On 13 October, our colleague Jānis Kreicburgs, a senior project manager at Skonto Būve and Skonto Construction, gained the highest recognition in the industry by receiving the building industry prize—a foundation stone—granted by 49 industry experts. Jānis Kreicburgs won the 2021 Project Manager of the Year title for his work on significant large-scale projects in Latvia and abroad.

Juris Pētersons, a member of the board at Skonto Būve, heaps praise on his employee: “Jānis Kreicburgs has been part of the Skonto Būve team of professionals for 16 years. He is an expert in his field, possesses proven ability, has a clear focus on goals, wishes to develop and grow, and is a mentor to young professionals in their career paths.  Jānis has managed numerous large-scale projects in Latvia, Sweden, the UK, and other countries, and over the years has repeatedly received professional recognition. Jānis Kreicburgs’ energy and expertise not only is an asset to Skonto Būve but also to Latvia and countries beyond Latvia’s borders.”

At Skonto Būve, Jānis Kreicburgs started out as an assistant project manager. Now, as a senior project manager at Skonto Būve and SBSC, he has worked on a number of large-scale construction projects in Latvia, including renovation of the New Riga Theatre building, rebuilding of the shopping centre Origo and building of the business centre Origo One, reconstruction of Reval Hotel Elizabete and Rīga TES TEC- 2, Pauls Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital Building A first phase project, construction of the pile foundations of the shopping centre Akropole, Business Garden Riga office complex, and more.

Outside Latvia, Jānis has mostly been involved in Skonto Būve projects in Sweden and the UK, for example, by being in charge of the Eagle House projects located in London near the City Road high rise. Also, he has overseen the Skonto Būve Swedish branch since 2016.

"The people nominated for these awards deserve our utmost respect for the work they have done and the work they will still do in the future. They have been praised by their own peers, who have chosen them as the best and most knowledgeable specialists,” says Raimonds Eizenšmits, head of the board of the Latvian Civil Engineers’ Union.

For the ninth year, the awards ceremony was organised by the Latvian Civil Engineers’ Union and magazine Būvinženieris in partnership with government agencies and NGOs.