By Ezeakukwu Emmanuel Nsoedo
The incumbent Managing Director of Federal Roads Maintenance
Agency (FERMA) Dr. Emeka Agbasi is a star with an extraordinary talent. He was appointed to the post by President Tinubu. He is a square peg in a square hole.
He has been largely unsung, going by the depth of professional accomplishments he had recorded in Nigeria and the United Kingdom. He remains studious and focused on his professional calling, though that may have the effect of him not well known in Nnewi.
“It is about time the town celebrated one of its brightest professionals who, through several years of hard work, had prepared himself to be ready for whatever opportunity that may come his way,” Sir Chris Nsoedo opined.
Dr Agbasi holds MSc/DIC (Concrete Structures) and PhD (Civil Engineering) degrees from Imperial College, London, and the University of London. He added a postgraduate certificate in Engineering Management from the University of Bath Management School, UK.
Before leaving for London, he attended the University of Nigeria Nsukka, where he obtained B Eng (Civil Engineering) and M Eng (Materials & Construction) degrees.
Prior to his appointment as the Managing Director at FERMA, he has held several key positions up to a Director. In that capacity, he was Head of PPP & Asset Management at FERMA, where he was leading and pioneering development work on mainstreaming asset management, deploying new strategies for maintaining the road network and managing the interface of the Agency’s programmes with DFID, USAID, ECOWAS, JICA, World Bank, AfDB amongst others.
Vision Newspapers introduces the Profile of Dr. Emeka Agbasi below:
Emeka Agbasi PhD DIC FNSE FNIHTE
Dr Agbasi is a Civil Engineer and holds MSc/DIC (Concrete Structures) and PhD (Civil Engineering) degrees from Imperial College, London and University of London respectively and a post graduate certificate in Engineering Management from University of Bath Management School, UK. He obtained his BEng (Civil Engineering) and MEng
(Materials & Construction) degrees from University of Nigeria, Nsukka. He is a UK certified PRINCE 2 practitioner, APMG certified PPP Professional, and has attended several courses including management and leadership course at Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA.
Presently a Director and Head, PPP, Multilateral & Special Duties Department at the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) where he is leading and pioneering development work on mainstreaming asset management,deploying new strategies for maintaining the road network and integrating climate change resilience, and
managing the interface of the Agency’s programmes with DFID/FCDO, USAID, ECOWAS, JICA, Government of Japan, World Bank, AfDB amongst others.
Prior to joining FERMA, he was a Senior Structures Advisor and Project Sponsor at the Highways Agency (HA), an executive Agency of the UK Department of Transport. Other engineering roles in the UK built environment and construction sector were with Kvaerner Technology (part of Kvaerner Construction Group, now Skanska Construction), and WhitbyBird (now part of Ramboll Group). He has been engaged as a research associate at Imperial College London, and Loughborough University where he executed fixed term commercial research
contracts. His early career was in Nigeria where he worked as a civil/structural engineer in a consulting engineering practice and a Researcher/Lecturer at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Dr Agbasi has over 30 years local and international engineering and management (consulting and contracting) and applied research experience spanning design and construction, structural investigation, condition survey and assessment, on-site troubleshooting, materials testing at macro and micro levels, product development, and
project management. He has developed and implemented strategies and methodologies for repair and maintenance regimes for civil infrastructure and advised on serviceability issues to ensure adequate in-service
performance, particularly for structures procured under Private Finance Initiative / Design Build Finance Operate route with long-term concession period. He has maintained an interest in whole life management of structures including IT tools for asset management and integrated project delivery processes.
He has authored several technical reports/papers and has presented papers at international conferences in Africa, America, Asia, and
Europe.
He has served on several local and international committees and working groups on construction excellence, project delivery, transport and trade facilitation, national development plan, highway structures, road infrastructure
and sub sector reforms amongst others. Some of the committees and working groups include Project Advisory
Group, TRL UK Overseas Road Note 31, Anambra State Transition Committee, Anambra State Vision 2070
(Economic Transformation Sub-Committee), Transport Technical Working Group (TTWG), Nigeria Medium Term
National Development Plan (2021-25), Project Delivery Team FMWH Highways Development & Management
Initiative (HDMI), US Transportation Research Board (TRB) Committees, Advisory Panel, Annual Africa Road
Infrastructure Investment Congress, FGN Nigerian Road Safety Strategy (2019 – 2023) TWG, FGN InterMinisterial Committee of Stakeholders on Road Haulage, African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement
Technical Committee, FGN Senate Technical Advisory Committee on Federal Roads Authority, Consultation Committee (Nigeria), Abidjan Lagos Corridor Management Authority (ALCoMA), Focal Point Public Works
(Nigeria), Abidjan – Lagos Corridor, LAKAJI Corridor Management Group (LCMG), National Facilitation Committee for Trade and Transport, HMW Committee on Road Sector Reform, HMW Highways Specification
Review Committee, NSE National Infrastructure Scorecard and Cost Indices Committee, NSE Codes and Standards Committee & Bureau Services Board, and NSE Presidential Task Force on Road Sector Reform. Others include 2
nd Benue River Crossing PPP Advisory / Feasibility Study Team, UK Office of Government Commerce (OGC)
Gateway Reviewer, Construction Ambassador, UK Construction Industry Training Board, Technical Project Board for UK DMRB Standards BD02 and BA55, and Highways Agency Eurocodes Implementation.