Construction and Civil Engineering by Construction and Civil Engineering

CONSTRUCTION APRIL 2017

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& CIVIL ENGINEERING The Journal for Construction Industry Leaders

Zenith Steel

40 years of innovation

Lamu port project construction

Acacia mining strikes gold in Kenya

How Morocco tapped into Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s renewwable energy potential

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Africa’s renewable energy potential

frica’s vast potential for renewable energy could outstrip the continent’s projected electricity demand in 2030, according to new research. The paper, “Strategic siting and regional grid interconnections key to low-carbon futures in African countries” maps the potential for new wind and solar farms in 21 African countries. At present, Africa has the lowest per capita electricity consumption in the world. A report from the World Bank Group and the International Energy Agency (IEA) states that the speed of electrification in Africa is failing to keep pace with a rapidly rising population. The report details that of the 1.06 billion people across the world who still lack access to electricity, 45 per cent reside in Rural Africa – with a further 10 per cent spread across African cities. According to the Sustainable Energy For All Forum, just 37 per cent of Africa’s population had access to electricity in 2014. Africa has huge untapped resources for renewable energy – namely wind and solar power. Well-chosen sites coupled with interconnectors that allow resources to be shared within and between countries could enable Africa’s rapidly growing electricity demand to be met with renewables at a similar cost to conventional fossil fuel generation, according to the authors of the paper. Energy demand in Africa is expected to grow exponentially; the study forecasts that for an area encompassing 50 per cent of Africa’s population, the collective demand will exceed 1,000 terawatthours (TWh) by 2030 – almost triple the figure for 2010. The declining costs of wind and solar has already fuelled growth in renewable energy generation in a number of African countries. In Kenya and Ghana, the levelised cost of wind power is already roughly equal to hydropower. To expand the adoption of renewable energy throughout the continent, the paper’s authors developed a tool to map the best available new sites

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for solar and wind power in 21 different countries: Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Libya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. According to the analysis, the maximum potential for wind and solar power across all 21 nations surpasses the estimated electricity demand in 2030 by at least a factor of two. The results indicate that Djibouti, Libya, Swaziland and Tanzania will be able to meet 30 per cent of their demand with accessible, low-impact, and cost-effective wind sites. Similarly, Botswana, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe could meet 30 per cent of their projected 2030 demand with domestically-produced solar photovoltaic (PV). However, for Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Kenya, Libya, South Africa and Zambia meeting 2030 targets will “require investing in transmission extensions to access lower-cost PV resources or importing from neighbours”. The news follows the announcement of Facebook and Microsoft’s collaboration with investment firm Allotrope Partners and more than a dozen implementing partners and observers to develop an innovative facility to finance energy access projects in India, Indonesia and East Africa. The new Microgrid Investment Accelerator (MIA) seeks to mobilise around $50 million from 2018 to 2020 in order to reach those communities across the globe living without access to electricity. In North Africa, the Tunisian government has announced it plans to invest $1 billion towards the installation of 1,000 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy in 2017 – while in Algeria the government is set to launch a tender for the construction of large-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) projects totalling 4 gigawatts (GW). In this issue we look at how various countries in Africa are leading in this front. Welcome! Editor

DISCLAIMER: The publisher does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or authenticity of advertisements or contributions contained in the journal. Views expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the publisher. © All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied or reproduced without prior permission from the publisher. Circulation Ken Kilozo Robert Kimani Marketing Executives George Otieno Liz Kyalo

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inside ... COVER STORY

Zenith Steel

40 years of innovation

Established in 1977, leading steel fabrication firm Zenith Steel has grown to become the biggest specialist in multi-storey building in Africa.

BRIEFS 6. Acacia Mining strikes gold in Kenya 6. US97.1m allocated for Lamu Port Project construction 7. Ethiopia’s GERD dam will make Egypt’s Nile delta sink under the Med, study says 8. East Africa’s oil ambitions depend on pipelines 9. Cytonn Real Estate Partners With Finnish Architect For It’s Latest Ksh. 15 Billion Development 10. Kenha, Chinese firm ink Sh18billion deal for key Kenya, Tanzania link road 10. Kenya’s rich investing in real estate 11. Construction of Sh17bn Western Bypass to begin 12. Rwanda now commits to construct own SGR 13. World’s largest construction company to build Africa’s tallest building 14. Mauritius’ Construction Sector to Grow by 7% in 2017 15. China Welcomes Madagascar to Join Belt and Road Construction

Construction & Civil Engineering Journal / April 2017 Issue

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FEATURE

East Africa’s Great Rift Valley: hub for emissions

East Africa’s Great Rift Valley will soon become a hub for emissionsfree wind energy as the continent’s largest wind farm rises from the arid, rocky landscape of northwest Kenya.

How Morocco tapped into Africa’s renewable energy potential

Providing reliable, affordable and sustainable access to energy has become a core focus of the international development community and is the seventh goal of the 2015 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

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Africa’s Green Energy Challenge: Mega Projects, Off-Grid or Somewhere in Between?

A 310-megawatt wind farm sprouting up in a remote, barren landscape near Lake Turkana in northern Kenya has the clean energy world buzzing — and for good reason.

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Acacia Mining strikes gold in Kenya Acacia Mining has struck gold in Kenya, reporting the discovery of a “multi-million ounce” gold stream in the western part of the country. FTSE 250-listed Acacia said initial tests suggested the find was “one of the highest grade projects in Africa today” and the first step in defining a gold-rich corridor in the east African country. Acacia reported a resource of 1.31 million ounces at 12.1 grams per tonne, totalling 1.3m ounces of gold. However it expects further drilling work to revise this up to at least 2m ounces by the end of the year. The company has six drill rigs on site and plans to spend $12m (£9.7m) this year on further exploring its Kenyan prospect. Brad Gordon, chief executive, said the company was “delighted” with the result so far. “Whilst Kenya is a relatively new mining “Whilst Kenya is a relatively new mining destination we are very pleased with the relationships we have built and the support we have received and look forward to working closely with all stakeholders as we progress this highly promising project,” destination we are very pleased with the relationships we have built and the support we have received and look forward to working closely with all stakeholders as we progress this highly promising project,” he added. Dan Kazungu, Kenya’s cabinet secretary for mining, said that the country was seeking to ratify its Mining Act to establish as “a

robust legislative framework” to support its burgeoning mining industry. “We are excited about the potential of Acacia’s West Kenya Project, as it could ultimately lead to the creation of a gold mining industry that would have a benefit to our country, economy and people,” he said. “We look forward to continuing to work with Acacia and welcome their continued interest and investment in Kenya.” Acacia has three operating mines in Tanzania, but has made no secret of its ambition to become a pan-African miner. It has further exploration projects in that country as well as in Burkina Faso and Mali. Mr Gordon has described the company’s approach as “contrarian”, because it has continued to invest in hunting for new gold deposits while many of its rivals have pared back budgets. The company is in early-stage merger talks with Endeavour Mining of Canada, a deal that may win the backing of Acacia’s largest shareholder, Barrick Gold, which has been seeking to offload its 64pc stake. In its full-year results, released earlier this month, Acacia swung from a $124m (£99m) pre-tax loss to a $242m profit on revenue up 21p, and more than doubled its full-year dividend. Acacia shares were little changed at 536p.

US97.1m allocated for Lamu Port Project construction Kenyan Transport Principal Secretary Irungu Nyakera said 20 per cent of the work has been completed and the government will set aside US$97.1mn to the port project in the coming fiscal year He said the government has by now paid US$44.6mn to the contractor of the Lamu port project while another US$28.1mn would be paid before the end of this year. The Principle Secretary said the Lamu port project would cost the exchequer a sum of US$466mn. Construction of the first three berths in the Lamu port project has already begun. “We look ahead to the construction of the first berth of the Lamu port to be finished by June 2018,” he said. In an interview, Mr. Nyakera said construction of the second and third berths are projected to be finished in 2019 and 2020 correspondingly. “The government is committed to finish the construction of a second port in Lamu to complement the port of Mombasa,” he said. Other 6

than the construction of the three berths, other work going on in tandem include dredging of the channel, land reclamation, the building of a cofferdam and a causeway. He stated that the Lamu Port South Sudan Ethiopia Transport is one of the chief projects the government was executing to enhance trade between other East African countries. “Lamu port, will not only present services to the nation but also to landlocked nations of Ethiopia and South Sudan,” he said. Mr. Nyakera said the government has also set aside US$ 97.1mn for the construction of the LamuWitu-Garsen road. The PS said the 132km road would play a role in the hauling of goods and people between Lamu and Mombasa counties He said the government is also building a nine-km road to link the US$1.9bn coal powered plant at Kwasasi to the Lamu port. The coal power project, he added, would create 1,050MW and increase power supply to the port through the national grid.

Construction & Civil Engineering Journal / April 2017 Issue

BRIEFS

Ethiopia’s GERD dam will make Egypt’s Nile delta sink under the Med, study says

The multi-year study of Egypt’s Nile Delta estimates that GERD could reduce the flow of water to Egypt by as much as 25%, restricting its fresh water supply and diminishing its ability to generate power. These are already matters of contention between the two countries, but the study published by the Geological Society of America (GSA) flags up another, unexpected risk – that of the eventual submerging of parts of the low-lying Nile Delta region under the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. In their paper published in the journal, GSA Today, Jean-Daniel Stanley and Pablo L. Clemente argue that GERD’s restriction of Nile-born silt onto the delta, combined with sinking of the delta due to natural seismic compaction, could mean that parts of delta surface now above sea level will be underwater by the end of this century. The scientists call for some form of arbitration by regional or global bodies to be applied to the “delicate situation”. They worry, too, about the wider region, where some 400 million people live in the 10 countries along the Nile, with some now already experiencing severe droughts and unmet energy needs and “a multitude of economic, political, and demographic problems”.

Background

The soil-rich delta evolved as the result of natural conditions involving the Nile’s fresh water flow and transport of sediment northward from Ethiopia, across Sudan and Egypt to the Mediterranean. About 70% of water flow reaching Egypt is derived from the Blue Nile and Atbara rivers, both sourced in Ethiopia. Over the past 200 years, rapidly increasing human activity has seriously altered flow conditions of the Nile. Emplacement in Egypt of barrages in the 1800s, construction of the Aswan Low Dam in 1902, and the Aswan High Dam in 1965 have since altered water flow and distribution of nourishing organic-rich soil in

Without GERD, the Nile supplies around 97% of Egypt’s present water needs, with only 660 cubic meters per person, one of the world’s lowest annual per capita water shares

It may be Ethiopia’s symbol of national pride, but the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) being built for hydroelectric power on the Blue Nile will have grave and unexpected consequences for its downstream neighbour, Egypt, according to a report published in the US.

the delta. Egypt’s population has rapidly swelled to about 90 million, with most living in the soil-rich Lower Nile Valley and Delta. These two areas comprise only about 3.5% of Egypt’s total area, the remainder being mostly desert. Due to much-intensified human impact, the delta no longer functions as a naturally expanding fluvial-coastal centre. Less than 10% of Nile water now reaches the sea, and most of the nutrient-rich sediment is trapped in the delta by a dense canal and irrigation system.

Already sinking

The low-lying delta plain is only about 1m above present sea level. The northern third of the delta is lowering at the rate of about 4-to-8mm per year due to compaction of strata underlying the plain, seismic motion, and the lack of sufficient new sediment to re-nourish the delta margin being eroded by Mediterranean coastal currents. While the coastal delta margin is being lowered, sea level is also rising at a rate of about 3mm per year. Delta lowering and sea-level rise thus accounts for submergence of about 1cm per year. At present rates, saline intrusion is now reaching agricultural terrains in central delta sectors, and the scientists say parts of delta surface will be underwater by the year 2100. Ethiopia, itself energy-poor and undergoing drought conditions, is nearing completion of GERD, the largest hydroelectric dam in Africa. The large reservoir behind the dam is to be filled over a period lasting up to seven years, during which it is expected that the amount of Nile flow to the delta will be reduced by as much as 25%, the scientists say. This down-river decrease of Nile fresh water will produce “grave conditions”, they add.

