Related Links: Efforts To Light Up Africa Gain Momentum Uneven Growth Projected for Africa's Construction Industry Africa has shown renewed interest in raising financing for infrastructure projects through Eurobonds and infrastructure bonds.The shift to international and domestic capital markets is also expected to draw interest from international contractors keen to expand their market share of work in the region.Angola, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Mozambique all plan to issue Eurobonds in the coming months to bridge their infrastructure budget deficits.In addition, the African Development Bank (AfDB) said in September it will float a $40-billion infrastructure bond to fund infrastructure expansion
Nigeria moved closer to implementing major infrastructure projects with a $600-million loan, which will fund a light-rail line in the capital, Abuja, as well as a government internet-connectivity project, and a $500-million loan, which will finance the construction of five airport terminals.
Rendering courtesy of LAVA Design for Ethiopia's national stadium and sports village evokes natural forms, incorporates traditional architectural and construction practices, and introduces modern materials and engineering. A consortium led by Australia’s LAVA has won an international competition to design a national stadium and sports village in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Its concept blends traditional Ethiopian architectural and construction practices with new technology to create a quality, modern piece of infrastructure.LAVA, or the Laboratory for Visionary Architecture, is an international network of designers with offices in Sydney, Shanghai, Stuttgart and Abu Dhabi. LAVA's consortium partners are Doha-based DESIGNSPORT and Ethiopia’s JDAW.The
The Ethiopia-Kenya Power Systems Interconnection Project—the first phase of eastern Africa’s $1.3-billion power integration initiative—is set for takeoff after the World Bank approved $684 million in construction funds for the project in June, even as global environmental groups step up pressure to halt the work.
Qatar Petroleum, a state-owned Qatar company, has for the second time been picked as preferred bidder for the construction of a $2-billion oil refinery in Tunisia’s port of Skhira.
Although a World Bank inspection panel has criticized on environmental and other grounds a mammoth coal-fired powerplant under construction in South Africa, the project will proceed and the bank
The three East African countries planning to use a stalled $360-million, 90-MW hydroelectric powerplant project have agreed to contribute funding, allowing the start of construction to be set for 2013.
Plans by Egypt to embrace Japanese high-speed-rail technology moved closer to becoming a reality in March after the North African country signed a loan agreement with Japan for the construction of a new $1.2-billion metro line in Cairo. The loan agreement for $400 million, which is the first portion to be channeled through the Japanese International Cooperation Agency, will enable Egypt to start phase-one construction in September of the metro's Line 4 as the new government moves to address chronic traffic chaos in Africa’s largest city.
Egyptian construction firm Orascom Construction Industries is positioning itself to be a major player in the Middle East’s reconstruction boom after successfully negotiating for a $363-million natural-gas turbine plant in Iraq.
The decision by German renewable-energy firm Solar Millennium to file for insolvency has upended the company’s Africa expansion plans, with at least one multimillion-dollar project slipping through its hands this year.