February 3 2020
Rabat – The Moroccan government is set to build one large dam and 20 small ones in the region of
Casablanca-Settat, as part of the 2020-2027
national water plan.
The regional council of Casablanca-Settat made the announcement on Monday, February 3, at a communication meeting about the main regional projects included in the national water program.
The large dam will be downstream from the
Al Massira dam, on the Oum Errabia river, about 150 kilometers south of Casablanca. The dam has a construction budget of MAD 500 million (about €47 million) and will have a capacity of 60 million cubic meters.
The smaller dams will be built throughout several provinces in the region, including 14 in Settat, four in
El Jadida, one in
Benslimane, and one in Berrechid.
The regional council also announced the construction of a new
water desalination facility. The new station will produce 200,000 cubic meters of drinking water per day and will cost MAD 4 billion (around €376 million).
The projects aim to strengthen and secure the supply of drinking water, as well as improve the water networks in the region, especially in rural towns.
The National Office for Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE) will carry out the projects, in collaboration with the water distribution companies Lydec, Radeej, and Radeec.
Other projects include the modernization and rehabilitation of the water supply systems, in order to improve their yields by 78% by 2027. The distribution companies will cover the costs of these projects, estimated at MAD 1.69 billion (around €159 million).
The projects would also achieve a water reserve autonomy of 24 hours across the whole region.
The program allocates an annual budget for an emergency plan to supply drinking water by tanker trucks to any population affected by drought.
Finally, the plan will improve liquid sanitation in nine cities and 108 rural centers, and support the reuse of wastewater through 15 projects, including seven projects for watering golf courses with treated wastewater. The final segment of the plan will cost around MAD 357 million (about €33.61 million).
February 3 2020
Eastern Africa countries have increased investment in infrastructure projects in the past five years with Tanzania leading in terms of the value and number of projects that broke ground by June last year, helped by the new Likong’o-Mchinga Liquefied Natural Gas plant, the most valuable project in the region, according to a new report.
The Africa Construction Trends Report (2019) by Consultancy firm Deloitte released in January, shows that in the past five years Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda have almost tripled the number of infrastructure projects to 182 valued at $146.5 billion from 61 valued at $57.5 billion in the previous five years.
According to the report, the region’s top 10 projects make up 51.7 per cent ($75.5 billion) of the total value of projects in the region, thus accounting for a large proportion of expenditure on infrastructure projects.
Tanzanian, Ethiopian and Kenyan infrastructure projects make up the top 10 projects in the region valued at $43 billion, $19.7 billion and $12.8 billion respectively, with the transport and energy and power sectors recording four and three projects in the top 10 respectively.
OIL, GAS AND ENERGY
The report says Tanzania has caught up with Kenya in terms of infrastructure projects, both recording 51 projects in 2019. But it’s total share of projects by value stands at 41.2 per cent ($60.3 billion), making it the largest contributor towards East Africa’s total project value.
Tanzania’s new Likong’o-Mchinga Liquefied Natural Gas plant worth $30 billion has become the most valuable project in the region. Once completed, the LNG plant, is expected to contribute about seven per cent towards the country’s economic growth.
Although Kenya has one of the most valuable infrastructure projects in the pipeline, the country accounts for only 24.6 per cent ($36 billion) of the region’s total project value.
In the transport sector the top projects included Bagamoyo Mega port (Tanzania), Kenya-Uganda-Rwanda-South Sudan rail project (Kenya), Nairobi-Mombasa highway expansion project (Kenya) and new Addis Ababa International Airport (Ethiopia).
The energy and power sectors included projects such as Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam project (Ethiopia), Tams Hydropower Project (Ethiopia) and Koysha Hydroelectric Dam (Ethiopia).
Other projects making the top 10 list are Tanzania’s Likong’o-Mchinga Liquefied Natural Gas plant (oil and gas), Ethiopian Fairfax Oil Refinery (oil and gas) and Tanzania’s Mtwara Fertiliser plant (Industrial Construction).
Kenya’s rail project is expected to contribute towards boosting trading activities in Kenya, thus, placing the country at the centre of East Africa’s rail network.
The East Africa region accounted for 40.3 per cent of the 452 projects sampled in the entire African continent and 29.5 per cent of the total value of these projects estimated at $497 billion.
East Africa’s total value of construction projects increased by 67.6 per cent to $146 billion in 2019 from $87 billion in 2018 buoyed by increased investments in large infrastructure projects within the transport and oil and gas sectors, such as Phase II of the Kenya Standard Gauge Railway and Tanzania’s new Likong’o-Mchinga Liquefied Natural Gas plant.
The transport sector continues to take the lead in terms of investments accounting for 30 per cent ($44 billion) of the region’s total projects by value, followed by oil and gas (27.5 per cent) and then the energy & power (20.9 per cent) sectors.
The report says the region prioritised investment in transport infrastructure to ensure reliable transportation network and boost intraregional trade and strengthen the regional integration agenda.