Water and food shortages

Without GERD, the Nile supplies around 97% of Egypt’s present water needs, with only 660 cubic meters per person, one of the world’s lowest annual per capita water shares. With a population expected to continue surging, Egypt is projected to experience critical fresh water and food shortages. “It is hoped that rather than resorting to threats and military action, some form of arbitration by regional or global bodies be applied to the delicate situation,” the authors write. www.cceonlinenews.com

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East Africa’s oil ambitions depend on pipelines A decade after its first big oil find, East Africa’s emergence as a crude exporter has been hindered by security and cost concerns that left the region building two pipelines instead of one.

ganda and Kenya are developing two new basins and originally agreed to build one line to connect the landlocked discoveries to the coast. That changed last year, when Uganda chose a more southerly 870-mile route through Tanzania, citing lower transit prices. Kenya will go it alone with an 865-kilometer line to a port on the Indian Ocean. Two pipelines will test the economics of the developments. Both projects probably need an oil price of $50 to $55 a barrel to break even, while lower costs or taxes may be required to justify a final investment decision in Uganda, according to BMO Capital Markets. help from France’s Total , which owns a stake in the Uganda reserves, but it still hasn’t secured the financing it needs. Further north, Kenya’s explorers are under pressure to improve the project’s viability by finding more resources. “The Kenyan pipeline seemed economically viable when Ugandan oil was going to flow through it,” said Jacques Nel, an economist at NKC African Economics. With separate lines each carrying less oil than planned and global prices remaining weak, the economics “will continue to cast a shadow over the development of the sector,” he said. While Africa produces more than 8.4 million barrels of crude daily from major exporters like Libya and Algeria in the north and Nigeria and Angola in the west, eastern countries weren’t on the world oil map. That changed in 2006, when Tullow Oil Plc found what may be as much as 1.7 billion barrels of recoverable reserves in landlocked Uganda’s Lake Albert region. In 2012, Tullow made another find in Kenya’s South Lokichar basin that may contain 750 million barrels.

Construction & Civil Engineering Journal / April 2017 Issue

Combined, Kenya and Uganda may be able to produce about 400,000 barrels a day once production begins. That could catapult Uganda, which will account for about two-thirds of the output, to upper-middle income status by 2040 as economic growth rebounds to as much as 10 percent from 4.6 percent in the last fiscal year, according to the World Bank. Kenya’s government would generate revenue of $650 million a year in the late-2020s, even with crude at just $45 a barrel, said KCSPOG, a non-governmental organization. Originally, the two countries agreed to share a pipeline running through Kenya’s arid Lokichar basin to the coastal town of Lamu.

But parts of the route have been prone to attacks by bandits and cattle rustlers. It’s also is close to Somalia, where Islamist al-Shabaab militants have waged an insurgency against the government for the past decade, as well as carrying out raids inside Kenya. Safety was a concern for Paris-based Total, which in January increased its holding in the Lake Albert site. The French company agreed to help finance part of an alternative route through Tanzania that may cost about $4 billion. Uganda government officials said the switch was a business decision. The Kenyan route would have been “very costly,” with a tariff of $15.90 a barrel, compared with $12.20 for the Tanzanian pipeline, according to Energy Minister Irene Muloni. “We took a decision which is good for our country,” Muloni said in an interview in Kampala, the capital. Tullow’s CEO-designate Paul McDade said last week that Uganda’s resources could be developed at a total cost of about $20 a barrel, including capital expenditure on drilling and pipeline construction plus operating costs. “Along with the offer of better tariffs, Uganda argued that the Tanga pipeline would mean easier land access, better security, and would open up another important trade route,” said Emma Gordon, an analyst for East Africa at Verisk Maplecroft. “Currently, the country is heavily reliant on Kenya for its trade.” Uganda’s decision dented Kenya’s ambitions to develop a $26 billion regional transport corridor, leaving explorers in the country under pressure to improve the project’s viability by boosting resources.

BRIEFS

Cytonn Real Estate Partners With Finnish Architect For It’s Latest Ksh. 15 Billion Development

in order to create a unique look and feel for the development,” he added. AUD Architects Chairman Niko Tiula said that the development shall be a signature for the firm and he shall work to incorporate the Finland touch to the local architecture to create a masterpiece. Cytonn Project Manager Peter Karenju said that the Ruiru project is a unique project that requires unique partnership with the right people. “It is for this reason that we ran a worldwide architectural competition in an effort to get the best design for the development and after an exhaustive architect competition, AUD emerged as the winner,” he said. He applauded Aspera Designs of Kenya and AUD for their collaborative efforts adding that he hopes for a smooth working relationship throughout the life of the project,” he said. AUD Architects are a Finland based firm with offices in USA and China with vast experience in masterplanned developments in various countries. The firm brings creative ideas to industry sectors including urban design, office, hospitality, civic and community, and interiors. Aspera Designs has also had a tonne of experience in master planning including the upcoming Newtown City masterplan on 1000 acres in Athi and similar developments in the Middle East.

Cytonn Real Estate, the development arm of Cytonn Investments has today formed a partnership with Finnish architectural firm, AUD Architects to design its latest development, an upcoming masterplanned development on a 100-acre piece of land in Ruiru, Kiambu County. The development valued at over Ksh. 15 Billion shall comprise over 1,400 residential units in the form of townhouses, maisonettes and low-rise apartments, a commercial center and a state of the art hotel with a frontage of a salient water feature. Speaking during the event held at Cytonn’s Chancery Office on Valley Road, Finland Ambassador to Kenya H.E. Tarja Fernandez said that Africa is an investment destination where the world is looking at, with Nairobi being one of the fastest growing cities. “Africa’s growth levels are high that the West can only dream of. Therefore, partnerships are the way to do business. There is a great interest by Finland to Kenya and the partnership between Cytonn and Taaleri of Finland solidifies the relationship between both nations. We hope to see more partnerships in future and strengthen our bond,” said Her Excellency. The Ambassador added that Finland is rich in architectural talent which they export to the rest of the world noting that they are hoping to see more Finnish representation in the continent. Cytonn Chief Executive Officer Edwin H. Dande said that Cytonn began its partnership with Finland in 2014 through Taaleri, a private equity investment firm that saw good returns from the projects they had invested in, such as The Alma in Ruaka where they exited early and made a 25 percent return on the investment. “We are extending our partnership beyond investment level to partnering with consultants such as AUD Architects to ensure we deliver the best designs to the market,” said Edwin. Edwin further said that the company is keen on partnerships both locally and internationally through joint venture agreements with landowners, fundraising and other engagements that will see the clients get the best returns from their investments. “To deliver the best, we seek to partner with people who are aligned to our core values and who we believe can deliver beyond expectations. It is for this reason that we have partnered with AUD architects and Aspera designs to deliver this world class project that will incorporate a variety of designs thus giving the clients many options with an East African and European touch www.cceonlinenews.com

BRIEFS

Kenha, Chinese firm ink Sh18billion deal for key Kenya, Tanzania link road Construction of a key road linking Kenya and Tanzania through the Isebania border is set to start in the next two months.

President Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya with his Tanzanian counterpart, John Magufuli This is after Kenha signed an agreement with a Chinese contractor to rehabilitate the 170-kilometre IsebaniaKisii-Ahero stretch. The Sh18 billion project which will be jointly funded by the African Development Bank and the government. It will be executed by China Henan International Corporation Group in two phases and includes some 36-kilometre feeder roads. The Isebania-Kisii road will be built in phase one at Sh8.6 billion while Kisii-Ahero junction will be built in the second phase at Sh9.4 billion. Eng Erastus Mwongera, Kenha chairman, said the road will open up the region for business. “The road will enhance trade in the lake region,” Mwongera said. The Suneka-Rangwe-Orare, Nyachenge-TabakaOgembo, Nyamataro loop road - all in Kisii - are among the feeder roads set to be upgraded. This is envisioned to put the Kisii’s Suneka airstrip to good use. The facility has low traffic owing to the state of roads in the area. “The upgrade will include footpaths, climbing lanes, road signages, footbridges, an overpass and upgrading of the Rongo weighbridge,” he said. The Kenya National Highways Authority seeks to use the weighbridge to regulate the axle load limits allowed on the said road. Mwongera further pointed out that they will construct an emergency care unit center at the Nyabondo mission hospital. “We will create market stalls and other roadside amenities to increase opportunities for residents to trade in the region,” he said. 10

Construction & Civil Engineering Journal / April 2017 Issue

Kenya’s rich investing in real estate Kenya’s richest individuals have sunk their money in real estate as they seek to navigate the volatility that has recently characterised other classes of investments. According to the latest Wealth Report by property consultancy Knight Frank and Stanbic Bank, close to a third of the country’s high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) have allocated their wealth to properties. For another 20 per cent, their wealth is tied to their personal businesses, which range from financial services, agriculture to manufacturing. Investment in equities, bond, cash, precious metals such as gold and silver made up 18 per cent of the super-rich’s investments. The report, which was based on the survey of about 900 private bankers and wealth advisers, showed that 9,400 people became multimillionaires (or were worth more than one million US dollars) in 2016, which is an increase from 8,500 in 2015. The report, unfortunately, does not identify the rich individuals. Naushad Merali, Chairman of conglomerate Sameer Group, which is active in agriculture, construction, information technology, property and finance once featured in Forbes’ 2016 Africa Richest List but was later on dropped off. Another Kenyan ranked in the report but also dropped was Bhimji Depar Shah, the founder of Bidco Industries, which manufactures edible oil. It was the same with the Chairman of Devki Group of Companies, Narendra Raval. It is interesting that Forbes magazine never listed any of the three known Kenyan billionaires having significant investments in real estate. Nonetheless, the Managing Director of Knight Frank Kenya Ben Woodhams maintains that real estate is the most viable investment.

Good returns

“Kenyan HNWIs clearly realise the long-term stability that property investments offer in an otherwise volatile market together with the good returns that the sector has demonstrated in the past,” said Woodhams. Although real estate remains a lucrative class of investment for most high net worth individuals globally, with 24 per cent of the world’s richest persons putting their money in property, Kenyan investors have taken the trend a notch higher. Real estate is touted to be a low-risk investment, and this explains why most of the rich individuals have rushed to put their money in properties. Indeed, most of the super-rich are concerned primarily with wealth preservation and capital growth when making wealth management and investment decisions, according to the Attitudes Survey included in the Knight Frank Wealth Report 2017. Seven out of 10 of Kenya’s wealthiest individuals considered these two factors to be critical when making their investment decisions. And as the country enters the critical stage in its political calendar with the general elections just around the corner, more than half of Kenya’s super rich, 63 per cent, are worried about political uncertainty. However, globally, politics does not feature as an integral factor, with only 35 per cent saying that politics plays a key role in their investment decisions. Kenya’s super rich have also developed a love affair with private jets. However, with nine private jets, they pale in comparison with their peers in South Africa (161), Nigeria (85), Egypt (33), Morocco (29), Angola (27), Democratic Republic of Congo and Namibia both with 13, Gabon (11) and Algeria (10).

BRIEFS

Construction of Sh17bn Western Bypass to begin

Efforts to divert traffic from Nairobi’s city centre have been stepped up with construction works on the Sh17 billion Western Bypass set to begin.

The road starts from Ruaka and terminate on the Nakuru highway at Gitaru in Kiambu County. It is the latest in a series of projects, either underway or in various stages of tendering, meant to decongest the capital city. “We want a situation where you hardly drive into Nairobi if you have no reason to do so, whether you are driving or rely on public transport, there will be a road connecting you to the suburbs with ease,” said Transport secretary James Macharia. The 16.5km road is being built by China Road and Bridge Construction. Besides the bypass, the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura) is also rehabilitating and upgrading roads in Upper Hill, considered Nairobi’s financial district. They include Masaba, Matumbato, Chyulu, parts of Lower Hill, Mara and Upper Hill roads. The roads will be dual carriage constructed to bitumen standards, the State agency said. Excavation work along Masaba Road beginning from Bunyala Road began a fortnight ago. The contractor, Tosha Holdings Ltd, said it will be working while the traffic is flowing therefore disruptions will be experienced. Heavy excavation and lifting equipment will be used and this may disrupt access to property, supply to water, electricity and other services and should it be deemed necessary, the services will be temporarily cut during construction of the roads, Kura warned area residents. “The first company is on the ground and has started work on the Rironi-James Gichuru section, while the James Gichuru-Likoni section is still being designed as it has a lot of other amenities lying on road reserves or crossing at strategic locations,”

The first of the projects set to give commuters relief is the 13km Outer Ring Road linking Thika Road to the Eastern Bypass and onwards to Kangudo Road and to Jomo Kenyatta Airport. It is set for completion in July. “We have several mass transport buses currently being piloted and we might acquire more once we confirm they are commercially viable to our businesspeople in the matatu sector, said Mr Macharia. He said a new body, Nairobi Metropolitan Transport Authority (Namata) had been formed to address incoming traffic to Nairobi and outgoing traffic to Kajiado, Machakos, Muranga and Kiambu counties. He said Namata would co-ordinate future plans on movement of vehicles towards their regions thereby reducing traffic lockdown along some key routes such as Nakuru-Nairobi, Nairobi-Mombasa, Nairobi-Ongata Rongai, Nairobi-Thika and Nairobi-Kiambu. The CS said construction of Kenya’s first ever express flyover from Jomo Kenyatta Airport turnoff to Limuru Road had started after it was divided into three lots and tenders awarded to Chinese companies.

