Project News

Around four o'clock in the evening, the sky became cloudy. "Now is the time. We have to go back to Kassala," one of the staffs said to me. I wanted to say, "No, after we finished the work for today." However, it was the fact that if the car stuck in the muddy road, we will not be able to move anymore. We may be stuck in Wad El Helew and have to wait until the road become dry for a few days. Looking the sunset besides, we drove the road with sand and clay. The construction site is placed in Wad El Helew where 200 km away from Kassala city, taking 2 hours by car. Kassala State Ministry of Agriculture, Forest and Irrigation requested a center which can be used for multi-purpose such as workshop or training in Wad El Helew. Based on such request, the construction of multi-purpose hall had started in December 2011.

"Let's make a monumental building which no one has seen in Wad El Helew."

All related parties for the construction, Capacity Development Project for Provision of the Services for Basic Human Needs in Kassala (K-TOP) construction team consisted of Sudanese engineers and Japanese engineer, Department of Public Utilities and the construction company brought together each knowledge and experience. On one hand, Sudanese offered Sudanese traditional technique, knowledge about natural condition of the area such as ground and soil condition, and the information and capacity of skilled workers and the feature of materials which are available in Wad El Helew. On the other hand, JICA construction team introduced new design and technique. For example, instead of the simple grid shape for window, making a creative, unique and colorful shape will make children happy. If we surround the meeting room only by the tile and paint, the room will be too much simple and the voice will echo through the room. Thus, it is better to make a wooden partition wall with many small holes for absorbing the sound. Again and again, K-TOP construction team and the other related members discussed together and drafted the design.

Once we started the construction based on the agreed design, there were many challenges. The construction work was smooth until the works for the structure including placing and casting of reinforcement concrete. However, when we tried to conduct the works which the construction company had never experienced, such as wooden wall paneling, using complicated and solid steel bars grid, cement solidification and so on, we needed to ask a lot of starting over and the construction schedule delayed.

"We don't need much profit, but we want to learn the new technique. We understand your strictness on the quality." This is what the small construction company in Kassala said when he signed on the contract of the construction. Facing with various kinds of challenges, the cut of the road due to the heavy rain, inflation of the price of the building material, and the difficulty in the communication with the remote site, K-TOP construction team and the construction company continued together their effort every day to proceed the construction work faster. For instance, in order to decrease the mistake and wasteful spending, and to make the time for the construction shorter, we introduced to use the details drawings to the engineers and skilled workers, who used to work without the written drawing. Moreover, to share the work process with the related parties, we trained them on how to make a time schedule and how to manage the work based on it.

As a result of the continuance efforts of both K-TOP construction team and the construction company, in September 2012, the multi-purpose hall has finally completed. The engineer who worked for the construction said that, he could learn the new techniques through the work and would like to utilize them for the future work. General Directorate of Economic Planning and Development (DPD) staff who were in charge of the inspection on the completion of construction expressed their appreciation for the careful work.

As of April 2013, meeting room in the multi-purpose hall has used for the agricultural training and meeting, farmer's harvest festival and so on. On the other hand, in order to activate the locality, the support must be continuous. There is a remaining challenge of how to conduct the periodical maintenance by local residents. We hope that the multi-purpose hall will be used for the place of discussion or awareness among the residents around. In the future, we dream the hall will be used continuously as a communication space of the local residents beyond generations, making the visitors happy and inspiring children by showing new kinds of industries and pictures.

(Reported by Mr. Kenichi Yoshida, JICA Expert on Construction / Procurement)

Outside view of the multi-purpose hall

Meeting room. On the wooden wall, there are a lot of small holes made for absorbing the sound.

Meeting of the agricultural machinery group in the multi-purpose hall. (Mr. Taisuke Tokuoka, JICA Expert on Mechanized Agriculture / Agricultural Cooperative, on the left)

Visiting by Kassala State Minister of Finance, Commissioner of Wad El Helew Locality, Director of Agriculture Extension Center, K-TOP Construction Team, and engineers and skilled workers of the construction company.