As a result, the sector recorded the highest number of projects (69 projects out of 182), followed by the energy and power sector with 40 projects (22 per cent) and real estate with 35 projects (19.2 per cent).
The increased number of transport projects came from investments in rail, road and airport projects.
CHINESE DOMINANCE
According to the report numerous East African-based airports have launched expansion projects to cater for the rapidly growing passenger and cargo traffic volumes.
For instance, the Bole International Airport Expansion project in Ethiopia, seeks to transform Africa’s second most populous nation into the largest aviation hub in Africa.
“Such cross-border infrastructure projects demonstrate East Africa’s commitment to boost regional integration,” according to the report.
According to the report projects in East Africa are mainly owned by Government (79.1 per cent), while private domestic companies own 6.6 per cent.
Various East African governments have played a significant role in boosting infrastructure development in the region.
For instance, the East African Community Development Strategy that aims to support the region in becoming a competitive and sustainable lower-middle income region by 2021, and also highlights infrastructure development as one of its regional priorities.
The report notes that East Africa relies on external funding for most infrastructure projects, with the region’s project funding being dominated by China (20.9 per cent) while Governments account for 13.7 per cent of total funding.
International and African development finance institutions also play a significant role in East Africa’s project funding, accounting for 13.2 per cent and 12.6 per cent, respectively.
The ongoing and upcoming regional infrastructure projects have also attracted various development financiers such as the African Development Bank.
Construction activities in the region are also dominated by China, who is responsible for building 40 per cent of the projects. Both private domestic companies and European Union countries construct 14.8 per cent of projects.
February 4 2020
Construction of the first hybrid power plant in Africa has commenced. Windlab’s global CEO Mr Roger Price confirmed the report and said the project will be developed to international standards.
Situated in Meru County in Kenya, the hybrid project dubbed ‘the Meru County Energy Park’ will be a large-scale facility that combines wind, solar PV and battery storage. The facility will feature up to 20 wind turbines and more than 40,000 solar panels.
Public-private partnership agreement
The project is a public-private partnership. The Meru County Government, through the
Meru County Investment and Development Corporation (MCIDC) will own part of the project once it is operational and
Windlab will own the other portion of the project. The deal also includes capacity building and knowledge transfer efforts.
Upon completion, the plant is expected to produce a total of 80MW of power. Additionally, the Government has already set up a US $47m kitty in partnership with the World Bank to fast-track the uptake of viable solar and clean cooking solutions.
“As Kenya moves to implement the medium-term Big Four agenda, promotion of predictable and sustainable renewable energy is key to guarantee successful realization of the manufacturing pillar. The project would help shore up manufacturing in the country,” said Mr Roger Price.
“We are excited to bring world-leading innovation in the renewable energy sector and project development expertise to Meru County, Kenya. The partnership would hasten benefits of the projects to residents,” the CEO added.
Over 70% of Kenya’s electricity is generated from renewable clean energy sources. Of these, geothermal remains the most significant source as the country focuses on increasing geothermal capacity and weaning off thermal sources.
February 12 2020
Addis Ababa, February 12, 2020 (FBC) –The Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy (MoWIE) said Ethiopia needs $6.5 billion to bring power to all its people by 2025.
This was revealed at consultation the Ministry had today with representatives of the World Bank Group, the European Union (EU) and other development partners.
State Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy, Dr Firehiwot Woldehanna, said the government is working to achieve universal access to electricity by 2025.
The country requires a financing estimated at $6.5 billion to bring power to all its citizens by 2025 from renewable resources, he told the participants.
More than 7 towns/cities had so far access to electricity from renewable resources, he said, adding the private sector should play the leading role to boost the country’s power generation capacity.
February 12 2020
The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) to strengthen their common interest in collaborating to support the development of the capital market in Ghana.
As part of this MoU, LSEG will assist the GSE to take steps to move from a frontier market to an emerging market, support cross-listing between the LSE and GSE and raise awareness of capital raising opportunities.
The two institutions will establish a centralised corporate news dissemination platform in Ghana to promote efficient disclosure practices and price formation and also to support future public market fund raising for the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF).
A statement from the Ghana Stock Exchange said both institutions had the desire to assist Ghanaian businesses to raise capital and support business growth both domestically and internationally.
As part of the MoU, the GSE and the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) would sign a commercial contract with the LSEG Academy to provide series of capacity building programmes to supports product development and market diversity in Ghana.
These capacity building programmes are designed to support aspects of Ghana’s Capital Market Plan, which focused on building key competences to develop a green, social and sustainable bond market.
Commenting on the deal, Mr. Ekow Afedzie, Managing Director of GSE, said, “This is a very historic moment as the GSE today will sign an MoU with the largest stock market in the world. It is also significant because after 30 years of operating as a stock market in Ghana, the GSE will be working to join the league of emerging markets thereby promoting market confidence and attracting global investors.”
He said the GSE was committed to promoting the government of Ghana’s transformational agenda of making Ghana a regional financial hub and positioning it as an International Financial Service Centre.