Mass rapid transport system

“The first company is on the ground and has started work on the Rironi-James Gichuru section, while the James GichuruLikoni section is still being designed as it has a lot of other amenities lying on road reserves or crossing at strategic locations,” he said. The last batch, he said, Likoni-JKIA section had also been designed and its building set for commencement later in the year. On the planned Mass Rapid transport system, Mr Macharia said that a light rail transport system was planned for two routes with the highest number of commuters, Nairobi-Thika and Nairobi Ngong route.

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BRIEFS

Rwanda now commits to construct own SGR

igh Commissioner to Kenya James Kimonyo yesterday said his government is in the final stage of talks with China’s Export-Import Bank for a $1.2 billion (Sh123.5 billion) loan to fund the Rwandan section, which could begin “We are getting ready to start as Kenya does its part and Uganda engages financiers from China. We have done a feasibility study and will begin soon after finalising talks with the Exim bank and other partners,” Kimonyo said in Nairobi, during this year’s KenyaRwanda business forum. “We want Uganda to move with the same speed as Kenya.” The new development is a boost to the Kenya’s SGR project, whose viability had been threatened by Uganda’s earlier threats to bolt out of a joint venture on the project. Rwanda was also reported to have chosen to re-route its standard gauge railway from the Uganda- Kenya line, and instead favoured a Tanzania route to Dar es Salaam. He said Rwanda remains committed to regional integration, including developing the Kigali-Kampala-Eldoret refined petroleum pipeline, which will extend the existing comprehensive multi-product system within Kenya. “We remain committed to ensure SGR

Construction & Civil Engineering Journal / April 2017 Issue

Rwanda has reaffirmed its commitment to the construction of the 2,000 kilometres-Northern Corridor Standard Gauge Railway line between Kigali and Mombasa, challenging its regional partners to speed up the work.

and other infrastructure projects along the Northern Corridor works effectively,” Kimonyo said, calling on investors to fund projects and invest in the country, currently ranked first in the ease of doing business in East Africa by the World Bank. Uncertainty on the SGR in the neighbouring countries had sent jitters in Kenya raising questions over its viability. However, the financier of both the Kenyan and Ugandan lines, Exim Bank, is understood to have laid down conditions that two must appoint one operator to carry out maintenance work between Mombasa and Kampala, for the bank to consider any financing, according to Kenya Railways managing director Atanas Maina. Uganda is negotiating a $2.3 billion (about Sh236.7 billion) loan with Exim Bank to fund an initial 273 kilometre track, linking Kampala to Kenya’s border town of Malaba. The construction to be carried out by China Harbour Engineering Company is expected to take 40 months. Kenya’s Sh327 billion-472 kilometresMombasa-Nairobi line was 98 per cent complete in December, according to Transport CS James Macharia. The Kenya Railways Corporation has received 210 wagons so far out of a total of 1,620 that were ordered for the route. Treasury secretary Henry Rotich is expected to fly to China to negotiate for more loans to build the Naivasha-KisumuMalaba line. Kenya started test rides on the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR this month to ensure optimum performance once full operations begin in June.A test run on March 8 took two hours from Nairobi to Mtito Andei.

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World’s largest construction company to build Africa’s tallest building Oil marketing firm Hass Group announced today that it has signed a 20 billion Kenya shilling agreement to build the tallest building in Africa with China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), currently ranked the largest construction company in the world, Hass Towers, a mixed use development is set to be complete in 2020, and be located Upper Hill, Nairobi.

he Honourable Mr John O. Odipo, the Counsellor of Kenya’s Embassy in China, and the Commercial Counsellor of Kenya’s Embassy in China, The Honourable Mr Vincent E. Omuse attended the official signing ceremony held at the five-star Kempinski Hotel, Beijing, on 28 February. Also attending the signing ceremony were the Chairman of Hass Petroleum Group, Mr Abdinassir Ali Hassan; Vice Chairman and Co-Founder of White Lotus Inc., Mr Sita Ramachandra Raju Poosapati; Vice President of CSCEC Overseas Operations, Mr Li Mingguang; and Vice President of CSCEC Overseas Operations, Mr Zhang Zhiping. In his speech, Mr Hassan, Hass Group Chairman, described the signing as an ‘historic’ event andcongratulated CSCEC on winning the contract after a long negotiation and tender process. He said: “It has not been an easy road. [CSCEC] went through a rigorous tender system which they won over ten international companies including European, Turkish as well as other Chinese competitors. “Hass Group awarding the contract to CSCEC demonstrates a stronger growing economic partnership between the Chinese government and the Kenyan government, and is a testament to Kenya’s economic and political stability. This project will give CSCEC a majestic entry point into Africa.” Mr Li Mingguang, Vice President of CSCEC Overseas Operations said: “This will be the tallest building in Africa and become a landmark in Kenya. It is sure to drive regional development, promote economic growth, and attract more investment and tourism into Kenya. China State Construction understands the importance of this grand project and is honoured to be chosen as the main contractor.” Construction of the foundations for Hass Towers is due to start in April this year, when the project will officially launch in Kenya. Once complete, the development will include Grade A offices, a five-star Hilton hotel, plus a luxury retail and entertainment complex. Standing over 300 metres high with 67 storeys, the tallest tower is designed to represent ‘the height of African achievement’, considerably taller than the current record holder, the Carlton Centre in South Africa (at 50 floors and 223 m tall). Kenya is one of Africa’s fastest growing economies with strong growth in its agricultural, tourism,

construction and telecommunication sectors. The project is conveniently located just 16km from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, in Nairobi’s growing financial hub of Upper Hill, where many embassies and international organisations have set up their regional offices. These include Cisco Systems, World Bank and the IMF. www.cceonlinenews.com

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Mauritius’ Construction Sector to Grow by 7% in 2017 Mauritius’ construction sector is set to be stimulated with a planned injection of Rs 130 billion in public infrastructure projects resulting in a seven per cent growth this year.

his was disclosed yesterday by the Prime Minister, Minister of Home Affairs, External Communications and National Development Unit, Minister of Finance and Economic Development, MrPravindJugnauth, at the opening of a workshop on ‘The Construction Industry 2017-2026: Challenges and Solutions’ which was held at the Hennessy Park Hotel in Ebène. He stated that these works form part of the public sector projects announced in the last budget, and include also a few major private sector projects which were delayed in 2016. The next decade, he said, will be rich in opportunities for the construction industry as major projects will be implemented. They include the Road Decongestion Programme, the Port Master Plan, the new Supreme Court, the new Sports Complex, the renewal of water pipes, and the Rivière des Anguilles Dam. The construction sector is expected to grow by seven per cent this year with these major infrastructural works, he added. For his part, the Minister of Public Infrastructure and Land Transport, MrNandcoomarBodha, said that by December this year, an amount of Rs 5 billion will be invested in construction projects relating to the construction of the grade separator at Jumbo, the bridge at Sorèze, the Victoria Urban Terminal, and the Ring Road. He highlighted that the level of construction activities associated with the launch of these mega-projects will inevitably reach a peak. This will in turn lead to an unprecedented demand for a skilled labour force, a steady supply of basic construction materials, as well as business facilitation measures for optimum performance by all stakeholders. Failure to meet such increased demands and facilitation could jeopardise the successful implementation of the projects concerned, he said. Also present at the workshop, the Minister ofLabour, Industrial Relations, Employment and Training, MrSoodeshCallichurn, appealed to the youth to take employment in the construction industry. The emerging trend in the industry, he said, is that sectors which require working at night, working for long hours or which require heavy physical efforts are no longer appealing. This is already the case for the bakery sector, the textile sector, the agricultural sector and even for the construction sector. In these sectors pressure is building up for foreign labour, he added. Speaking about the high number of serious and fatal accidents occurring in the construction sector, Minister Callichurn underlined that his Ministry has taken several proactive and preventive measures so as to ensure that workers in the construction sector are provided with safe and healthy working conditions. 14

Construction & Civil Engineering Journal / April 2017 Issue

These measures include: Legislations to regulate safety and health at workplaces including the construction sector namely the Occupational Safety and Health Act 2005 and other regulations regarding Personal Protective Equipment, Work at Height, and Safety of Scaffolds; and construction of two new units namely the Construction Unit and the Employees’ Lodging Accommodation Unit. On this occasion, a Public Guide for Construction of houses was launched by the Prime Minister. The objective of the guide is to assist the public at large on the various factors-design, site constraints, orientation, comfort and the use of solar energy. The Workshop The Workshop focused on three key determinants of successful project delivery for the country’s ambitious capital works programme planned over the next decade. The three crucial factors are Workforce, Materials and Facilitation. There are several potential constraints that could hinder the smooth running of these projects. Such constraints need to be addressed in order to ensure that the major projects to be implemented are successfully delivered. The ultimate objective of the workshop was to identify possible constraints and to propose the necessary measures in connection with issues relating to Workforce, Materials and Facilitation and to come up with recommendations and an Action Plan for the next 10 years. It is hoped, through open and interactive discussions that a consensus be reached among participants on the way forward regarding measures to be initiated for the smooth implementation of all planned projects.

BRIEFS

China Welcomes Madagascar to Join Belt and Road Construction

Right: Chinese President Xi Jinping and President of Madagascar Hery Rajaonarimampianina in Beijing

China and Madagascar on Monday agreed to synergize development strategies under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative and ten major plans for China-Africa cooperation. The pledge came out of the talks between Chinese President Xi Jinping and President of Madagascar HeryRajaonarimampianina in Beijing. China and Madagascar enjoy great potential for mutually beneficial cooperation, said Xi, welcoming Madagascar to participate in the Belt and Road construction. He said China supports Madagascar in playing its role as a bridge between the Belt and Road and the African continent. China is ready to establish a comprehensive partnership of cooperation with Madagascar, said Xi, calling on the two sides to deepen cooperation in agriculture, fisheries, people-to-people

exchanges, security, police affairs, justice and lawenforcement. China supports Madagascar to play a bigger role in international and regional affairs, and is willing to enhance communication and coordination with the country on climate change, the UN 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development as well as peace and security of Africa. Xi said China will comprehensively implement the results of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in December 2015, held in South Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Johannesburg, to achieve common development with Africa. Rajaonarimampianina said he was delighted to visit China as the two nations were celebrating the 45th anniversary of the establishment of ties. Madagascar supports the Belt and Road Initiative and is willing to beef up cooperation with China in energy, aviation, transportation, ports and airport construction, he said. After the talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of a number of cooperative documents, including a memorandum of understanding on jointly advancing the Belt and Road Initiative. Rajaonarimampianina just attended the annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia, held in south Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hainan Province. www.cceonlinenews.com

FEATURE

East Africa’s Great Rift Valley: hub for emissions

East Africa’s Great Rift Valley will soon become a hub for emissions-free wind energy as the continent’s largest wind farm rises from the arid, rocky landscape of northwest Kenya.

his month, Vestas Wind Systems installed the 154th turbine at the Lake Turkana Wind Power project, just kilometers from the massive saline lake, popularly known as the Jade Sea for its translucent blue-green water. The raising of the 850-kilowatt V52 generator, which Vestas calls “the turbine that goes anywhere,” marked another milestone for the project’s developers and hundreds of workers toiling in the harsh conditions of western Marsabit County, where Lake Turkana’s winds kick up eye-stinging dust storms and the surrounding arid uplands are inhabited by scorpions and carpet vipers. The planned 310-megawatt facility, occupying 40,000 acres near the village of Sarima on the lake’s southeast shore, is Kenya’s largest private investment to date, at nearly $700 million. Yet the payback for Kenya and East Africa, both eco-

nomically and environmentally, could be much greater. When completed next year, the wind farm will be able to power roughly 1.5 million homes and will account for roughly 15 percent of the country’s daily electricity load, according to officials involved in the project. It will also play a critical role in helping Kenya meet both development and climate goals by offsetting 16 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually, according to the Danish government’s Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU), one of several backers of the project. Achim Steiner, the former executive director of the U.N. Environment Programme, based in Nairobi, Kenya, said the Lake Turkana project reflects Kenya’s emergence as “a bold and visionary leader” in clean energy development. “It demonstrates that for Africa, investment in renewable energy is not an option just for the future, but now,” he said. “We have moved well beyond the pilot-scale projects that used to define Africa’s role in clean energy development. We are now talking about projects in the hundreds of megawatts coming online across the continent.” A Kenyan wind power surge would also help expand and diversify the country’s power portfolio, which currently sits at just under 2.3 gigawatts of capacity and is derived mostly from hydro, oil and geothermal plants, according to data compiled by Power Africa, the U.S. government’s program to expand electricity access across sub-Saharan Africa. A recent analysis of East Africa’s renewable energy markets by the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century concluded that “Kenya has one of the highest and most-studied wind power potentials in Africa,” including more than 1 GW of generation capacity along its stretch of the Great Rift Valley. Other countries harnessing the Great Rift Valley’s winds include Ethiopia, which today claims 324 MW of wind energy and is expected to grow that capacity to as much as 800 MW by the end of the decade. Tanzania is also planning its first 100 MW wind power project for the Singida district southwest of Arusha, the gateway to Mount www.cceonlinenews.com

