Photo Courtesy of Kenya Pipeline Co. The 450-km, 20-in.-dia pipeline will link East Africa's trade gateway of Mombasa to Kenyas capital, Nairobi. Related Links: $650-Million Airport Project in Kenya Breaks Ground New Phase for Alaska's Massive LNG Pipeline Project Lebanese family-owned firm Zakhem International Construction is set to build a $490-million multi-product oil pipeline in Kenya after a petition challenging the award of the contract was thrown out in mid-July by a government procurement agency.The 450-kilometer, 20-in.-dia pipeline linking East Africa's trade gateway of Mombasa to Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, will ease transportation of fuel to the land-locked economies of Uganda,
Image courtesy of Frankfurt Zoological Society. Map highlights the proposed highway. Related Links: Court Ruling Endangers Serengeti Road Project Tanzania Drives On With Planned Road Through Serengeti Park A three-year suit challenging the construction of a 53-kilometer highway in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania’s World Heritage site, has ended, and the country has been permanently restrained from proceeding with the project.The First Instance Division of the East African Court of Justice ruled on June 20 that the project would violate the East African Community (EAC) Treaty, to which Tanzania is a signatory, and have a serious negative ecological impact in the
Related Links: Gas-Fired Projects Are Gaining Momentum Fertilizer Plants Popping Up Across Grain Belt Nigeria and Tanzania have approved plans for the construction of fertilizer production plants, now at different stages of development, as they seek private project developers to capitalize on their huge natural gas resources.West-Africa focused consortium Brass Fertilizer Company signed a deal with Engineers India Limited in late May to provide project management services for its upcoming integrated green field gas-based fertilizer complex comprising of urea/methanol plant at Brass Island, Nigeria. The value of the consultancy contract could not be immediately confirmed.Brass Fertilizer Company investors include a
Courtesy of Africa Political & Economic Strategic Center Strike by 200,000 union metalworkers in South Africa had disrupted materials delivery to construction sites and halted some projects. Two of South Africa largest workers unions have called off a crippling strike involving more than 200,000 engineers and mining and metals workers, which had starved construction contractors of materials and disrupted work at two of Africa’s largest coal-fired power plants.The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa accepted terms from the Steel and Engineering Federation of South Africa to raise salaries for the lowest paid workers up to 10% and reached compromise
Courtesy of Paresa SpA Refinery upgrade in Algiers, Algeria, is set for completion by year-end under a $908-million contract, awarded in 2010 to Paris-based Technip. Africa is poised to expand its crude refining capacity by an additional 1.6 million barrels per day when refinery projects underway in four countries are completed and operating. Despite competition from cheap fuel imports, viability questions related to small regional refinery projects and unreliable crude-oil supply, Algeria, Nigeria, South Africa and Uganda are proceeding with plans to increase their crude refining capacities to wean themselves off reliance on imports.Algeria’s state-owned oil firm Sonatrach Petroleum has
Courtesy Lafarge Cement maker Lafarge says that poor construction practices, not cement quality, are to blame for structural collapses in Nigeria. Related Links: Cement Firms Lafarge and Holcim Face Hurdles in Planned $60-Billion Merger Quick Succession at Mexican Cement Giant Cemex After Sudden Death of CEO Nigeria cement manufacturers and other stakeholders have expressed mixed reactions to a move by the country's standards regulatory agency to dictate cement production and use.The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has directed all cement makers to ensure that, before their product is released to the market, packaging material contains detailed information on the quality
Related Links: South Africa's Sasol Moves on New Petrochemical Project in Louisiana Gas-Fired Projects Are Gaining Momentum Egypt’s Carbon Holdings Ltd. has signed a $600-million agreement with Abu Dhabi-based Drake & Scull International (DSI) for the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of utilities and off-site facilities at the $6-billion Tahrir Petrochemical Project, 40 kilometers south of the city of Suez, at the head of the Suez Canal.DSI joins several other companies that already have secured contracts with Carbon Holdings for the construction of the petrochemicals complex, expected to break ground in 2015 following a financial close by the end of
By the end of June, Nigerians will know what caused the June 2 collapse of a four-story building that killed four construction workers in the city of Onitsha, 482 kilometers from the capital, Abuja.The Anglican Church of Nigeria was constructing the building. The church's Niger diocese and the government of Anambra state have set up parallel teams to probe the collapse. Construction experts have blamed several factors, including contractor incompetence and non-compliance to project specifications and standards. The building is suspected to have been initially approved for just two stories. Unconfirmed reports also suggest that, before the collapse, too little
Related Links: Report: Global Market for Geothermal Heats Up Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam Prompts Safety Concerns Djibouti and Ethiopia are developing new geothermal power capacities that are intended to enable them meet increasing demand for electricity and enhance their sustainable-energy portfolio.The World Bank has provided details about its contractor prequalification procedure for the drilling of four full-size geothermal production wells in Djibouti, while Icelandic powerplant builder Reykjavik Geothermal says it hopes to commence its $2-billion Corbetti Geothermal Power Project in Ethiopia in July.The World Bank, one of the financiers of the $31-million Djibouti Geothermal Power Project, which is being developed
Related Links: New Study Says Infrastructure Already Feels Climate Change's Impact Wind Developers Active Across African Continent The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved the creation of a fund to support the continent’s “transition to green growth.” The African Climate Change Fund (ACCF) will scale up to a multi-donor trust fund, which will be hosted and managed by the bank.Speaking to the bank’s directors at a meeting in the Tunisian capital, Tunis, Alex Rugamba, director of the bank’s energy, environment and climate-change department, said the fund “will help facilitate countries’ access to the financing they need to protect their economies