Interviews with
Mid-Career Professionals
Profile
Hideki Kureyama
Reason for
joining the company
Previously, I worked in Singapore as an employee of a Japanese general contractor. In May 2017, after 25 years of continuous service, I reached the age of 50 and felt that it was the halfway point of my life, when I learned about Katahira & Engineers International. Although it's not a big company, the corporate culture allows individuals to take advantage of their respective areas of expertise and strengths and work in a relaxed manner. I decided to enter the company because I am attracted to the achievements of the company that contribute to all parts of the world (in my previous job, my experiences were only limited to Japan, Singapore and Malaysia), and thought that it would be a suitable place to take on new challenges.
What kind of work do you do?
Five and half years have passed since I joined the company. The work I have been involved so far include.
road construction cost estimation work in Liberia (domestic),
technical support work for construction cost estimation methods in Vietnam (in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City),
subway project construction plan and construction cost estimation work in Philippines (in Manila),
field survey work for road construction in Uganda,
city traffic master planning (in Solomon Islands) and field survey and outline designing for road bridge (in Zambia).
Expanding on my work in Vietnam, the country has experienced remarkable economic growth in recent years due to the introduction of market mechanisms. However, despite this progress, there remained some gaps in the global standards in terms of transparency, fairness, and efficiency due to past customs in the construction sector. In order to improve this situation, technical assistance was provided to improve the cost estimation system for construction projects based on a request from the Government of Vietnam to the Government of Japan. Using the results of this support as a reference, the development of laws related to construction in Vietnam progressed. It was a very good experience because I felt that I was directly transferring Japanese technology with my own hands.
Since joining the company / What I am aiming for
I can't deny my lack of experience as a consultant engineer so I would like to gain experience with the mindset of doing anything and going anywhere. In 2022, I achieved one of my targets to be certified as a professional engineer (civil engineering), and am now aiming TOEIC score of at least 900 and to be certified as an APEC engineer in the coming year.