FEATURE

Ngong Hills Wind Power Station, Kenya “There is momentum and excellent market fundamentals for wind energy in sub-Saharan Africa, but as with any industry just getting off the ground, there are a number of challenges to work through,” Kilimanjaro, with financial backing from the World Bank. But a variety of issues have conspired against the wind sector’s growth in East Africa, including poor infrastructure, traditionally weak financial markets, dysfunctional state utilities and a history of self-dealing among public officials. “There is momentum and excellent market fundamentals for wind energy in sub-Saharan Africa, but as with any industry just getting off the ground, there are a number of challenges to work through,” said Rob Gramlich, a senior vice president with the American Wind Energy Association who spent six weeks last summer in Tanzania studying regional wind markets and advising utilities on integrating wind power and other renewables. In Kenya specifically, REN21 cited “financial constraints, inadequate infrastructure and a lack of public buy-in” as nagging issues that continue to hold back development the country’s electricity capacity. Currently only one wind farm operates in Kenya, in the Ngong Hills outside Nairobi. That project was commissioned as a pilot for Kenya Electricity Generating Co. Ltd. (KenGen) in 1993 with two turbines donated from Belgium. It was recommissioned in 2009 and expanded last year from 5.1 MW to 25.5 MW of capacity. But even with its recent expansion, Ngong Hills remains more a pilot than a power plant, its towers and blades serving as a spectacle for hikers and herdsmen who graze cattle across the grassy hilltops. t Africa’s Great Rift Valley will soon become a hub 18

Construction & Civil Engineering Journal / April 2017 Issue

for emissions-free wind energy as the continent’s largest wind farm rises from the arid, rocky landscape of northwest Kenya. This month, Vestas Wind Systems installed the 154th turbine at the Lake Turkana Wind Power project, just kilometers from the massive saline lake, popularly known as the Jade Sea for its translucent blue-green water. The raising of the 850-kilowatt V52 generator, which Vestas calls “the turbine that goes anywhere,” marked another milestone for the project’s developers and hundreds of workers toiling in the harsh conditions of western Marsabit County, where Lake Turkana’s winds kick up eye-stinging dust storms and the surrounding arid uplands are inhabited by scorpions and carpet vipers. The planned 310-megawatt facility, occupying 40,000 acres near the village of Sarima on the lake’s southeast shore, is Kenya’s largest private investment to date, at nearly $700 million. Yet the payback for Kenya and East Africa, both economically and environmentally, could be much greater. When completed next year, the wind farm will be able to power roughly 1.5 million homes and will account for roughly 15 percent of the country’s daily electricity load, according to officials involved in the project. It will also play a critical role in helping Kenya meet both development and climate goals by offsetting 16 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually, according to the Danish government’s Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU), one of several backers of the project. Achim Steiner, the former executive director of the U.N. Environment Programme,

FEATURE

KenGen MD and CEO Eng. Albert Mugo and Belgian Secretary of State for Foreign Trade Pieter de Creme during a tour of the Ngong Wind Farm in Ngong Hills. based in Nairobi, Kenya, said the Lake Turkana project reflects Kenya’s emergence as “a bold and visionary leader” in clean energy development. “It demonstrates that for Africa, investment in renewable energy is not an option just for the future, but now,” he said. “We have moved well beyond the pilot-scale projects that used to define Africa’s role in clean energy development. We are now talking about projects in the hundreds of megawatts coming online across the continent.” A Kenyan wind power surge would also help expand and diversify the country’s power portfolio, which currently sits at just under 2.3 gigawatts of capacity and is derived mostly from hydro, oil and geothermal plants, according to data compiled by Power Africa, the U.S. government’s program to expand electricity access across sub-Saharan Africa. A recent analysis of East Africa’s renewable energy markets by the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century concluded that “Kenya has one of the highest and most-studied wind power potentials in Africa,” including more than 1 GW

of generation capacity along its stretch of the Great Rift Valley. Other countries harnessing the Great Rift Valley’s winds include Ethiopia, which today claims 324 MW of wind energy and is expected to grow that capacity to as much as 800 MW by the end of the decade. Tanzania is also planning its first 100 MW wind power project for the Singida district southwest of Arusha, the gateway to Mount Kilimanjaro, with financial backing from the World Bank. But a variety of issues have conspired against the wind sector’s growth in East Africa, including poor infrastructure, traditionally weak financial markets, dysfunctional state utilities and a history of self-dealing among public officials. “There is momentum and excellent market fundamentals for wind energy in subSaharan Africa, but as with any industry just getting off the ground, there are a number of challenges to work through,” said Rob Gramlich, a senior vice president with the American Wind Energy Association who spent six weeks last summer in Tanzania studying regional wind markets and advising utilities on integrating wind power and other renewables. In Kenya specifically, REN21 cited “financial constraints, inadequate infrastructure and a lack of public buy-in” as nagging issues that continue to hold back development the country’s electricity capacity. Currently only one wind farm operates in Kenya, in the Ngong Hills outside Nairobi. That project was commissioned as a pilot for Kenya Electricity Generating Co. Ltd. (KenGen) in 1993 with two turbines donated from Belgium. It was recommissioned in 2009 and expanded last year from 5.1 MW to 25.5 MW of capacity. But even with its recent expansion, Ngong Hills remains more a pilot than a power plant, its towers and blades serving as a spectacle for hikers and herdsmen who graze cattle across the grassy hilltops. Perceptions are changing, however, partly due to government reforms and the establishment of more secure financial markets, but also because sub-Saharan Africa’s need for electricity is becoming more acute, driven by the proliferation of mobile phones, rising incomes that allow middle-income people to buy computers and televisions, and the continent’s slow but steady march toward modernization, especially in major capitals like Nairobi; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

A Kenyan wind power surge would also help expand and diversify the country’s power portfolio, which currently sits at just under 2.3 gigawatts of capacity and is derived mostly from hydro, oil and geothermal plants, according to data compiled by Power Africa, the U.S. government’s program to expand electricity access across sub-Saharan Africa www.cceonlinenews.com

FEATURE

Kenya’s wind sector has also been aided by government feed-in tariffs of up to 12 cents per kilowatt-hour, first adopted in 2008 and revised in 2010 to include solar, geothermal, biomass, biogas and small-scale hydropower, all of which have seen increased deployment. Silvia Macri, a Paris-based analyst for the consulting firm IHS who specializes in Middle Eastern and African renewable energy markets, said Lake Turkana has helped solidify Kenya’s place as a wind energy leader in sub-Saharan Africa. “We tend to talk about these projects after they take off,” Macri said. “But this is a situation where the [Turkana] project has been closely watched for a number of years, and we’re finally getting to the point where it will be commissioning soon. Others are making note of that.” Among those taking note is Google Inc., which announced last October it would purchase a 12.5

Construction & Civil Engineering Journal / April 2017 Issue

percent stake in the Lake Turkana project upon its completion in 2017 (see related story). Terms of the deal with project co-developer Vestas were not disclosed. But it was Google’s second major investment in an African renewable energy project after its $12 million commitment to South Africa’s 96 MW Jasper Solar Power Project in 2013. In an October 2015 blog post announcing the investment, Rick Needham, Google’s energy and sustainability director, said the company was “as optimistic as ever about the potential for these investments to accelerate progress toward a future of clean energy.” Renewables jockey with fossil fuels to meet regional demand Construction on the Lake Turkana project commenced in October 2015, with the first turbine arriving at the site last March. Developers say the project is on schedule to be completed by July 2017. Photo courtesy of Lake Turkana Wind Power Ltd. In fact, East Africa’s core countries of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda are becoming ripe targets for energy developers and investors, many of whom are riding a wave of sustained economic growth and rising energy demand. Both Uganda and Rwanda have embraced utilityscale solar power, for example, while Kenya and Tanzania are moving quickly to tap more wind, geothermal and biomass energy. Kenya’s goal to more than double its grid-connected power generation capacity by 2020 will require the rapid development of several major power plants, including some that run counter to recently adopted pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For example, a 1,050 MW pulverized coal plant has been proposed for in Lamu County on the Indian Ocean coast by a Kenyan developer, Amu Power, with backing from Nairobi-based Centum Investment Co. Ltd. But the project, with a price tag exceeding $2 billion, has been targeted by environmentalists and community groups, and it awaits permits from the National Environment Management Authority. KenGen, the owner of the Ngong Hills wind project, is also planning another much larger wind facility at a site in Meru County, roughly 170 miles northeast of Nairobi. That project’s first phase, at 80 MW, is expected to break ground early next year with $69 million in financing from the French Development Agency. When fully built, KenGen’s Meru project could be as large as 400 MW, officials say. A third wind farm, known as the Kipeto Wind Energy Project, is to be built by a multinational consortium, including General Electric Co., through its subsidiary GE Africa. At 100 MW, the project is to occupy a site 50 miles south of Nairobi and is backed by $233 million in debt financing from the Overseas Private Investment Corp., the U.S. government’s development finance arm and a partner in the State Department’s Power Africa initiative. For now, Lake Turkana’s large size, advanced development stage and high profile give it standing as Africa’s most closely watched wind energy project, a position that has earned it both accolades and criticism. The project won the “African Renewables Deal of the Year” award in 2014 from IJ Global, a Londonbased consultancy and publisher on global infrastructure markets. But it has also been targeted by watchdogs like the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs and the nonprofit Danwatch of Denmark, both of which published reports critical of the project’s dealings with indigenous people and alleging human rights violations. Among other problems, the project’s developers

FEATURE

International wind energy leader Vestas Wind Systems has announced that it has received an order to provide wind turbines for the 310 MW Lake Turkana Windpower remain mired in a long-running lawsuit charging that lease agreements obtained to build the project were obtained without proper approvals. That case remains before the Kenyan judge in Meru and is awaiting a final decision. James Drew, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom who spent portions of 2014 and 2015 interviewing indigenous people in the Lake Turkana region, said in an email that the project has been met with a mix of enthusiasm, disappointment and anger. “People seem to be happy that jobs are there, but they are unhappy with their local leaders who are not allocating jobs, what they see as, equitably,” Drew said. The project has also created a disruption in population dynamics, with distinct tribes that used to coexist as neighbors now clashing over access to resources, trying to leverage project benefits for themselves. “Road blocks have occurred all over the area — set up by angry youth and some elders wanting jobs for their people/villages/lineages — especially

when the road building passes through what these people consider as ‘their land,’” he said. Turkana’s developers have strenuously defended their dealings with pastoral tribes in the area, noting that the project is designed to facilitate the continuation of livestock herding and other traditional activities. Moreover, through a charitable organization called the Winds of Change Foundation, Lake Turkana’s developers have committed to improve infrastructure like roads and bridges, sink boreholes and install water delivery and treatment systems, aid in the provision of health services, and provide education and technical training to the local workforce. While many of those types of services remain within the realm of state and local officials, “LTWP felt the need to complement the government efforts not only to ensure the peaceful co-existence with the community but to also improve the standards of living for the people in the largely arid land,” the developers said. While the Lake Turkana project is unlikely to be derailed by such controversies, at least one other wind project, the 60 MW Kinangop Wind Park in central Kenya’s Nyandarua County, was canceled by its development team in February after land disputes and demonstrations ensued, including the blocking of roadways. In April, a Kenyan judge revoked licenses for the $150 million project on the grounds that its environmental impact assessment did not conform to Kenyan law and would have to be resubmitted. The Kinangop project was also designed to deploy GE turbines and had non-financial support from Power Africa, according to the program’s website.

www.cceonlinenews.com

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Zenith Steel Fabricators 40 years of innovation

As it celebrates its 40th anniversary Zenith Steel is leading the way towards a new future defined by safer and more productive practice 22

Construction & Civil Engineering Journal / April 2017 Issue

COVER STORY

Established in 1977, leading steel fabrication firm Zenith Steel has grown to become the biggest specialist in multistorey building in Africa.

n ISO 9001:2008 certified company, Zenith Steel specialises in the design, fabrication and assembly of all types of structural steelwork. The firm has especially distinguished itself from the crowd by full service from start to finish. It is the cohesion of service throughout that the Company continues to provide which has made it thrive in this everevolving market. Raheem Biviji the managing director of Zenith Steel best understands the history of the company. “The company was started by Abbas T Biviji and Jayantilal Gohil as a small fabrication workshop in Kenya to serve the then nascent construction industry,” he says. “Over the last forty years, the company has grown in leaps and bounds undertaking mega projects that we have been able to complete successfully,” he adds.

Growing portfolio

Among its growing portfolio is a multi-steelstorey commercial building in Nairobi dubbed Sifa towers. As Managing director Raheem Biviji explains, the firm was the first to introduce multistory steel building East Africa. “We wanted to bring something new into the market. We identified the need to complete proj-

ects in a timely manner with minimum wastage and steel building has proved worth it,” shares Biviji. The Architectural wonder of Sifa towers is based on the shape of Hyperbolic Parabolic Curve. The building appears shaped despite the use of multi-storey steel system in its construction. The iconic structure is an ultra-modern commercial complex with 11 floors. Another projectthat Zenith Steel has been able to deliver successfully is Kithiki towers in Mombasa. The project is one of the sturdiest buildings in Kenya today. The Quality Centre in Tanzania was also Zenith Steel’s project.

