After many hours of analysis and debate, a panel of industry veterans has selected the winners of ENR’s 9th annual Global Best Projects competition. Like ENR’s popular regional and national U.S. competitions, Global Best Projects identifies and honors the project teams behind outstanding design and construction efforts of the past year.

But this competition stands apart from the others with the distinct rule that at least one firm involved in the project must be working outside of its home country, and projects are partially weighted by how globally diverse those teams are. None of the entries could participate if they had any construction-related fatalities, and construction had to be completed between January 2020 and May 2021.

The international construction industry submitted a robust slate of entries this year. This year’s class features 33 winning projects located in 20 different countries, and includes a record number of winners located in Africa and Asia. These outstanding examples showcase the risks, rewards and hurdles overcome when designing and building internationally.

Judging the contest were: Erleen Hatfield, managing partner, Hatfield Group; Christopher Heger, vice president and chief innovation officer for OAC; David White, vice president and executive program director at Jacobs; Kevin Max, principal with KPMG; Gary Tulacz, retired senior editor of ENR; and Hans Van Winkle, president & CEO, Van Winkle Consulting. Any judge with a conflict of interest in any particular category was assigned to a different category. The panel looked at projects in many markets and examined safety performance, innovations, challenges, and design and construction quality. They also considered how the project benefits the local community and/or the construction industry.

The panel had discretion to designate top selections as Global Best Projects winners in a variety of categories, and pick Award of Merit honorees as warranted. All of the selected projects will be spotlighted in more detail in ENR's Dec. 13 issue. In addition, that special issue will name one 2021 Global Project of the Year from the Global Best Project-level winners.

This year, anyone around the globe can celebrate these  construction achievements and mingle with the teams behind the projects at our virtual awards event. To receive information about the Global Best Projects Awards Presentation in December, please visit: https://www.enr.com/global-best-projects/mailing-list

Airport/Port

Best Project: Tema Port Expansion Project - Phase One, located in Tema, Ghana. Submitted by AECOM and China Harbour Engineering Co. Ltd.

Award of Merit: GemaLink International Container Terminal – Civil Marine Works, located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Submitted by Royal HaskoningDHV

Bridge/Tunnel

Best Project: KKH Phase-II, located in Havelian – Thakot, Pakistan. Submitted by China Communications Construction Co. Ltd. (Pakistan)

Cultural/Worship

Best Project: Khorfakkan Amphitheatre, located in Khorfakkan, United Arab Emirates. Submitted by Dar Al Omran Planning, Architecture, Engineering

Award of Merit: The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, located in Los Angeles. Submitted by Buro Happold

Education/Research

Best Project: Harvard University, Science and Engineering Complex, located in Allston, Mass. Submitted by Buro Happold

Award of Merit: New College of Education – Qatar University, located in Doha, Qatar. Submitted by Khatib & Alami

Environmental

Best Project: Ethiopia Addis Ababa River Side Green Development Project, located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Submitted by CCCC First Highway Engineering Group Co. Ltd. (CFHEC)

Government Building

Best Project: The Parliament Building In The New Administrative Capital, located in The New Administrative Capital, Egypt. Submitted by The Arab Contractors (Osman Ahmed Osman & Co.)

Green Project

Best Project: Ras Bufontas Free Zone, located in Doha, Qatar. Submitted by Qatar Free Zones Authority

Health Care

Best Project: Levy Mwanwasa University Teaching Hospital, located in Lusaka, Zambia. Submitted by Shanxi Construction Investment Group Co. Ltd.

Award of Merit: Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital, located in Vaughan, Canada. Submitted by PCL Constructors Canada Inc.

Award of Merit: Hong Ngoc Phuc Truong Minh General Hospital, located in Hanoi, Vietnam. Submitted by Turner International LLC

Manufacturing

Best Project: CalPlant Rice Straw Based MDF Manufacturing Plant, located in Willows, Calif. Submitted by Industrial Projects Consulting

Award of Merit: Fill & Finish Facility for Live Viral Vaccines, located in Kvistgård, Denmark. Submitted by IPS-Integrated Project Services LLC

Office

Best Project: Business Innovation Park, located in Doha, Qatar. Submitted by Qatar Free Zones Authority

Award of Merit: Ministry of Finance, located in Niamey, Niger. Submitted by Summa Turizm Yatırımcılığı A.Ş.

Award of Merit: Omantel Head Quarter, located in Muscat, Oman. Submitted by SSH

Power/Industrial

Best Project: Laúca Hydropower Plant (HPP) - Electromechanical Contract, located in Cacuso, Angola. Submitted by OEC Odebrecht Engenharia & Construção

Award of Merit: Bibiyana South 400±10% MW Gas Based Combined Cycle Power Plant Project, located in Maulvi Bazar, Bangladesh. Submitted by Larsen & Toubro Ltd. - Power IC

Award of Merit: Nizhnekamsk 495 MW Combined Cycle Power Plant, located in Nizhnekamsk, Russian Federation. Submitted by ENKA İnşaat ve Sanayi A.Ş.

Rail/Transit

Best Project: Cairo Metro Line 3 - Phase 4B, located in Cairo, Egypt. Submitted by The Arab Contractors (Osman Ahmed Osman & Co.)

Renovation/Restoration

Best Project: Restoration and Documentation of the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue, located in Alexandria, Egypt. Submitted by The Arab Contractors (Osman Ahmed Osman & Co.)

Award of Merit: Luanda Roads Revitalization (Luanda Roads), located in Luanda, Talatona, Angola. Submitted by Odebrecht Engenharia e Construção

Award of Merit: Moynihan Train Hall, located in New York City. Submitted by Skanska USA

Residential/Hospitality

Best Project: AIRA Residence, located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Submitted by Turner International LLC

Retail/Mixed-Use Development

Best Project: Guangzhou Jianhua Center, located in Guangzhou, China. Submitted by Guangzhou Yayue Landscape Engineering Co. Ltd.

Award of Merit: Dubai Harbour, located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Submitted by AECOM

Road/Highway

Best Project: Kigali Urban Roads Upgrading Project (54.56-km), located in Kigali, Rwanda. Submitted by China Road and Bridge Corp.

Award of Merit: Rehabilitation of Bububu-Mahonda-Mkokotoni Road and Upgrading of Matemwe-Muyuni Road, Fuoni-Kombeni Road and Pale-Kiongele Road Zanzibar, located in Unguja Island, Tanzania. Submitted by China Civil Engineering Construction Corp. (CCECC) Branch Office in Tanzania

Sports/Entertainment

Best Project: Taiyuan Botanical Garden Domes, located in Taiyuan, China. Submitted by StructureCraft

Water/Wastewater

Best Project: Bahr Al Baqar Water Reclamation Plant, located in East Port Said, Egypt. Submitted by Khatib & Alami and The Arab Contractors (Osman Ahmed Osman & Co.)

Award of Merit: Atlanta Water Supply Program, located in Atlanta. Submitted by PC Construction