Dr. Furugaan Ibrahim, who has a PhD in the energy industry, was the recipient of the Engineer of the Year Award last night.
During the Engineers’ Award 2026 ceremony held at Barceló Nasandhura, General Manager of the Male' Water and Sewerage Company Pvt Ltd (MWSC) Furugaan was presented with the award by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu.
Furugaan began working at MWSC 20 years ago as an Assistant Mechanic, and has Mechanical Engineering degree from the National University of Singapore (NSU) and a Masters in Energy Technology and Management.
He has also worked many years in MWSC's operations division.
Furugaan is currently the General Manager of Risk and Compliance at MWSC.
During the ceremony, three people who have long-served the engineering industry were presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award as well:
- Abdul Shakoor Solih: He was the former Managing Director of STELCO and held many state positions. He has conducted many efforts in increasing the professional capabilities of the industry and training employees in the industry.
- The late Ahmed Maruheen: He served the engineering and aviation infrastructure industry for more than 40 years. He held a senior state position, and was involved practically in important urban development projects.
- The late Mohamed Rasheed: He began working at STELCO through an apprenticeship, served as the chairman of the company and served more than 50 years in Maldives' electricity industry.
Engineers who were presented with awards:
- Young Engineer Award: Mohamed Zidhan Hassan - Completed higher education at Villa College and is currently working at MACL.
- Engineering Innovation, Education and Research Award: Dr. Furugaan.
- Sustainability Champion Award: project to establish a decarbonized seawater desalination system using solar energy and NS batteries at MWSC.
- Student Innovator Award: Hussain Jaushan - Studied Mechanical Engineering in Malaysia and has created various products by making use of Artificial Intelligence for the health sector.
- Community Impact Award: MWSC - Presented with the award for their integrated utility project in Dhuvaafaru.
- Women in Engineering Award: Asraaru - Has worked in the engineering industry for 15 years and is the first Chartered Female Civil Engineer in Maldives.
While speaking at the ceremony, Minister of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development Dr. Abdulla Muththalib said that engineers are warriors built on their hard work in building up the nation, everyday living and economy.
Muththalib said that the activities held for Engineers' Day 2026, where engineering work was showcased and explained, shows that it is something that is lost to the students.
He stated that there has been no efforts to teach students about engineering when projects are underway in islands, with this year seeing it done in a broad manner.
In celebration of Engineers' Day on 30th August, school students from the Male' region were taken to the Sinamale' Bridge site, power stations, water plants and project sites in the islands.
The minister went on to say that the students were taken to the bridge site and island project sites so that they can be shown how work on projects move forward.
The first Engineers' Award in Maldives had 10 award categories. More than 70 names were submitted across the categories, with last night's ceremony presenting awards across eight categories.