Competitive edge

Zenith Steel understands that to continue being ahead in the market,production is a major factor. The company recently launched a brand new fully-integrated steel fabrication plant allowing it to boost its output from 50,000 tonnes to 75,000; making it one of the largest of its kind in Africa. But it is not just the volume of successful contracts that makes it stand out. “ I think it comes down to three things, first is our ability to stay true to our core business and constantly learning new global trends. The trends in the market are constantly changing as such innovation is a major factor to us. This has helped us remain a head in the curve and satisfy our clients,” explains Biviji.

“We wanted to bring something new into the market. We identified the need to complete projects in a timely manner with minimum wastage and steel building has proved worth it,” shares Biviji

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COVER STORY

“Secondly we offer a broad and innovative service. We have an absolutely unique set of design and project delivery skills. “We are experts in steel work including a full knowledge of compliance with all steel building regulations and guidelines. On top of this we bring a complete and leading understanding of the structural design and world class skills in construction of a wide array of construction projects, which allows us to deliver top notch projects.” “The final facet giving us a competitive edge is our in-house staff. We have invested considerable amount of resources training our staff on emerging steel technology so that we continue evolving as the market demands.” Says Biviji adding that steel construction is quickly gaining traction in Africa.

Emerging trends

As the only Company in Kenya which designs, fabricates and erects multi-storey buildings, itsall encompassing approach to the market is making Zenith Steel quite the innovator in its field. Zenith Steel is seeing great levels of success in the sector, tapping into the trend that is fast breaking the dominance of conventional brick and mortar buildings that have dominated some of the world’s constructs for decades. Biviji shares: “While it is a recent adoption in Africa, the buildings have been used extensively in developed countries since the 1940s. With today’s advanced technology and innovations, the use of structural steel and concrete composition design is being applied in the construction of multi-storey buildings. “Contrary to using reinforced cement concrete, in multi-storey steel buildings the structure is designed and assembled in the workshop. Later on, while on site, the steel is fixed to produce the desired building.” The good thing about offsite construction brings huge advantages over traditional forms of construction. It is cheaper, quicker to build on site, less weather dependent and requires fewer systems on site making it inherently safer. This in-house, offsite construction competence at Zenith Steel means that the company is not only a leader in terms of quality and range of offerings, but is also one of the fastest constructors available in Kenya and Africa at large.

“Contrary to using reinforced cement concrete, in multistorey steel buildings the structure is designed and assembled in the workshop. Later on, while on site, the steel is fixed to produce the desired building.” 24

Construction & Civil Engineering Journal / April 2017 Issue

We congratulate Zenith Steel Fabricators on their 40th Anniversary

COVER STORY

Health and safety is a critical part of Zenith Steel continued success in the market and its focus on both its employees and the public is exemplary. This starts at the very beginning, when the design is integrated with safe methods and sequencing of construction. As Raheen points out: â&#x20AC;&#x153;When you are constantly constructing the same type of building you get pretty good at it, yet we understand how important it is not to become complacent so we approach each project individually.â&#x20AC;? The company has also built up strong subcontractor relationships, bringing together a family of trusted and expert teams that have been absorbed into its own safety culture. This is supported by the encouragement of safety reporting and regular onsite briefings

P.O. Box 3046-00506, Nairobi, Kenya Cell +254 780 751 928 / +254 718 992 214 email: info@hormigon.co.ke website: www.hormigon.co.ke

We congratulate

Zenith Steel Fabricators

on their 40th Anniversary what we do

Construction of: Industrial plants, Highrise buildings, Roads, Bridgeworks, Power lines, Substations, Power plants and many more

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COVER STORY

Innovation

Zenith Steel is always seeking to be innovative and at the cutting edge of construction, always developing new products and practices,” he continues, and the future of the company is very much brought into focus by this attitude to lead the industry towards becoming safer and more productive. Now using Building Information Modelling (BIM) software such as TEKLA and Steel Projects, Zenith Steel is able to deliver excellent work thereby winning the confidence of its customers. With so much development based around its technology, the Company recognises the importance of making significant capital investments in state-of-theart equipment. Biviji explains: “Installation of modern machinery is essential for efficient and effective work such as CNC Machinery, saw, drill, shot blasters and plant processing.”

Construction & Civil Engineering Journal / April 2017 Issue

COVER STORY

Looking into the future, technology will continue to play a major role for Zenith Steel. Biviji explains that as a company they will constantly be changing as times demand. Key to their success will also depend on their in-house staff capability he notes. “We pride ourselves in the fact that 90 percent of Zenith Steel’s staff are local. Well trained staff with hands on experience in the field is the key to a successful company. Training for our existing staff enables us to expand their roles and duties within the Company, enabling growth on all steps of the ladder,” adds Biviji. “We know what we are good at. We know we are leaders in our field but we also understand that maintaining that position is a new ball game all together. We will be banking on our experienced staff and the element of customer satisfaction to thrive going forward,” end Biviji.

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How Morocco R tapped into Africa’s renewable energy potential

oughly 1.2 billion people, or 17 percent of the global population, are energy poor, meaning that they have no access to electricity. Meanwhile, more than 2.7 billion people, primarily in developing Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, rely on fuel wood and other traditional biomass sources for cooking. Morocco’s experience with solar power offers key lessons for policy makers elsewhere in Africa who are seeking a robust pathway for addressing energy access challenges.

Electricity’s role in development

Construction & Civil Engineering Journal / April 2017 Issue

Electricity plays an essential role in advancing social and economic development goals. Yet across Africa, an estimated 600 million people still lack energy access. In 38 of the 49 sub-Saharan African countries, at least half of the population lives without electricity. The region’s overall electrification rate is about 35 percent, with large disparities between urban (63 percent electricity access) and rural populations (19 percent access). There is broad recognition that access to electricity is critical to achieving social and eco-

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nomic benefits, such as modern healthcare (PDF) services and health-related education (PDF). Areas that lack electricity access often struggle to retain doctors and nurses. And health facilities that lack access to modern energy typically do not have the refrigeration services necessary to conserve vaccines and other medical substances. Modern energy access also provides important benefits such as public lighting and security. Studies show that access to electricity extends productive working hours and provides opportunities for economic growth. In sub-Saharan African countries with low electricity access, it can be extremely costly to provide electric power for mechanized water pumps. Providing communities with reliable access to electricity positively can affect education, greatly improving students’ access to information. The absence of electricity can impede the retention of qualified teachers and limit students’ study time. For children in rural areas, who often engage in household chores such as collecting cooking fuel, access to electricity could help them pursue classwork in the evening with better lighting. It also could encourage night classes for adults. Far-reaching aspects of socioeconomic life are affected by the absence of or access to electricity and other modern energy sources.

Untapped renewable energy potential

The International Energy Agency has noted that “sub-Saharan Africa is rich in energy resources, but very poor in energy supply.” Although energy use in Africa increased 45 percent between 2000 to 2012, the continent still accounts for only 4 percent of the world’s total energy demand. Satisfying energy demand on a continent experiencing both rapid economic and population growth is an important challenge. In the absence of new energy-related policies and initiatives, more than 70 percent of sub-Saharan Africa’s rural population is likely to remain unelectrified by 2030. Africa’s energy resources are tremendous. Thirty percent of oil and gas discoveries over the last five years have been in Africa. Given the resolve of signatories to the 2015 Paris climate agreement to limit global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius, tapping into Africa’s renewable energy potential would put the continent on the right path to achieve the United Nations’ seventh Sustainable Development Goal on affordable and clean energy. So far (PDF), less than 10 percent of Africa’s estimated hydropower technical potential—assessed at 283 gigawatts (GW) — has been used. The continent’s geothermal energy potential is concentrated in the Eastern Africa Rift Valley and can be harnessed at a cost that is competitive with fossil fuels. Wind potential in Africa is concentrated mostly in the northern part of the continent and is estimated at around 1,300 GW. Solar irradiation, meanwhile, is abundant

throughout Africa, thanks to the 320 days of bright sunlight available annually (2,000 kilowatt-hours per square meter annually, or twice the average level in Germany). Yet to date, African countries have not collectively seized the benefits of renewable energy, particularly solar energy, although interest is growing. Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, South Africa and Uganda are the continent’s solar leaders. Although many other African countries have solar installations of varying sizes, their overall renewable energy share remains small. Solar growing in Morocco According to the World Bank, Morocco went from 71.1 percent electricity access in 2000 to 98 percent access in 2010 and 100 percent access in 2012. In 2015, 34 percent of the country’s energy supply was provided by renewable energy (PDF), with solar representing 2 percent of this. Morocco has explored the use of both photovoltaic (PV) systems and concentrated solar thermal power (CSP).

For children in rural areas, who often engage in household chores such as collecting cooking fuel, access to electricity could help them pursue classwork in the evening with better lighting. www.cceonlinenews.com

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After a successful push to electrify households through the National Program for Rural Electrification, Morocco launched the PPER, which focused on individual and collective solar mini-grid systems. In 1998, solar PV kits officially were considered to be a valuable tool for rural electrification. Morocco has greatly expanded its CSP capacity, adding 160 GW in 2015 and having 350 GW under construction, providing electricity to more than 1 million people. The World Bank estimates that Morocco will make history through its CSP initiatives, underscoring the significance of these steps.

Lessons from Morocco

Solar energy potential is not distributed evenly across African countries, and not all countries have the same financial capacities as Morocco. While it may not be possible to scale Morocco’s successes to the continent at large, there are some interesting lessons to apply. First, despite the world’s continued addiction to fossil fuels (more than 95 percent of energy worldwide comes from fossil sources such as coal, oil and natural gas), it is possible to invest profitably in renewable energy — particularly solar. As in the case of Morocco, countries can exploit a mix of enabling equity, debt instruments and solar-based electricity options. Second, solar PV systems proved an ideal option for rural electrification in Morocco and were conditioned to the high cost of providing grid access to residents. With grid electrification exceeding 2,400 euros per household (PDF), solar home systems were considered a viable alternative for electricity provision. Households and settlements located relatively far from any electricity sources, or dispersed 30

Construction & Civil Engineering Journal / April 2017 Issue

Second, solar PV systems proved an ideal option for rural electrification in Morocco and were conditioned to the high cost of providing grid access to residents across territories, were able to rely on decentralized options such as solar PV kits. These installations were facilitated by certain companies in Morocco. For example, Temasol has been engaged in buying and installing solar home systems for customers. The customers, in return, pay for the installation and upkeep fees based on the initial “fee for service,” which does not exert any new financial pressure on them. Overall, about 12 million people in Morocco’s rural areas have been supplied with electricity through the country’s solar PV and solar home system initiatives, which are cheaper overall than CSP projects. However, because solar PV is intermittent and cannot ensure electricity provision during the daily evening peak, the country has added CSP to its solar ambitions. Because larger CSP projects have high investment risk, government support has played a critical role in CSP development. Some economists advocate for a low discount rate in implementing environmental and climate change projects. Most developed countries have chosen a discount rate below 5 percent, which is harder for developing countries to adopt because of economic constraints. Morocco was able to implement its first CSP project, Noor 1, through robust public-private partnerships, putting liberalization of the renewable energy sector at the core of energy development planning. The massive project ultimately will energize about 1 million households, even in periods of high night peak demand.

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For countries considering the development of CSP, having an instrument such as the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy (MASEN) might be beneficial. Such a dedicated body can prepare the ground for investment by assessing a project’s feasibility and risk of failure, considering the environmental and social consequences, and conducting research to facilitate project implementation. MASEN has engaged in environmental and social impact assessment of projects as well as carried out land acquisition on a voluntary basis in targeted areas. Countries also can establish a legal framework to help regulate CSP projects. In the absence of necessary legislation, implementing a new approach to energy development such as solar easily can decrease a project’s chance of success. In Morocco, solar PV and CSP were each assessed for their ability to provide electricity. PV systems are useful in reliably reaching out to isolated households and communities, despite their intermittency, whereas CSP is able to generate electricity consistently, although it can require prohibitively high initial investments. Some scientists

Overall, about 12 million people in Morocco’s rural areas have been supplied with electricity through the country’s solar PV and solar home system initiatives, which are cheaper overall than CSP projects. However, because solar PV is intermittent and cannot ensure electricity provision during the daily evening peak, the country has added CSP to its solar ambitions

(PDF) recommend that the “higher the growth of annual maximum peak demand, the more CSP should be employed; the lower the peak, the more PV can be used,” suggesting that CSP is better for places where energy use is higher. Considering the specifics and realities of each African country, a broad, scalable strategy for solar development is hard to conceive. Nevertheless, it is useful to have positive models to draw upon in the solar field. Although the lessons from Morocco are both economically and technologically demanding, they could represent a key springboard for action elsewhere on the continent. Emmanuel Awohouedji Worldwatch Institute

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Factors to Consider when Choosing Tile Flooring

Construction & Civil Engineering Journal / April 2017 Issue

here are many reasons to consider when choosing tile flooring like cost, patterns, accents, grout and sealants are all things that must be looked when making your tile choice installed at your home, because with number of variations can effect the tile attractive appeal, installation cost and flexibility. Here are important factors to consider when choosing a flooring tile.

