A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB) and Butra Heidelbergcement (BHC) Sendirian Berhad, held at the Indera Kayangan Ballroom, The Empire Hotel and Country Club Brunei.
Present as the Guest of Honour was Yang Mulia Datin Paduka Professor Dr Dayang Hajah Zohrah binti Haji Sulaiman, Vice-Chancellor of UTB.
Also present were Mr Marcelino Ugarte, The Managing Director of BHC Sdn Bhd; Mr Terrence Ong, The Technical Director and APAC HeidelbergMaterials representative, BHC Sdn Bhd; Managers and staff of Brunei Cement, UTB Principal Offers and staff.
The event commenced with the recitations of prayers, followed by a welcoming remark by Mr Marcelino Ugarte, Managing Director of BHC Sdn Bhd. This was followed by a remark by UTB Vice-Chancellor and Guest of Honour of the event.
The was followed by the signing of Memorandum of Understanding between UTB and BHC Sdn Bhd. Signing on behalf of UTB was UTB Vice-Chancellor and signing on behalf of BHC Sdn Bhd was the Managing Director of BHC Sdn Bhd.
The MOU signifies the commitment of both organisations to realise the Wawasan Brunei 2035 in the field of environmental sustainability, specifically in the Construction industry of Brunei Darussalam.
The Green Construction Dialogue 2023 marks the first collaboration to commemorate this MOU, with Butra HeidelbergCement Sdn Bhd as the main organiser, and Universiti Teknologi Brunei as the official event partner.
The MOU covers key areas of cooperation, that aims to promote knowledge, and strengthen the understanding of sustainable building materials, with a focus on cement and concrete. This includes the sharing of information and expertise through dialogues, workshops, joint meetings, possible research participations, and/or community service programs.
The event proceeded with the technical proceedings on sustainable materials and the built environment of Flyash or other sustainable materials in Portland composite cement (PCC), properties and impacts on architecture and structural engineering.
Mr Terence Ong, Technical Director of Heidelberg Technical Centre of HeidelbergMaterials, Singapore, delivered the first presentation on the development of PCC and Flyash optimization in the production of low carbon cement.
The second presentation was on the ‘Use of Sustainable Materials in Cements and Concrete’ by Mr Lu Jin Ping, the President of American Concrete Institute (Singapore Chapter) and Managing Director of Hitchins International Pte Ltd, Singapore.
The last one was on ‘The Importance of Making Building Materials Greener in Creating a Sustainable Built Environment’ by Ar. Zul’Amali bin Dato Paduka Haji Idris, Brunei Darussalam.
The sessions concluded with a panel discussion and questions-and-answers from the audience of Digital survey participation.
Universiti Teknologi Brunei and Butra HeidelbergCement Sdn Bhd have previously collaborated on a lecture series in 2022, and BHC has been continuously hosting UTB students for their industrial placements. Through this MOU, both organisations hope to expand on the present collaborations in a joint effort to push the relevant sustainability agenda.
