Veolia Water Technologies by GineersNow Engineering Magazine GineersNow Engineering Magazine September 2016 | Page 58

AVISCUS: CREATING A WORLD WHERE ACCESS TO WATER, SHELTER, AND ELECTRICITY IS AFFORDABLE The Gaia Dam, a project licensed under the Philippine- based start-up company Aviscus, is a small, low-cost and environment-friendly dam that serves primarily as an irrigation dam. The dam was also designed to be utilized in helping prevent extreme flooding due to heavy rains by re-routing the flow of surface water through the storm runoff pathway and swales present in the area. Another use of this dam is that it could help in the generation of hydroelectric power by diverting water into the intake structure, which will eventually reach the penstock and then into the turbine. GineersNow conducted an exclusive interview with Kent Renier Carandang, the CEO and President of Aviscus. Kent Renier Carandang is a civil engineering graduate from the University of the Philippines Diliman, and has been working in the engineering industry for more than two years. He started working as a climate and flood consultant for the Philippine local government, and at the same time as a water resources engineering consultant. After a year, he joined a US based company in Guam that specializes in constructing structures and installations for the United States military. THE COMPANY (left to right) Top: Kent Renier Carandang, Rhey Joseph Daway, Ralph John Barte; Down: Dr. Leonardo Liongson, Dr Mark Albert Zarco, Ian Kaye Alejandrino, Jeanne Chrystel Dellosa 58 SEPTEMBER 2016 Clean Water Technologies GN: Tell us about your company. Describe your mission, vision, and values, where this company headed and what are your future expansion plans? Carandang: Aviscus is an engineering and construction social enterprise operating in the Philippines, comprised of a small group of engineers and an architect. Our board of advisers is a mix of professionals from the fields of engineering, science, business, finance, and law and they add value and provide the needed advices for the growth and development of the company. Our mission is to create infrastructures with