THIS year’s Institute of Municipal Engineering of Southern Africa (IMESA) Conference and Exhibition will take place in East London from 29 to 31 October 2025 and discounted ‘Early Bird’ rates are available for bookings before the end of July.
According to hosts IMESA, the annual conference, now in its 88th year, has grown to become one of the most important events on the engineering profession’s calendar. In 2024, more than 750 national and international delegates (excluding exhibitors) convened to learn, share knowledge and network.
This year the conference and exhibition’s theme is “Sustainable Engineering Solutions”. As municipalities across South Africa grapple with increasingly frequent and severe weather events – ranging from destructive flooding to prolonged droughts – the urgency of integrating sustainable engineering solutions into infrastructure design and construction has never been greater. In 2025 alone, extreme rainfall and storms have damaged roads, overwhelmed outdated and often abused drainage systems and placed lives and livelihoods at risk in both urban and rural communities.
Against this backdrop, sustainable municipal engineering is no longer a forward-thinking ideal – it is a critical imperative that calls for a fundamental shift in how infrastructure is designed, built and maintained.
“This year’s IMESA Conference and Exhibition will not only showcase practical examples of sustainable design and innovation but also foster collaboration across sectors to ensure that our engineering solutions serve both people and the planet. This is a not-to-be-missed opportunity to learn from experts and gain insights into the latest developments and innovations in our field,” says IMESA president Geoff Tooley.
IMESA creates a platform for the exchange of ideas and viewpoints on all aspects of municipal engineering with the aim of expanding the knowledge and best practices in all local government municipalities. This is made up of a community of pioneers, professionals and enthusiasts united by a singular purpose: to reshape the landscape of infrastructure engineering.