Rev Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh, Director General of the SEC, also noted “‘I wish to put on record that the Securities and Exchange Commission – Ghana is particularly delighted on the occasion of the signing of this MoU between the London Stock Exchange and the Ghana Stock Exchange.
The timing is opportune as we have recently completed our 10-year Capital Market Master Plan and are about to commence the implementation. A key outcome of this partnership between LSE and GSE is for Ghana to progress into the ranks of emerging markets and we are happy to note that a lot of the initiatives that have been identified under the partnership will complement the four pillars under our Capital Market Master Plan.’
President Nana Akufo-Addo, was present to witness the signing.
Other high ranking government officials present included; the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, Ghana High Commissioner to UK, Papa Owusu Ankomah, UK Minister for Africa, Mr. Andrew Stephenson MP, Dr. Ernest Addison, Governor of BOG, Mr. Anselm Ray Sowah, MD, GCB Bank Ltd and Council Member of the Ghana Stock Exchange, Rev. Daniel Ogbarmey Tetteh, Director General of SEC, other Ministers of State and officials from GSE, SEC and GIIF.
February 12 2020
The US $4bn coal bed methane fueled power plant in Botswana is set to be operational by 2025.This is according to Mineral Resources Minister Lefoko Maxwell Moagi who said the methane plant is also expected to come onstream by 2022
The project is government’s initiative geared towards facilitating development of gas industry in Botswana. Coal bed methane is a clean energy source capable of earning the country carbon credits and positively improve the country’s energy mix.
Also Read:AfDB decides not to fund Kenya’s coal-fired power plant project
Sekaname and
Tlou Energy won the bid for the project by the Public Procurement Disposal Asset Disposal Board (PPADB) and the government has held preliminary discussions with Sasol Ltd. for the refinery project and expects to finalize power purchase deals this year for the pilot power plan
The project will see construction of CBM-fired power plants up to a maximum of 100MW with the staged development starting with up to 10MW of power generation to facilitate the success of the downstream project by requiring relatively minimal upfront capital expenditure, thus reducing risk.
Botswana has a significant energy shortage and generally relies on imported power and diesel generation to fulfill its power requirements.It hosts 212 billion tonnes of coal resources,
“The effort put in by our team over recent years has been phenomenal and this result makes it all worthwhile. The company will now progress with additional work on the ground to deliver a gas‐to‐power solution that can bring significant benefits to the country and to our shareholders,” said Tlou managing director, Tony Gilby.
February 14 2020
Tanzania has signed a $1.46 billion loan agreement with Standard Chartered Bank Tanzania to fund the construction of 550 km (341.75 miles) of a standard gauge railway running between the commercial capital and central Tanzania.
Tanzania is building a network of standard gauge rail to replace an existing narrow gauge built more that a century ago.
In 2017, it said it planned to spend $14.2 billion over a five year period to build 2,561 km of the new railway to connect its main Indian Ocean port of Dar es Salaam to its interior.
The Finance and Planning Ministry and Standard Chartered Bank Tanzania said in a statement late on Thursday the funding will be for building a 550 km section of the rail running between Dar es Salaam and Matukupora in central Tanzania.
“Standard Chartered Tanzania acted as global co-ordinator, bookrunner and mandated lead arranger on the facility agreement that is the largest foreign currency financing raised by the ministry of finance to date,” the statement said.
It added that the biggest part of the financing would come from Sweden’s and Denmark’s export credit agencies.
Once complete, the rail network will connect Tanzania with Burundi, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo.
Tanzania is building the rail in sections, with each being handed to different companies and having its own financing.
Among those contracted to build it are Turkey’s Yapi Merkezi Insaat VE Sanayi As and Portugal’s Mota-Engil Engenharia e Construção África,S.A.
Tanzanian government sources have in the past said Chinese companies would probably be awarded tenders for construction of other sections of the railway line.
Ben Mwaipaja, the finance ministry’s spokesman, said the loan signed on Thursday would have a 20-year tenure, but gave no details on its interest rate.
February 17 2020
Green Africa Airways (Q9,
Lagos), a Nigerian start-up, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with
Airbus covering fifty
A220-300s.
No tentative delivery schedule was announced. If firmed, the order will become the largest commitment for the A220 programme in Africa.
"Together with Airbus, we are incredibly proud to announce the largest order ever for the A220 from the African continent. The Green Africa story is a story of entrepreneurial boldness, strategic foresight and an unwavering commitment to using the power of air travel to create a better future," Founder and Chief Executive Babawande Afolabi said.
Green Africa Airways secured its Air Services Licence (ASL) from the Nigerian Ministry of Transport in mid-2018 and is now in the process of obtaining its Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
In December 2018, the start-up announced a tentative order for fifty
B737-8s with a further fifty options. It is unclear if the carrier has decided to switch to A220s due to the grounding of the
Boeing narrowbodies or if it plans to operate both types alongside each other.
Green Africa did not respond to ch-aviation's request for comment.