JICA’s international cooperation activities are carried out with great passion by experts in various fields, both inside and outside of JICA. In “People Tackling International Challenges,” we focus on the stories of these people and delve into their past and future aspirations. In this 9th issue, we interviewed Mr. Guo-Feng Huang, Director of the Building Development Department of Oriental Consultants Global (OC Global), who has been involved in many projects in the field of building technology as part of Japan’s ODA projects.
Huang Guofeng.
Using five languages, “For Japan’s International Cooperation.”
I think it is very significant for Japan to make the world aware of Japan through ODA projects. In the field, regardless of nationality, we are united in our efforts for Japan’s international cooperation.
Mr. Huang Guofeng is an architectural engineer from Malaysia. Using the architectural skills he learned in Japan and the five languages he speaks, he is involved in ODA projects that help Japan contribute to world peace, stability, and prosperity. Over the past 35 years, he has worked with JICA on projects in eight countries, including Indonesia, Nepal, and Bangladesh. In all these years, there is one thing he has always kept in mind.
We believe that one of the challenges is not only to build the building, but also to incorporate Japan’s unique technology and ideas. This is because it will be a proof of Japan’s contribution to the partner country and also an opportunity for Japan to showcase its technology to the world as a sign.
Another major challenge for projects in developing countries is to instill thorough Japanese safety management and schedule control. Mr. Huang works hard together with local staff in each country and contributes to raising awareness of crisis management.
The first Japanese student in a Malaysian village
He came to Japan in 1983. Until then, the usual destinations for students from Malaysia were England and Australia, but then Prime Minister Mahathir proposed the Eastern Policy in 1981, which opened the way for students to come to Japan. I was the first from my village to study in Japan.”
Mr. Huang (fourth from left) won the Grand Prize in an international competition he entered with his laboratory classmates when he was a first-year graduate student at Waseda University. (Courtesy of Mr. Huang)
In 1991, I completed my graduate studies in construction engineering at Waseda University and joined OC Global’s predecessor company. There, I was assigned to the newly established Construction Development Department and became involved in ODA projects.
I had no experience in ODA in the architectural field, and it was a learning and challenging experience for me. I had no intention of working in Japan for a long time, but I began to feel a great sense of fulfillment from working on the world stage.
Our first big project was a university development project in Indonesia. Because of his fluency in Indonesian, he plays a major role in communicating with local officials. Over the next 18 years in the same country, he was involved in four other university projects.
What is important in higher education projects is to think together about the future of the partner country and reflect it in the design. For example, in the beginning, there were no laboratories in Indonesian universities. So we set up a laboratory for each professor, just like in Japan, and provided them with the necessary equipment and materials to create an environment in which they could concentrate on their research.
The Bandung Institute of Technology in Indonesia, which Mr. Huang Guofeng was involved in the planning, design, and construction supervision of, and which was completed in 1995 (courtesy of OC Global).
Why Japan Should Use the Lessons of the Great East Japan Earthquake
During the construction of the University Hospital of Indonesia starting in 2008, we proposed the introduction of seismic isolation technology at the design stage. In Japan, seismic isolation technology was introduced to hospitals and public facilities after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. Indonesia is also an earthquake-prone country, so we thought it was necessary.”
However, there were hurdles to realization. The cost was high. In a yen loan project, the partner country borrows money from Japan and later repays it, so any increase in costs directly affects the financial burden on the local government. After Mr. Huang explained the necessity of the project to the government and university officials, the local side understood the significance and necessity of the project and decided to introduce it. The hospital became the first hospital in Indonesia with a seismically isolated structure.
Then, an even bigger project awaited us: the reconstruction of elementary and junior high schools after the April 2015 earthquake in Nepal. A total of more than 31,000 classrooms in 9,100 schools were completely destroyed, and nearly 1 million children lost their places to learn.
Kalidibi Middle School immediately after it collapsed in the Nepal earthquake (courtesy of OC Global).
At that time, Mr. Huang, who was assigned as the project manager, proposed to Nepal to work with JICA based on the “Build Back Better” philosophy. Build Back Better” is a concept that gained attention at the United Nations World Conference on Disaster Reduction held in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, in 2015 after the Great East Japan Earthquake. It aims to rebuild a more resilient society in preparation for future disasters, rather than simply restoring it to its original state.
The JICA project covered 274 schools. We went to all of them to assess the damage, but many of the schools were located in mountainous areas and had no roads. We had to rack our brains to figure out how we could transport materials.
Behind the major damage was the fragile building structure made of bamboo and clay walls, which led to the decision to design the new school building with an earthquake-resistant reinforced concrete structure.
