An unsettling experience
Christensen remembers finding the experience a little unsettling: "It was the kind of place where if you had an accident, you could not rely on any kind of emergency response. Even basic communication was difficult. We had no email or phones, and we had to register our presence there with the British Embassy, which was monitoring the whereabouts of foreigners in the country."
Working without access to the usual project resources meant Christensen and his colleagues had to bring their own computers and other equipment.
"We developed and designed a heating concept for Darhan, but we were careful not to make any promises requiring assistance from colleagues at the home office because you could not always guarantee delivering them. Delays and postponements were commonplace, but that was the challenge."
Mongolia today
Since then, Christensen has returned to Mongolia on many occasions. He thinks the Mongolians are a determined people. "They have a talent for finding the way through. They are very good at solving immediate problems."
He is also intrigued by their way of doing business. "They shout and argue with each other in meetings, but never at us. It's their way, and quite different from Europe."
Eight-year project
Christensen has put his extensive experience of the country to good use working on an ADB-financed heat efficiency project in the capital city Ulaanbaatar, the coldest capital in the world. The eight-year project is approaching completion.
"I like working in these less exotic places. You tend to deal with the people directly involved with a project rather than agencies or other stakeholders who are not there on the ground. Plus you get some very challenging circumstances, and that always makes a project more interesting."
By Martyn Glanville
Published: 18.12.2006