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Choose Tile Flooring- The more a tile can stand the better. Here you can see that, tile flooring has many advantages most obvious are two i.e. Durability & Maintenance. Durability- Scratch resistance is one of the factors to consider when choosing a picky type of tile for your flooring. It is true to say that, the more the PEI rating, the greater the wear- resistance of the tile. However, the PEI rating is not the only factor to reflect on when choosing a tile. Tiles will withstand wear and tear in high traffic areas also assure utmost durability for an aesthetically appealing by extending the life of your tiles. Maintenance- It can be maintained in easy to care for dirt, stains and liquids where you can easily wipe or mop them away. Slip Resistant- Tiles are available in both shining and rough surfaces which also makes suitable for areas that tend to become slippery. Tiles are naturally hygienic with easy to clean surfaces that can be smooth, textured or polished. Selecting right Size, Style and TextureFlooring tiles comes in all varieties of shapes, sizes and textures. Tiling choice can also creates a variety of decorative effects and installation costs. Tiles get in a variety of patterns and can be cut to a desired size. Select the best one for your home which looks new enough after the ages, because you may run into problems while you select the type of material and sizes for the tiles to be used. Choosing the style tile flooring- Different styles and type of material

may vary in characteristics, so select the tile with good quality where you have many options to choose. The fastidious shape of a tile together with its size can really add the appearance of your home. You can find huge selection of styles available in tiles. Choosing appropriate grout color and width- Grout is cement tilting bonding material used for filing joints between tiles where you have different colors to choose. Light grout tends to bring out the tiles by accentuate in which becomes invisible, where dark grout tend to accentuate the pattern of tiles, their overall structure on the floor. So, doing a proper grout of your job will ensure that the floor under the tile stay safe from moisture. For high traffic areas, choose the dark color grout because white or dark- colored grout will be difficult to keep clean. Installation materials and methods- Here you find different methods of installation for tile flooring where one accept is common in every method, i.e. that the preparation should be looked in detail prior to the start of installation. Ensure that you have right materials with high quality bonding material, grout, a sealer and the right tools for cutting the type of tile youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve chosen or you may hire an experienced tile floor installer to save your time and money. Maintenance Tile Flooring- One of the easiest types of floors to clean, if maintained regular cleaning can make your tiles look good which really improve the appearance of your home..

Looking into these factors will prevent your tile flooring of your home from being complicated by errors during installation and provide you with a stable, good looking floor. Now- a- days, Ceramic Tiles are becoming a better option of flooring as they are very easy to maintain, long lasting and adds a beautiful affect to your home decor. Also, overview the flooring products before you install the tile, where you can find more about the benefits of each different material. Tile is always useful flooring option for both indoor and outdoor.

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Concrete waterproofing

Concrete is porous and, if not waterproofed, absorbs water, waterborne contaminants and chemicals that can cause deterioration. lf you want to protect your concrete and ensure it has a long, serviceable life, waterproofing is essential. But how? What’s the best method and the best material

o make concrete really waterproof- which means both preventing water passage and resisting hydrostatic pressure — you can waterproof from the positive (exterior) side, negative (interior) side or from within the concrete itself (integral systems). Although the most widely used positive-side technology is sheet membrane waterproofing, its failures and limitations are also common and costly. Since the 1980s, many construction projects around the globe have used integral crystalline admixtures to waterproof concrete. Integral systems block water passage from any direction by working from the inside out, making the concrete itself the water barrier. It can be difficult to keep up with advancements in both membranes and crystalline admixtures, and there have been substantial advancements in both technologies. Here’s a summary that can help make the choice more clear.

Sheet membrane systems

Cold-applied polymer-modified bitumen is a sheet membrane composed of polymer materials compounded with asphalt and attached to a polyethylene sheet. The polymer is integrated with the asphalt to create a more viscous and less temperature-sensitive elastic material compared to asphalt on its own. These sheets are self-adhering and eliminate the harmful toxins typically associated with asphalt adhesion. They also increase tensile strength, resistance to acidic soils, resilience, self—healing and bond ability. Despite such advancements, disadvantages persist. Installation can be challenging as membranes require sealing, lapping, and finishing of seams at the corners, edges and between sheets. Additionally, sheet membranes must be applied to a smooth finish without voids, honeycombs or protrusions. As the membrane can puncture and tear during backfilling, protection boards must also be installed. ln spite of all these drawbacks, sheet membranes have been the industry norm in waterproofing for many years — they still hold the majority of the market share. Their continued use is due to impact resistance, toughness and overall durability compared to other membrane options.

Liquid-applied membranes Liquid-applied membranes

Construction & Civil Engineering Journal / April 2017 Issue

Liquid-applied membranes can be applied with a brush, spray, roller, trowel or squeegee, and usually contain urethane or polymeric asphalt (hot- or coldapplied) in a solvent base. These membranes are usually applied on the positive side of cured concrete and have high elastomeric properties. More recent technologies have also made negative-side applications possible.

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materials or repellents because they have no ability to seal cracks and joints. Concrete under hydrostatic pressure requires additional waterproofing methods to protect it from damage and deterioration. Water repellents are also known as ‘hydrophobic’. These products typically come in liquid form and include oils, hydrocarbons, stearates or other long-chain fatty acid derivatives. Although hydrophobic systems may perform satisfactorily for damp—proofing, they are less successful at resisting liquid under hydrostatic pressure. Induced stresses cause cracking in any concrete, which creates pathways for water passage. So the effectiveness of water repellents is highly dependent on the concrete itself. Sheet membrane systems Successful waterproofing with liquid-applied membranes depends on proper thickness and uniform application. They call for skilled, experienced labour to apply them, a clean and dry substrate —which can often be a construction environment challenge — a protection layer before backfilling, properly cured concrete to avoid problems with adhesion and blistering and, on horizontal applications, a subslab. Liquid-applied membranes deteriorate when exposed to UV radiation and cannot withstand foot traffic. The liquids themselves also contain toxic and hazardous volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Although liquid—applied membranes work well on projects with multiple plane transitions, intricate geometric shapes and protrusions, they are typically only used when prefabricated sheets do not work.

Admixtures

For the past three decades, a new type of waterproofing has been used around the globe. These integral admixture systems are added at the batching plant or on-site and react chemically within the concrete. Instead of forming a barrier on the positive or negative side of concrete, they turn the concrete itself into a water barrier. Integral concrete waterproofing systems can be densifiers, water repellents or crystalline admixtures. Densifiers react with the calcium hydroxide formed in hydration, creating another by-product that increases concrete density and slows water migration. They are typically not characterised as waterproofing

Crystalline admixtures

Crystalline-based systems typically come in a dry, powdered form and are hydrophilic in nature. Unlike their hydrophobic counterparts, crystalline systems actually use available water to grow crystals inside concrete, effectively closing off pathways for moisture that can damage concrete. They block water from any direction because the concrete itself becomes the water barrier. The crystalline formula contains no VOCs and can be completely recycled when demolition occurs. Additionally, crystalline admixtures offer installation advantages. Unlike traditional membrane waterproofing, which tends to be labour—intensive and expensive, crystalline admixtures can be shipped in dissolvable, pulpable bags that are thrown into the concrete batch during mixing. This speeds up the construction schedule and decreases labour costs by combining steps with concrete placing. Integral crystalline waterproofing systems should not be used in applications under constant movement. During the crystallisation process, crystals align in a three-dimensional array that breaks when subjected to excessive movement. Areas that require flexibility and face recurring movement- such as plaza decks or rooftops – would be better waterproofed another way.

Selecting right product

Efficiency is the key to success in the construction industry and selecting the right concrete waterproofing product for the job can make or break a project’s timeline. Concrete waterproofing manufacturers are working more closely than ever with contractors to understand the unique needs of their project, and ensure they have the right technology to protect their structures.

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Construction & Civil Engineering Journal / April 2017 Issue

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African cities look for ‘leapfrog’ water solutions with launch of AfriAlliance On the one hand, it is the source of some of the continent’s worst PR. Water in Africa rarely appears on the global stage except when there isn’t enough of it — as in the case of the devastating droughts now sweeping the Horn of Africa — or when there is too much, as was the case when deadly floods swept across Mozambique last month.

hese water disasters also have become foreboding precursors to crises in Africa’s cities, which often find themselves choked by rising food prices and creaking under the weight of refugees fleeing disaster zones. However, many experts say that water, properly managed, also could be the ticket to Africa’s future development — the resource with the single greatest power to drive industrialization, health, and even gender equality. (It’s women, after all, who often literally shoulder the burden of carrying home heavy water containers from supply points.) So when a collection of African mayors, academics, and policy makers descended on the Johannesburg area this week to talk about how Africa’s cities are managing their water in the face of a changing climate, the gathering was far from an academic exercise. The Local Climate Solutions For Africa conference stressed solutions over problems and offered a platform for urban practitioners to showcase innovative local water projects. Poor Africans “are going to be the people hit the hardest by climate change — in fact, [they are the people] who are already being hit the hardest,” said Barbara Schreiner, executive director of the Pegasys Institute, a South Africa-based nonprofit focused on development in Africa. “This isn’t the future. It’s already upon us.” Indeed, although Africans have done the least of any group of people on earth to create climate change — contributing just 2 to 3 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions as of 2006 — the continent is also the world’s poorest and is particularly ecologically fragile, making it likely to bear a disproportionate burden of a changing climate in coming decades. Already, the instance of natural disasters is rising sharply here, and supercharged droughts, floods, and typhoons are only likely to accelerate, experts say. Meanwhile, temperatures in parts of Africa are rising more than twice as fast as the global average. 38

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“African cities,” she said, “could perhaps even leapfrog to new solutions.”

But the urgency of Africa’s water crisis also affords it a unique opportunity — to become the world’s leader in water and climate change innovation, said Uta Wehn, associate professor of water innovation studies at the UNESCO-IHE Institute for

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Water Education in the Netherlands. Wehn is also the newly minted director of AfriAlliance, a network of African and European organizations working on water and climate change in Africa launched here Wednesday. “African cities,” she said, “could perhaps even leapfrog to new solutions.”

Sparking innovations

It is still early days for the Alliance, a project funded by the European Union that will spend five years linking European and African scientists, policy makers, and other environmental wonks on projects designed to increase Africa’s muscle to withstand the buffeting effects of climate change. Among those gathered Wednesday were representatives from more than a dozen organizations that form part of the new alliance, which include research consortiums, NGOs, and professional training bodies. They used the conference to showcase a spectrum of projects bridging African and European water expertise and need — from a team of European and East African scientists designing a water filtration system for communities along Lake Victoria that will allow them to recycle wastewater for aquaculture and farming to the African arm of a global project to train governments in sustainable water management. Many of the projects on display focused on the simple but vexing puzzle of how to make water cleaner — to drink, cook, and farm with — in African communities where waterborne diseases are a leading cause of mortality. For example, the water gurus behind Waterspoutt are working to scale-up an almost impossibly simple method of making water safer to drink: leaving it out in the sun in plastic soda bottles until bacteria, viruses, and parasites are zapped to death. Meanwhile, the people behind an emphatically named project called MADFORWATER, described plans to develop new methods to turn wastewater into water that can be used on farms in the parched northern African countries of Tunisia, Morocco, and Egypt. “Cities are hubs for development in sub-Saharan Africa and development needs water,” said Louise Stafford of The Nature Conservancy, which is looking to expand the African reach of its “water fund” programme. The programme works on “ecological infrastructure” — such as wetland restoration and the clearing of silt or invasive species in waterways — to make water supplies safer for urban populations. “But with climate change we’re realizing we can’t keep going with business as usual,” Stafford said. “We need new solutions.” And if Africa has the most to lose if business carries on as usual, it also stands to gain more than anywhere else if its local governments and donors can change direction on climate issues, said Schreiner. That’s especially true for women. At present, she noted, extreme weather impacts women disproportionately. Weather-related disasters often wipe out local sources of water or fuel — the gathering of which is generally a woman’s work. Meanwhile, when calories are scarce, they’re often afforded first to the men in a family. Climate change can even make women more susceptible to malaria — since rising temperatures often mean more mosquitoes, which are are particularly drawn to pregnant women. “But women can also be extremely powerful agents” in mitigating the effects of climate change, Schreiner said. Give them the knowledge and skills to plant drought-resistant crops, for instance, or to save earnings for times when extreme weather wipes out crops, and they’re more likely than men to invest their resources in the health and wellness of their families. AfriAlliance “is about knowledge and that also makes it about power,” Schreiner said. For the African half of the alliance to see the benefits, the continent must recognize that its own ingenuity is crucial to fighting climate change here, she said. “We need to take our own power.”

