the ten principles of the UN Global compact initiative.

IT development project enters the final phase

Together with Novobit’s interdisciplinary team of more than 50 IT Experts, specialized in setting-up complex management systems, customer/supplier databases, as well as web, cloud, and desktop applications, we developed a cloud-based remote project management information system facilitating remote project monitoring. Our Remote Project Management Information System (RPIMS) will consist of several components enabling onsite supervision of construction works, real-time remote progress and compliance monitoring as well as health and safety assurance. The tool is tailor made for complex international donor financed cooperation projects. The RPIMS is a cross platform tool that can be accessed via web clients as well as Android/IOs devices. For more information on our affiliated partner company Novobit Group GmbH, please check out novobit.eu

Impressions – KfW Remote Annual Monitoring Mission


The Project “Water Supply / Basic Sanitation and Sustainable Land Management in Somaliland” (BMZ N° 2015 68 336) has been upscaled in 2015 through the combination with the project “IGAD: Regional Fund for Improving Drought Resilience in the Horn of Africa” (BMZ N° 2015 67 924). The Project consists of two packages which are administered by two different authorities of Somaliland.

  • Package 1: Hargeisa Water Supply & Basic Sanitation under the responsibility of HWA
  • Package 2: Sustainable Land Management under the responsibility of MoAD

Target Population
19 villages with around 66,200 beneficiaries by 2020

Implementation Measures
Soil bunds, eyebrows, stone terraces.
Berkads, balleys, subsurface dams,
sand storage dams, check dams, biological erosion control

Implementation Schedule
2018 – 2021

Project Area

CES Egypt LLC successfully established

We have an outstanding track record affirming our skills and experience in Egypt. We are proud to be at service to our clients in Egypt within several donor financed projects. As a part of our MENA Strategy, we now have successfully established a new company in Cairo, Egypt called: CES Egypt LLC.

Hands on – 2019 annual donation for the Kindergarten and primary school facility of El Khatara Al Soghra Village in Sharkia/Egypt

We believe in improving living conditions
and that stable and balanced societies need
well-functioning public infrastructure

Maged Reda, CES Deputy Regional Manager

A multinational team of CES experts did not only supply urgently required building and workman’s material but also carried out several renovation works by themselves. The works were implemented in cooperation with patient local craftsmen. Besides painting works, new benches for the kindergarten were crafted and painted, new basketball hoops and goal nets were installed and more than 20 trees have been planted in the school garden. The upgrade of the sanitary and water supply facilities was done by a local construction company.

This year we decided to use our annual donation for upgrading a school located in El Khatara Al Soghra Village in Sharkia/Egypt. The identification of this specific school was the result of a stages wise selection process.
In a first step, 12 schools were identified. After several site visits to the proposed schools, the Shaeer primary and preparatory School with a nursery in Sharkia Governorate has been selected in cooperation between CES experts and Sharkia PIU. The school is located in El Khatara Al Soghra Village.

A committee for the school renovation has been established to identify the required works. The committee consisted of: School Headmaster, Representatives for school teachers, Representatives for Parents Board and a Representative for Local Municipality Unit “Contact Person” .

The following scope of works was defined:

  1. Plumbing and rehabilitation works for several bathrooms at the school building;
  2. Outside painting works;
  3. Carpentry works for desks and chairs of the nursery;
  4. Renovation of the playground, enabling football, basketball and volleyball;
  5. Provision of toys for the nursery as well as footballs, volleyballs and basketballs.

The global team of CES thanks all participants for their efforts and commitment.

Improving environmental conditions under consideration of climate change risks to the Chimbote Bay

As a part of the “Programa Sectorial de Alcantarillado y Tratamiento de Aguas Residuales en Ciudades de Provincias del Perú“ (Program PTAR financed by German Financial Cooperation through KfW) and of the P “Programa Nacional de Saneamiento Urbano (PNSU)“, we are proud to render services in the project for Chimbote and Nuevo Chimbote working together with the Ministerio de Vivienda, Construcción y Saneamiento (Client) and with SEDACHIMBOTE S.A (Beneficiary) in improving environmental conditions under consideration of climate change risks to the Chimbote Bay as basis for a sustainable development of the sanitation and social-economic sector.

Impressions of the latest orientation and experience sharing event, Somaliland

As the implementation consultant we are proud to support the Ministry of Agricultural Development not only in reduction of land degradation and erosion in the “Biji catchment area” as well as in fostering agricultural and pastoral productivity but additionally, in establishing water harvesting measures for livestock and household consumption.

Check out the video of the latest orientation and experience sharing event, conducted on June 18th. https://youtu.be/we19UJTfhlw

CES launched its new website and corporate design.

Recently awarded project: Ampliación y Mejoramiento del Colector Puente Piedra y tratamiento de aguas servidas del area de drenaje de la PTAR Puente Piedra.

Recently awarded project: Water and sanitation sector development program (Kericho, Kisii, Nyamira and Litein) Consulting services for accompanying measures

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