Creamer Media was among the winners of the Consulting Engineers South Africa (CESA) Aon Engineering Excellence Awards 2025, held on August 21 at Vodacom World, in Midrand.

Hosted by member organisation CESA, the yearly ceremony recognises the projects, people and partnerships that are shaping South Africa’s infrastructure landscape.

Creamer Media’s Engineering News was crowned the winner in the publisher – trade category.

IOL received the award for the publisher – daily news category.

Now in its fifty-third year, the awards aim to recognise technical excellence, as well as the collaborative spirit and innovation that underpin long-term development.

CESA CEO Chris Campbell told attendees at the awards ceremony that the event was about more than infrastructure.

“Tonight, we gather to honour excellence, not just in infrastructure, but in the people, partnerships and purpose that power our industry. The projects we celebrate remind us that when engineers are enabled to lead, when collaboration is prioritised, and when excellence is the standard, we see meaningful impact.

“Each project is a catalyst for jobs, investment and opportunity. The 2025 awards highlight the power of collaboration and innovation in engineering. As our industry embraces integrated lifecycle approaches and sustainable design, this year’s finalists and winners showcase those who are not only building infrastructure but embracing a forward-thinking vision that will drive South Africa’s infrastructure transformation,” he added.

“Congratulations to distinguished recipients of the 2025 CESA Aon Engineering Excellence Awards. These accolades serve to acknowledge the visionary individuals shaping our built environment and infrastructure, contributing to the advancement of our economy,” Aon South Africa CEO Dr Nolwandle Mgoqi said.

Aon has been a platinum sponsor for the awards for over three decades. 

“Our longstanding partnership with CESA is a testament to our unwavering commitment to supporting the engineering sector and to celebrating excellence in the accomplishments of every awardee and finalist.

“These awards underscore the profound impact of engineering excellence and the fundamental role that consulting engineers play in driving societal progress and economic growth,” Mgoqi added.

The awards honoured winners across multiple categories, from groundbreaking megaprojects to young engineers. In addition to winners, several commendations were also awarded.

This includes a lifetime industry achievement awarded to Dr Ralph Heath from WSP; the best international project awarded to BIGEN for upgrading the railway line between Walvis Bay and Kranzberg, in Namibia, for the Ministry of Works and Transport Namibia; and the megaprojects with a value greater than R1-billion award to WSP for the delivery of battery energy storage systems for South African power utility Eskom.

For projects with a value between R250-million and R1-billion, Bosch Projects won for the Vlakfontein reservoir and associated infrastructure for Rand Water; for projects with a value of between R50-billion and R250-million, Zutari won for the N1 Sinkhole repair project for the South African National Roads Agency; and for the projects with a value less than R50-million, Maninga Engineering won for the Wits – Roy Mcalpine Adult Burns Unit.

For the engineering technology and innovation: water sanitation and hygiene design excellence award, a commendation was awarded to Ingerop for the raising of Hazelmere dam for the Department of Water and Sanitation.

BIGEN took home the business excellence of the year award, as well as the mentoring company of the year award.

The mentor of the year award went to Tumisang Gabriel from SMEC South Africa; and Tinashe Mukalela from AvenirHoldings secured the young engineer of the year award.

Mariswe won the job shadow initiative and poster competition award.