However, as we listen to teachers and children, we realize that the challenges go beyond earthquake resistance. There are fewer classrooms than there are grades, and children who cannot get inside play outside. There is no science room, so experiments cannot be conducted. Books are taken from storage and read on the stairs. ……
I first told the Nepalese Ministry of Education that in Japan, each grade level has its own classroom, and there is also a science lab and library. Even though they understood this in their minds, they were reluctant to accept it, saying that the site was too small and that they did not need so many classrooms, and it took a long time to bridge the gap.
Improved attendance by solving restroom problems
Especially serious was the issue of gender. Most of the schools had shared bathrooms for both boys and girls. I was surprised to hear that this meant that girls stopped coming to school because they couldn’t stand to go to the bathroom, or that they didn’t go to school when they were menstruating.”
Furthermore, there was a noticeable delay in making the school barrier-free for handicapped children. We explained the significance of Braille blocks and handrails and included them in the design.
The hallway of the School for the Blind building at Namuna Mahindra High School, where Braille blocks have been installed. Students at Patan High School enjoy learning in the newly constructed science lab. Huang’s proposal has also improved safety and the quality of education (all courtesy of OC Global).
We do not have time to draw blueprints for each of the 274 schools. Therefore, we introduced the “type design” method. By combining the number of floors, number of students, and location of each school building into a pattern, we were able to create 188 different designs. This method reduced the construction period and budget, and allowed us to quickly welcome students into their new classrooms.
Construction of the project began in January 2017 and was completed in May 2023 after overcoming a hard schedule of about 150 schools simultaneously at its peak. Huang was invited to the school completion ceremony and was impressed by the many words of appreciation he received from students and teachers.
At OC Global’s Tokyo headquarters, Mr. Huang explains while looking at photos of the reconstructed Patan High School. He said that the latest design techniques were incorporated while preserving Nepal’s traditional design and history.
The most common comment I heard was from girls who said, ‘I can now go to the bathroom without worrying. I was very happy to learn that the attendance rate of girls has increased and the number of dropouts has decreased. I also heard, ‘I have more time to read books now that the library is here.
At the ceremony, Mr. Huang always said to the students, “This school is not only for you, but also for your children and grandchildren. Please continue to use this school not only for yourselves, but also for your children and grandchildren.
Many of the children were able to learn about Japan for the first time and develop a positive impression of the country through the Japanese government’s cooperation in the recovery effort. I believe that as they grow up and become bridges between the two countries, they will become an asset to Japan.
Mr. Huang (back row, right, courtesy of OC Global) poses for a commemorative photo with students at the completion ceremony for the Nepal Emergency School Reconstruction Project held in Kathmandu in May 2023.
Imagining what lies beyond the hard work
I am currently involved in the construction of diagnostic imaging buildings at base hospitals in seven states in Bangladesh. This facility consolidates advanced medical equipment such as Japanese CTs and MRIs to provide a one-stop health checkup service. The design of the hospital also makes use of Japanese spatial design that takes into consideration the flow lines of medical personnel and patients.
In Nepal’s reconstruction efforts, I once had to climb a mountain by dipping into a river and crossing to the other side in order to go to a school deep in the mountains. Japanese ODA will improve the lives of the villages. Improving the educational environment, especially for the children who bear the future of the country, is very meaningful work. No matter how great the hardship may be, we can overcome it if we imagine what lies beyond the hardship.”
Reflecting on his experiences on the front lines, Mr. Huang repeatedly mentioned the word “rewarding.” Drawing on his 35 years of accumulated experience, he will continue to take on further challenges as an international person who connects the world with the power of Japan.
Mr. Huang (fourth from left), who spends 80% of the year working overseas, and his colleagues gathered at OC Global’s Tokyo headquarters when they saw him returning home. Colleagues of different nationalities and specialties are also strong partners who contribute to the world.
Huang Guo Feng (Woong Kok Feng)
Born in Sarawak, Malaysia, in 1963, he came to Japan in 1983 and majored in architecture at the School of Science and Engineering, Waseda University. After completing his graduate studies at the same university, he joined Pacific Consultants International Corporation (now Oriental Consultants Global) in 1991. After serving as General Manager of the Building Development Department and Executive Officer and General Manager of the Integrated Development Division, he has been a Director of the Building Development Department since 2025. As a development consultant in the architectural field, he is engaged in building planning, design, construction supervision, and project management.
Oriental Consultants Global Co.
Established in 2014. Headquartered in Tokyo, with local subsidiaries in 10 countries overseas. With approximately 1,500 employees, the company implements infrastructure projects, including ODA projects with JICA, in more than 150 countries and regions, providing comprehensive services ranging from initial surveys of social infrastructure to planning, design, construction supervision, maintenance management, project management, and business operations. Based on its extensive overseas business experience and network, the company aims to contribute to the realization of truly affluent lifestyles hand in hand with people around the world, and is also actively promoting multinational human resources to establish a global corporate structure.
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