“Cities are hubs for development in sub-Saharan Africa and development needs water,” said Louise Stafford of The Nature Conservancy, which is looking to expand the African reach of its “water fund” programme. The programme works on “ecological infrastructure” www.cceonlinenews.com

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Africa’s Green Energy Challenge: Mega Projects, Off-Grid or Somewhere in Between?

A 310-megawatt wind farm sprouting up in a remote, barren landscape near Lake Turkana in northern Kenya has the clean energy world buzzing — and for good reason.

frica’s largest wind farm, with 365 towering turbines, is creating more than 500 stable jobs in an impoverished area where goat herding is often the only work available. It will boost Kenya’s electric grid capacity by about 15 percent, at a far lower cost than the imported oil the local utility now uses. And when it begins producing juice next year, it will signal to investors and companies that big clean energy projects like this are viable in sub-Saharan Africa. “The impact we’re having makes me feel quite proud, frankly,” says PhylipLeferink, general manager of Lake Turkana Wind Power, who was all smiles when I met with him because the 142nd turbine had just been installed. Megaprojects like these are deeply important for solving sub-Saharan Africa’s colossal energy access challenges at the pace governments there want. But they are not the complete answer. They are often expensive, take years to build and can’t reach everyone. In fact, the US$700 million 40

Construction & Civil Engineering Journal / April 2017 Issue

Turkana project has been in the works for nearly a decade and the exact timeline for finishing the key 270-mile (435-kilometer) transmission line is still in question. Moreover, all of the electricity is going to southern Kenya; none will end up in the powerstarved north, where high-polluting kerosene and charcoal are used for cooking meals and getting light. So what is the best path to get electricity — preferably, modern green electricity — to the more than 1 million people in northern Kenya and 620 million people in all of sub-Saharan Africa living in the dark? I recently spent 12 days traveling in Ghana and Kenya trying to find the answer. I was most interested in understanding the extent to which large, grid-scale renewable projects like the Turkana project can meet the region’s vast demand for power and whether more attention should be focused on off-grid renewables and other decentralized green energy efforts, which are smaller and not linked to the electric grid. The extent to which the countries can grow their economies with renewable energy — instead of costlier fossil

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fuels, a huge contributor to climate change — was another key question. One thing is clear, according to government leaders and non-governmental organization experts: Plummeting costs for off-grid renewables — over 80 percent since 2010 for solar photovoltaics — are a game changer. Look no further than the remarkable rise of M-KOPA Solar, a Kenyan company that has seized on Africa’s mobile phone/mobile money phenomena (more than 90 percent of Kenyans use mobile phones and more than 70 percent are mobile money customers) to bring off-grid household solar to 425,000 customers across East Africa. A recent study from the public-private collective Power for All, which aims to accelerate rural clean energy globally, shows these off-grid technologies can be installed in half the time and at one-tenth the cost of large utility-scale projects. Yet despite this vast potential, off-grid power is being impeded by a lack of access to capital, particularly from the World Bank and multilateral development banks, which have long been predisposed to funding big-ticket projects. “I have no doubt, this is a millions-ofhomes proposition,” M-KOPA founder and managing director Jesse Moore told a packed crowd of 500 at the recent International Off-Grid Renewable Energy Conference in Nairobi hosted by the International Renewable Energy Agency. “But we’re still very much a sideshow.”

Kenya: Leader in Renewables

Kenya is widely seen as a leader in Africa in pursuing renewables — both grid and offgrid projects — to tackle the energy access challenge. Three years ago, fewer than 30 percent of Kenyans were getting electricity from the country’s meager 2,000-MW power grid, which was powered primarily by fossil fuels. (The US region of New England’s population is less than one-third of Kenya’s, yet its grid is about 31,000 MW.) To attract power plant developers, the government adopted policies like risk-protection guarantees, standardized power purchase agreements and feed-in tariffs — all of which

“I have no doubt, this is a millionsof-homes proposition,” M-KOPA founder and managing director Jesse Moore told a packed crowd of 500 at the recent International OffGrid Renewable Energy Conference in Nairobi hosted by the International Renewable Energy Agency.

help ensure satisfactory payments for power that is produced. The government is especially eager to tap the country’s bountiful clean energy resources such as geothermal. A 280-MW geothermal power plant came on line in December in the Great Rift Valley, where the continent is gradually tearing apart and so providing easy access to hot water and steam below the surface, and several more geothermal projects are in the works. A new 55-MW solar plant was also announced in late September. Government officials are pleased with the progress. “In just three years, we’ve doubled connected customers to the grid,” Kenya’s top energy secretary, Charles Keter, told the off-grid renewable energy conference audience. But he concedes Kenya will never achieve its universal energy access goal by 2020 without off-grid renewables. “In areas far from the grid, such as northern Kenya, we have to find other solutions in the near future.” Companies like M-KOPA, OffGrid Electric and Mobisol are already stepping in — all using pay-as-you-go business models to deliver off-grid solar services to millions of rural customers. With a US$30 deposit and daily 50-cent payments, all via the ubiquitous M-PESA mobile money transfer system, M-KOPA’s customers get a solar panel, a couple of lights, a cellphone charger and a solar-powered radio. After a year of payments, customers own the system. Customers also develop a credit history enabling them to finance larger solar equipment that can run bigger appliances such as televisions and, M-KOPA hopes soon, small refrigerators. As I walked with two sales rep-

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resentatives through Bandani, a poor neighborhood of mud huts, dirt roads and charcoal stoves in Kisumu in western Kenya, half a dozen people ask for M-KOPA brochures. Several others were already using the service. One of those customers, ConsonlataAndhiamboOdero, lives in Bandani with four children in a tiny shack and runs a shop selling charcoal, eggs and bread. Discouraged by the constant power outages, she bought an M-KOPA system a month ago. Now she has two lamps for her shop and pollution-free light so her kids can read at night. “I’m very much excited,” she says with a big smile. In just five years, M-KOPA has hired about 1,000 workers who are pitching and servicing customers in three East African countries. The company’s model is also being expanded to West Africa. But despite the company’s growth, a number of Africans can’t even afford the upfront costs. “The [US$30] deposit, that’s the biggest block,” said Edwin Amollo, a field sales manager for the company in Kisumu.

Ghana: Catching Up

About 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) to the west, Ghana is adopting many of Kenya’s strategies in expanding energy access. It lags a few years behind, especially when it comes to renewable energy. But the country is working to catch up. Ghana’s government is expanding its electric grid with new power plants, using feed-in tariffs, competitive bidding and power purchase agreements to attract outside developers and investors. The biggest ones so far have been natural gas plants, which are being fueled by the country’s first offshore natural gas field developed last year. Solar projects are also being added to the grid, but they’re smaller — including a 20-MW solar photovoltaic project that went on line in April and a second 20-MW project awarded to a South African firm in September. Several more renewable energy projects are in the works up north, including a US$4.5 million solar installation for an agriculture venture in Yagaba Basin.

Construction & Civil Engineering Journal / April 2017 Issue

Meanwhile, off-grid solar provider PEG-Ghana launched two years ago using M-KOPA’s business model: It targets regions where people have no electricity or are dissatisfied with constant power outages — known locally as dumsors — and where mobile money is in common use. “The reason we invested [in Ghana] was nobody was tackling West Africa at all,” said Lauren Cochran, director of private investments at the Blue Haven Initiative, a Massachusetts-based investor that helped PEG-Ghana raise US$7.5 million this year to expand its business in West Africa. Forsaking northern Ghana — “It’s too poor,” says PEGGhana country manager Simone Vaccari — the company has set up 29 service centers in southern Ghana that have signed up 14,500 customers to date. Sales are growing 20 percent a month, and PEG-Ghana plans to expand to the Ivory Coast soon. “We’re in a good space,” says Vaccari, who hopes to have 100,000 customers across West Africa by 2018. Expanding commercially viable clean energy mini-grids — small-scale, off-grid networks that supply power for individual villages or businesses — is a clear priority in Kenya and Ghana, both at the government and private sector levels.

“The reason we invested [in Ghana] was nobody was tackling West Africa at all,” said Lauren Cochran, director of private investments at the Blue Haven Initiative, a Massachusetts-based investor that helped PEG-Ghana raise US$7.5 million this year to expand its business in West Africa

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Officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Ghana office say there’s a lot of interest and potential with grid and off-grid solar, and they credit the government for setting renewable energy goals and enacting policies to encourage foreign investment. But it remains to be seen if the country can replicate Kenya’s success with renewables. Expanding Decentralized Mini-Grids There is another huge hole that Kenya, Ghana and other sub-Saharan Africa countries must fill to achieve their ambitious energy access and clean energy goals. While household solar systems like M-KOPA’s show promise, what about businesses, manufacturers and entire villages looking for bigger renewable systems instead of relying on a spotty or nonexistent power grid? (Due to Kenya’s unreliable grid, more than half of the country’s businesses operate their own diesel-powered generators.) And what about food suppliers who lack refrigeration due to power outages and no electricity at all? Expanding commercially viable clean energy mini-grids — small-scale, off-grid networks that supply power for individual villages or businesses — is a clear priority in Kenya and Ghana, both at the government and private-sector levels. And, again, Kenya’s efforts are further along. This summer, the country’s president, Uhuru Kenyatta, announced plans to install 23 solar mini-grids with 9.6 MW of capacity in remote northern Kenya. Companies such as CrossBoundary Energy are building solar mini-grids for shopping malls, safari lodges and remote hospitals. “In Kenya, 70 percent of electricity consumption is businesses,” says managing partner Matt Tilleard,

who is also expanding the business to Rwanda. “That’s our niche.” In Ghana, Black Star Energy is building solar mini-grids serving seven small communities in the country’s Ashanti region. The company’s first solar-powered mini-grid, in a cocoa farming area, launched last fall. CEO Nicole Poindexter says a key advantage of these systems is that they can run refrigerators, which are critical for solving regional food security challenges. Lack of refrigeration is a big reason why Africa loses enough food annually to feed 300 million people, according to the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization.

Companies such as Cross Boundary Energy are building solar mini-grids for shopping A Money and malls, safari Policy Issue, Not a lodges and remote Tech Issue For all of their early promise, offhospitals. “In grid renewable solutions are still in their infancy. “We have miles Kenya, 70 percent and miles to go. Companies of electricity like M-KOPA are doing amazing things, but their market share is consumption is still de minimus,” says Christine Singer, director of global businesses,” says Eibs advocacy at Power for All. So what will it take for off-grid managing partner renewable solutions to seriously Matt Tilleard, who start filling the region’s energy access gap? It’s less a technolis also expanding ogy issue than a money issue. Broadly speaking, Africa is the business to not attracting nearly the investRwanda. “That’s ment dollars it needs for energy projects of all sorts. Current our niche.” energy-sector investments in Afwww.cceonlinenews.com

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“For overall economic growth in these countries, you’re going to need new large-scale power, but you can’t see that as the only solution,” she said. “There needs to be more deliberate and conscious integration of both centralized and decentralized solutions.” rica are about US$8 billion a year; that’s less than one-sixth the US$55 billion a year that is needed to achieve universal energy access by 2030, according to a 2015 African Progress Report. And, of the limited money that exists, very little is going to off-grid renewables, such as household solar and mini grids. From 2011 to 2014, only 11 percent of World Bank energy access funding and 1 percent of African Development Bank funding went to decentralized renewables, according to a recent Power for All report. 44

Construction & Civil Engineering Journal / April 2017 Issue

This funding gap was a clear sore point for participants at the Nairobi off-grid renewables conference. “If 5 percent of that money went to our sector, you’d see millions more customers getting power far more quickly,” says Graham Smith, senior director of new markets at Off-Grid Electric, a solar start-up with over 100,000 East African customers that is relying mostly on private investment funds and venture capital to expand its business. Power for All’s Singer says aligning government policies and key financing institutions behind more balanced grid and off-grid renewable strategies will be critical in bringing green power to Africans more quickly and at less cost. “For overall economic growth in these countries, you’re going to need new largescale power, but you can’t see that as the only solution,” she said. “There needs to be more deliberate and conscious integration of both centralized and decentralized solutions.” This post by Peyton Fleming was originally published on Ensia. com, a magazine that highlights international environmental solutions in action, and is republished here as part of a contentsharing agreement. Peyton Fleming is a senior director at the nonprofit sustainability group Ceres. For details, visit www.ceres. org.

