OPPORTUNITY AFRICA

Plenty Of Project Choice

Hydropower, Klink said, is all round good news for the project sector at large. Renewable energy expert Wim Jonker Klunne agreed that there is much to be excited about when it comes to hydropower projects as they hold potential for the entire supply chain – big and small players alike.

“Looking at small-scale projects alone there is a lot of activity taking place. In South Africa, a country that is considered dry, there are at least five hydro plants between the Lesotho Highlands and the Vaal Dam requiring project cargo and heavy-lift capability for the transformers that have to be moved. There is work for logistics operators in the hydropower sector across the continent.”

More so, the projects are situated all over Africa meaning the pie is not only large but can be shared. A U.S.

Aid spokesperson told Breakbulk that 1,582 MW of Power Africa’s hydropower projects had reached financial closure by March this year and were ready to move ahead. This included Singrobo-Ahouaty in Cote d’Ivoire, the Mein River Hydro Pilot in Liberia, the Kainji Power-Jebba Hydro Power station in Nigeria, the Nachtigal Amont Hydroelectric Project in Cameroon, Giciye III in Rwanda, Nyamagazani I, Siti II and SM Hydro Limited in Uganda as well as the Luponde and Rusumo Hydropower projects in Tanzania.

Plants that had been commissioned more recently were the KruisvalleI Hydro in South Africa, Nkula A Rehabilitation in Malawi, Achwa 2 HPP, Kyambura, Ndugutu SHP and Nkusi in Uganda. Also, the Lubilia Power Project, Mavumbe and Rwime and Waki project were commissioned. In Liberia, the Mount

AFRICAN PROJECTS ‘NOT FOR FAINT-HEARTED’

Capital costs are a huge barrier to starting new hydropower projects in Africa, especially those that are large and owned by the State, according to a U.S. Aid spokesperson. “Many of these projects are dependent on weak sovereign borrowing rates making the cost of capital high. There are well-founded concerns as well around environmental and social issues caused by new hydropower that must be addressed with robust environmental and social impact awareness assessments and feasibility studied.”

For Philip Warren, managing director of Africa Route Clearance Consultants, the reliance on road networks remains one of the biggest challenges to overcome in Africa. “Although we are seeing investment into road infrastructure increase and efforts are being made to maintain the main arterial routes, the secondary network, especially for project cargo, can be a nightmare.”

Warren said cargo in the energy sector is extremely sensitive and requires as smooth transport as possible. “Road rehabilitation is ongoing, but the networks are old, particularly the bridges. That is where the biggest challenges lie especially for heavy and sensitive cargo like transformers. Nearly all of the bridges have to have bypasses and on a single route that can be one or five. It becomes an astronomically expensive exercise.”

He said in many instances where a bridge does not have to be bypassed it still requires propping. “The infrastructure has severe weight and height limitations. Fatal flaws exist and circumventing it can be done, but it comes with a price tag.” Transport and handling equipment is also not always readily available and congested ports with not enough storage facility add to the woes.

The upside, DSV’s senior manager of projects, air and sea, Peter Verheyke said, is that logisticians and transporters in the project sector have become professional at finding out-of-the-ordinary solutions. Warren added: “Often experts from elsewhere in the world will have nearheart failure when they see how we deal with some of the challenges. The African project logistics sector is not for the faint-hearted. It requires real resilience.”

Coffee Hydropower Plant project is up and running as is Itezhi Tezhi in Zambia.

IHA’s Olivier said another reason for celebration was the numerous projects already being planned. In Burundi, the government approved a project to build two hydroelectric power stations on the Mulembwe and Ruvyironza rivers that will inject 10.65 MW into the local electricity grid. “Malawi just signed an agreement for the Mpatamanga hydropower plant on the Shire River. This 350-MW facility will be the first of its kind in the country doubling the installed capacity of hydropower in Malawi,” he said.

NOTHING SPECIALISTS CAN’T HANDLE

According to Peter Verheyke, senior manager of projects, air and sea at DSV, hydropower logistics are not a problem with logisticians able to easily handle hydropower projects just about anywhere on the continent. “There is very little that cannot be moved despite the many challenges and obstacles that exist. The hydropower sector is also logistically far less challenging than wind for instance and so there is a lot of interest from companies to service these projects.”

He said that while project logistics by their very nature in Africa are not easy, logistics companies have over the years developed the skills to ensure projects are delivered within deadlines. He said technical assessments are necessary as this allows risks to be identified early on in the process.

“Moving 300-ton pieces of equipment over treacherous terrain in very rural areas far from ports is never easy,” Klink said. “Hydropower, while easier cargo than some others, still involves numerous pieces of electromechanical equipment that is sensitive and needs to be treated carefully. Considering the locations of these projects in Africa, logistics is an important element for success.”

When it comes to greenfield projects, the available infrastructure to deliver cargo to a site is always a critical element to consider whether it be the need to bring in heavy handling equipment, propping a bridge, or building a jetty or even a road.