Courtesy IEA Two coal-fired powerplants are scheduled to add 9,000MW to the South African grid by 2020. Courtesy IEA Power production projects underway are expected to fuel regional GDP growth projected at 5% in 2015. Despite the challenges of inadequate policy, problems of pricing and lack of infrastructure, analysts say countries in sub Saharan Africa hope to increase power generation in 2015. The region is launching initiatives designed to meet the demands of projected GDP growth of more than 5% and also provide power to many of the 620 million people who currently live without access to electricity.Despite existing constraints,
Related Links: Pushback Against Chinese Workers Escalates in Africa Chinese construction companies in Namibia have been hit by a series of worker strikes over poor pay, job discrimination and lack of jobsite health and safety protections.Construction of the $49-million, 231-kilometer Otjinene-Okondjatu trunk road by China Henan International Cooperation Group (Chico) was disrupted in November after more than 80 Namibian workers protested safety conditions.The workers accused Chico of ferrying them in overcrowded and non-roadworthy open trucks and claimed the firm was using an outdated stone crusher that forced them to go inside it "to remove stuck stones,” exposing them to danger.Lack
Despite its associated energy costs and the availability of cheap imports from China and Pakistan, demand for cement in East Africa has continued to rise. The need to increase cement production to feed the region's booming construction industry dominated discussions at a workshop meeting of East African cement producers and German cement-equipment manufacturers in Nairobi, Kenya, on Nov. 20.Annual demand for cement in East Africa is now estimated at 6 million metric tons, with Kenya’s demand alone estimated at some 3.5 million metric tons, according to Kenya's National Construction Authority (NCA).East Africa's cement makers, including subsidiaries of German-based Heidelberg and
Enlarge Map by Jeffrey Cox/ ENR This new line will extend rail service to Calabar. China Railway Construction Corp. will export $4 billion worth of construction machinery, trains and steel products to Nigeria for the construction of the $11.97-billion Coastal Railway Project, whose final contract was signed in the West Africa nation’s capital, Abuja, in November.The Chinese firm said that, under the contract, the largest single award for any Chinese company overseas, a single track of 1,402-kilometer-long standard-gauge railway will be constructed to link the commercial city of Lagos to the eastern port city of Calabar on the Nigerian coast.CRCC
The 4,800-MW Medupi powerplant, near Johannesburg, is among the major projects that have fueled construction job growth in South Africa. Related Links: South Africa Powerplant Project Will Get More Environmental Monitoring South Africa Energy Raises Demand for Heavy Machinery Big South Africa Workers' Strike Settlement Ends Month of Construction Sector Disruption South Africa's construction sector led the country's third-quarter job growth due to the expansion of a government-financed public-works program and the government's backing of a renewable-energy build plan.Statistics South Africa, the country's economic data collection service, says 99,000 of 116,000 jobs created in the three-month period ended Sept. 30
Photo courtesy of Bouygues Construction Ivory Coast's new bridge will be Africa's first lagoon crossing. Rendering courtesy of JICA Tanzania's first cable-stayed bridge is facing a six-month delay due to unexpected soil conditions. Related Links: European, U.S. Firms Still Dominate Africa Infrastructure Market Africa Poised for LNG Boom Bridge-building is booming in Africa. Key projects are being unveiled or are under construction to give the region vibrant, efficient and economic transport corridors and boost the incomplete integration of their associated economies.Botswana and Zambia are hoping to commence construction of the delayed $259-million Kazungula Bridge over the Zambezi River, a critical
Courtesy Jeffreys Bay Wind Farm South Africa requires a fleet of modern cranes to meet wind-project demands, experts say. Related Links: Nigeria Cement Makers Grapple With New Regulations Wind Developers Active Across African Continent South Africa's construction of renewable-energy capacity and coal powerplants has created new opportunities for heavy-equipment suppliers, especially crane companies, after the government recently approved 64 new projects, valued at $14 billion.South Africa is constructing 3,916 MW of new renewable-energy capacity under the country’s 20-year energy plan, the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme. Also, in Medupi and Kusile, the country is constructing two $18.8-billion coal-fired
Construction of the $3.6-billion double-track standard gauge railway (1,435mm) linking Kenya’s Indian Ocean port city of Mombasa to the capital Nairobi could pose a fresh challenge for railway operators in East Africa interested in connecting with the modern rail line.Railway transport experts say the 609-kilometre high speed railway line is being constructed in a region where existing railway gauges are predominantly meter-gauge (1000mm) and cape gauge (1067mm). Kenya and Uganda operates 2,351-kilometres of meter gauge rail network while Tanzania operates 2,600-kilometers of both meter gauge and Cape gauge. It may need additional investments to harmonize the gauges to enable a
Structural collapse of a large home in an upscale Johannesburg, South Africa development that killed seven now is under investigation. Officials cite lack of site safety supervision. South African safety officials say the probe into the Aug. 18 collapse of a large home under renovation near Johannesburg that killed seven workers, including the site manager, won't be complete until November, but critics point to a continuing lack of site supervision on projects.The country's Dept. of Labor has set up an inquiry into the collapse at the upscale Meyersdal Eco-Estate, a housing development located in a nature reserve.Initial reports from survivors,
The developing Ebola crisis in West Africa has prompted some owners to halt projects in affected countries and evacuate employees and contractors. Others are stepping up measures to cushion their employees from the deadly virus that has killed at least 1,060 people and infected another 1,975 across Liberia, Nigeria, Guinea and Sierra Leone.Some forecasters see economic impacts from the outbreak on affected countries.Luxembourg-based steel and mining company ArcelorMittal announced earlier in August that it has suspended the second phase of its iron-ore expansion project in Liberia meant to increase shipments from 4 million tonne-per-year to 15 million by the end