Engineering and construction giant Julius Berger Nigeria PLC has won the inaugural Award for Leadership in Sustainable Construction organised by the global industry watchdog, American Society of Engineers (ASCE), through its Sustainable Infrastructure Recognition Awards (SIRA) platform.

At the recently concluded 2025 Sustainable Infrastructure Conference of the Society held in Lagos, ASCE stated that SIRA is Nigeria’s premier platform for celebrating excellence in sustainable, climate-resilient, and impactful infrastructure delivery. Individuals, organisations, and projects that transform the built environment through innovation, resilience, and bold leadership are honoured.

Accordingly, ASCE said Julius Berger Nigeria PLC is eminently qualified to be crowned with the Leadership in Sustainable Construction Award for its groundbreaking achievements across sustainable construction and engineering practices, green energy infrastructure, indigenous construction leadership, and climate-aligned design.

Citing the company’s application of the novel Bitumen Stabilised Materials (BSM) initiative in construction works, especially on the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road project, in one of the presentations, ASCE declared that they are celebrating those who are not just building but building better for our future. They added that this is the moment to move from policy to performance, from ideas to impact, and from construction to conscience.

The Society’s Nigeria Section President, Austin Odibi, in applauding Julius Berger’s initiative, declared that JBN’s BSM technology is a compelling novelty in construction works. The ASCE Executive Director, Tom Smith, praised the application of BSM technology and recommended its use globally.

“I commend Julius Berger for the BSM technology. That it is being awarded the Leadership in Sustainable Construction today underscores this fact. Kudos to the company. We recommend BSM technology for general construction applications globally, even in the United States,” he said.

In a presentation on ‘Statistical Evaluation of Indirect Tensile Strength and Unconfined Compressive Strength in Bitumen Stabilised Materials: Case Study of the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Highway as constructed by Julius Berger,’ Dr Abdulmuminu Ahmed Shauibu of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, concluded that the innovation is a welcome development in the construction sector which must be encouraged.

The academic concluded his presentation thus: Julius Berger has attempted to contribute to developing cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and sustainable infrastructure through the use of cold recycling technology via bitumen-stabilised material. The federal government accepted this due to its numerous potentials to address sustainability problems, such as exploring virgin materials that can affect the ecosystem or destroy wetlands. This approach mitigates such issues. Because this type of maintenance relies heavily on the milled material from the asphalt pavement—meaning distressed pavement is reused—it is now highly effective.

In accepting the Award, the Director of Administration, Alh. Abdulaziz Kaita, appreciated the honour and recognition given to Julius Berger and its efforts to uplift the country’s construction industry by pioneering BSM technology. He added that beyond BSM, Julius Berger has contributed significantly and continues to do much in the built sector.

The BSM technology has contributed to Sustainable Development Goals 9 and 13, namely industry innovation, infrastructure, and climate action. In terms of energy consumption and emission, it is very low. In this context, our collaboration with the Department of Civil Engineering at Ahmadu Bello University on BSM technology is ongoing, and we are dedicated to its development. We are making substantial progress in the construction sector beyond the BSM issue, Kaita stated.

Apart from the Julius Berger Director of Administration at the event, other attendees included Project Coordinator Region West, Fatima Kosemani; Mobolaji Ogunyemi; Mercy Akposheri; Emmanuel Isibor; and representatives from Julius Berger’s Media Relations Office.