Rising star: Anisa Koci

Anisa Koci, principal project manager at Portsmouth International Port, has been recognised for her achievements in the 2023 Inspiring Women in Construction and Engineering Awards.

The ‘rising star’ award recognises nominees with less than ten years’ experience in the industry who have contributed to significant projects within their sector.

After starting her career with Portsmouth City Council as a highways engineer, Anisa was promoted to project management and joined the port in 2020. Since then, she has successfully overseen multimillion pound investments in developing the port’s infrastructure as part of her role in delivering the businesses 20-year masterplan.

Anisa said: “It was a lovely surprise to be nominated in these awards, which play an important part in recognising women in the industry. As a keen ambassador for women in STEM, I am proud to be able to celebrate this milestone in my career alongside such an inspiring group of nominees and project leaders.

“I have been a part of the port team for nearly four years, and since being promoted to principal project manager I have been given the responsibility of masterplanning and delivering major projects including the transformation of berth two, dredging contracts, the Border Control Post and our new terminal extension.

“It is so rewarding to see how these upgrades to our infrastructure are bringing new business to the port and city, after some challenging times to reach completion. I am excited to continue to progress in delivering our masterplan and see the changes over the next couple of years.”

These major projects include the levelling and extension of the Ayrton berth, which has allowed Portsmouth to widely expand their cruise offer and welcome ships up to 300m in length – bringing a substantial line of investment to the city. More recently, she managed the construction of the port’s Border Control Post to meet the government’s new requirements on checks on goods arriving in the UK.

Mike Sellers, port director, who nominated Anisa said: “Anisa continually goes above and beyond in her role, managing all the port’s major capital infrastructure schemes and delivering them on time and on budget. She is a brilliant representative for the sector and I am delighted that her work has been recognised.

“Portsmouth is a city owned port and we have a responsibility to continue to grow and develop our cruise and ferry offering in order to support the regeneration of the local area. These large-scale construction projects also create hundreds of jobs and boost the local economy.”

Portsmouth International Port recently completed the extension of their existing terminal building. This cutting-edge carbon neutral construction will allow for an additional 250,000 passengers per year and is at the forefront of environmental engineering.

Hosted by Construction News and New Civil Engineer, the awards will take place in London on Tuesday 10 October and celebrate the individuals and teams making outstanding contributions to gender diversity within their industry.