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Africa’s ports revolution: A tale of two port cities

In August 2014, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered work to be begin on an $8.2bn project to upgrade the Suez Canal (pictured) by deepening the main channel, building a 35km parallel waterway and a further 37km of auxiliary channels.

he plan was to take advantage of an increase in world trade by increasing the number, size and speed of ships taking the short cut between Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean. The business case for the project was that Egypt’s transit fees would increase from $5bn a year to more than $13bn by 2023, equivalent to about 3% of GDP. The development of a special economic zone would add another $55bn of assets to Egypt’s industrial base by 2030, with petrochemical production leading the way. A certain amount of scepticism was expressed in the business press about those figures: one shipping broker toldBloomberg the expansion was “a bit of a surprise” as no shipping companies had requested an expansion in capacity. Ahmed Kamaly, an economist with the American University in Cairo, toldReuters that traffic projections were based on “wishful thinking” rather than conventional feasibility studies. The purpose of the scheme, he said, was political rather than economic: to unite the Egyptian people around a source of national pride, much as Ethiopia had done with its Grand Renaissance Dam. And, as with the dam, it was financed by popular contributions: in this case, special investment certificates, which were fully subscribed within eight days of release. A national holiday was announced on the day the parallel waterway opened.

Political economy

The Suez 2.0 plan made sense as a way of strengthening the position of al-Sisi’s government, however it came with certain risks. It’s all very well to associate yourself with a prestige project that succeeds, but failure can be hard to live down. So far, things have not gone well: the hope was that the average number of ships using the canal would increase from 47 a day to about 97. Figures for December 2016 show that only 49 were passing through, and to sustain that level of traffic the Suez Canal Authority has had to offer discounts to shippers of between 45% and 65%, leading to a 5% yearon-year fall in revenue in November 2016. It was recently announced that these will be in place until the end of June. The discounts have proved necessary because major shipping lines have been taking advantage of lower fuel prices to send their cargoes round Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. And many ships sailing from Chinese ports have been opting to reach the east coast of America by crossing the Pacific and passing through the expanded Panama Canal rather than taking the shorter route across the Indian Ocean. In the years to come, world trade is likely to grow and the price of fuel will probably rise, meaning the decision to upgrade the canal could eventually pay off, but this may be a long wait. Meanwhile, Egypt is facing short-term economic challenges that the project may have actually exacerbated.

A new Antwerp

At the other end of the Mediterranean is another remarkable example of a government using civil engineering as a lever to move an entire economy, in this case that of the north Moroccan region, which contains most of the country’s industry and population. The port in question is the Tanger–Mediterranean terminal, directly opposite Gibraltar, which opened for business in July 2007 with a design capacity of 2.8 million teu. By 2014 the volume of containers had already www.cceonlinenews.com

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The Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT) at Port Said East was opened for business in 2004 as the main transhipment hub of the eastern Mediterranean reached 3 million, putting it equal to Africa’s biggest, busiest and best facility at Durban in South Africa. Growth fell back 3% in 2015 – unsurprisingly, given the 10% fall in global merchandise trade in that year – but it was clear to the government of Morocco and the Tanger Med Port Authority that the longer-term prospects justified an expansion to as many as 9 million teu. This is now under way, and when it is complete, it will mean that a port that didn’t exist 10 years ago has become the equal of Antwerp. The growth potential of a container terminal lies in its location relative to trade flows. Here Tanger–Med is at even more of an advantage than the Suez terminals, being 10 days sailing from the New York, three from Rotterdam and 20 from Shanghai. What’s more, it is on the “line of zero deviation” for ships on the east–west trade run through Gibraltar, which includes 20% of the world’s maritime traffic. In other words, ships can call there without diverting from their course, and unload boxes for transhipment by road, rail or feeder ship. This is set fair to make Tanger–Med the largest port in the Mediterranean. And together with its state-of-the-art equipment, low charges and four special economic zones, it looks likely to become a shining example of infrastructure-led development for the whole of Africa. As is usually the case with shining examples, 46

Construction & Civil Engineering Journal / April 2017 Issue

surrounding countries are hoping to follow suit. The following is a tour around the southern shores of the Mediterranean, where some remarkable projects are being put into practice. Morocco is the site of the most ambitious terminal expansion plan anywhere in Africa: the €825m Tanger– Med II. This will add a separate, larger, harbour to the western edge of Tanger–Med I, as well as two container terminals with the capacity to handle 5 million teu. There is scope for additional expansions after the first phase is complete in 2019, which would bring the combined capacity of the ports up to 9 million teu. The new port will be run by local company Marsa Maroc and APM Terminals (APMT), a company based in the Netherlands but owned by Danish shipper Maersk. The work is being carried out on a designand-build basis by the same consortium that built Med I, led by Bouygues Travaux Publics and including Besix of Belgium, Saipem of Italy and Somagec and Bymaro of Morocco. The work includes the construction of a 4.4km of breakwaters, a 1.6km quay for terminal 3 and a 1.2km quay for terminal 4. Tanger–Med is ideally placed to provide unloading points for the 100,000 ships a year that pass through the Straits of Gibraltar, and to gain the greatest profit from this flow it has installed the specialised cranage required to reach into the latest Ultra Large Container Ships, which cram as many as 20,000 containers into their 59m beam. Staying with the subject of loading and unloading, another feature that Tanger–Med II will offer to shippers is the use of the latest 52m-high ship-to-shore remote controlled cranes: 12 have been ordered from Shanghai’s ZPMC, and will be delivered at the end of this year. They will be supplemented by 32 automated rail-mounted gantry cranes from Austrian engineer Künz. The aim of this state-of-the-art equipment is to

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offer the fastest, most cost-effective service, which is important in Tanger–Med’s battle with Algeciras (4.5 million teu), on the other side of the straits, and will become even more so in the coming years as rival ports go into business along the North African coast. Tanger–Med is also a demonstration of the ability of container terminals to form the nucleus of large industrial complexes. The four export-orientated free trade zones around this one have experienced a rapid influx of investment, particularly in the automotive, aeronautics and textile sectors: one anchor tenant is Renault, which is building the largest car factory in Africa, with a capacity to produce 340,000 vehicles a year, and in March 2017 Chinese aerospace company Haite announced plans to build a $10bn industrial and technology city. Altogether, the economic zones in place now provide manufacturing sites for 700 companies over 1,200ha, and generate revenue of about €5bn a year. Algeria is one of a number of petro-dependent nations around the world that are trying to develop healthier mixed economies. Part of this process involves building container ports to go alongside the LNG and oil terminal. At present, Algeria moves around 10.5 million tonnes through the ports of Algiers and Ténès; the aim is to increase this to 35 million tonnes by 2050. This will be made possible by what Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal calls “the biggest project since independence”: the new port of El Hamdania, near the ancient Phoenician town of Cherchell, 55 miles west of Algiers. A $3.5bn deal to build the port was signed in January last year by Algeria’s Transport Ministry with a consortium led by China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) and China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC). They will take a 49% stake in the completed asset, with Algerian Port Authority tak-

ing the rest. Some $900m of the financing will come from a 20-year soft loan from the African Development Bank; much of the rest will be loaned by a consortium of Chinese banks, whose identities have not been made public. The plan is to build a facility somewhat larger than New York or Bremerhaven: 23 docks capable of processing 6.5 million teu and 26 million tons of goods per year. The first phase of the project is expected to be completed within seven years, with subsequent stages brought in over the following four years. Work began on site in March 2017 and the first berths are scheduled for completion in 2021. The Suez Canal Container Terminal (SCCT) at Port Said East was opened for business in 2004 as the main transhipment hub of the eastern Mediterranean. As it was situated at the northern entrance of the Suez Canal, it was well placed to take advantage of the flow of ships to and from the Indian and Atlantic oceans, and it quickly became the largest container port on the North African coast, dealing with 3.5 million teu. Since then it has undergone around $800m of additional upgrades to increase its capacity to 5.4 million teu. The SCCT is being operated by a joint venture between AMPT (55%) and Hong Kong shipper Cosco Pacific (20%) and, as with AMPT’s Tanger–Med, investment is being aimed at installing the latest generation of 52m ship-to-shore cranes to accommodate the immense carriers that shipping companies believe to be essential to scraping a profit. The $42m investment included one vital item: the excavation of a dedicated 9.5km access channel, which was completed in February 2016. This means that ships no longer had to access the port through the canal, which often involved a six-to-eight hour wait for a slot to become available. Jeff De Best, APMT’s chief operating officer, made a speech at the opening ceremony of the upgraded port on 6 August 2015. In it he expressed the wish that the expanded Suez Canal would “play an even greater role as a gateway of global trade”. www.cceonlinenews.com

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Unfortunately for the operators and the wider Egyptian economy, traffic using the port has fallen by nearly a quarter between 2015 and 2016. And, according to Cosco, throughput fell a further 21% in the first six months of 2016 – 23% in June alone. Tunisia has two container terminals at present, the Port of Rades at the capital Tunis, near the top of the country’s northsouth aligned coast, and Sfax further to the south. If all goes to plan – and it is a big “if” – these two will shortly be dwarfed by a €1.3bn deepwater megaport located roughly halfway between them in the Gulf of Hammamet, near the small town of Enfidha. As with Algeria and Morocco, the port is seen as a way of making use of Tunisia’s position on the fringe of the vast EU market to develop low-cost manufacturing and assembly industries, and as with Egypt the aim is to defuse social tensions created by the 30% unemployment rate among those under 25. The Arab Spring, which began in Tunisia in December 2010, has left the country with a democratic system, but no stable government: there have been seven prime ministers in the past six years. Plans for a container port at Enfidha were drawn up before the 2008 crash, and then delayed by waves of economic and political turmoil. Now the government of Youssef Chahed has made the project one of the centrepieces of its 2016-20 five-year plan. A target date of September 2019 has been set for the opening of the first phase – a timetable that will require the government to hustle through the preconstruction stages at a rate of knots. The plan is to set aside a huge area for the port: 1,000ha. There will be no fewer than 5km of quays, of which 3.6km will be dedicated to container traffic and 1.4km for storage. The cranage will aim to accommodate ships carrying up to 18,000 boxes. Alongside the port will be a 3,000ha logistic zone, and the hope is that the whole project will provide direct employment for as many as 20,000 people. The difficulty that Tunisia faces in realising this project is attracting foreign investment. Altogether, the five-year plan calls for $60bn to be injected into industries such as aerospace, automotive and tourism, but foreign companies, and foreign visitors, see the country as risky, both in terms of its political stability and their physical safety. As a result of this, some 500 foreign companies have actually left the country since 2011. The government has warned that instability may intensify if Europe continues to disinvest. Mohamed Fadhel Abdelkefi, the minister of development, told the Financial Times last October that the West was in danger of jeopardising one of the few gains of the Arab Spring. “As the only Arab and Muslim country to set up a full democracy, we can say Islam and democracy are not in opposition. If you solve the economic situation of Tunisia, you would find tomorrow an example to give the Muslim world.”

Construction & Civil Engineering Journal / April 2017 Issue

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SA cities ranked among top 10 wealthiest African cities Joburg has been ranked in the top 10 wealthiest cities in Africa and is now home to 3 200 US dollar millionaires as well as one dollar billionaire.

outh Africa dominates the African city wealth list, with three cities featuring in the top 10. Joburg is also a destination of choice for the superrich who retire to the city. The city is also home to 130 multi-millionaires who each have a net worth of more than R10-million. They drive Porsches, Ferraris and Bentleys and wear Armani suits. Joburg, Sandton in particular, ranked first followed by Cairo and Cape Town, while Durban was seventh on the list. These were some of the findings of the 2016 Africa Wealth Report released by AfrAsia Bank and New World Wealth on Thursday. The number of millionaires has increased by 500 compared with the last report. NWW defines “millionaires” or “high net worth individuals” as people with net assets of $1-million (R13m) or more. The report said the total wealth held in Joburg amounts to $245-billion. The city is home to 18200 millionaires and two billionaires. The figures for Joburg also include Sandton. Major sectors in the city include: financial services (banks, accountancies, insurance), professional services (law firms), construction, telecoms and basic materials. Andrew Amoils, who compiles the report annually, said this year has seen great development in the city’s professional fields such as private health care, law and accountancy firms. Durban was ranked number seven. Ballito and uMhlanga are tops as retirement suburbs. “Durban has shown

good growth in the last year, particularly in uMhlanga and Ballito. Residential estates in these areas are performing extremely well,” said Amoils. He said there was good growth expected in the year ahead for the technology and health care sectors. Also important to note is how wealthy Africans buying in South Africa are particularly interested in Sandton and other northern suburbs (Sandhurst, Hyde Park, Houghton), central Cape Town (Green Point, City Bowl) and the “big 5” Atlantic seaboard luxury hot spots in Cape Town (namely Fresnaye, Bantry Bay, Llandudno, Clifton and Camps Bay). Some of the listed affluent suburbs in Joburg include: Sandhurst, Hyde Park, Bryanston, Houghton, Westcliff, Parktown, Saxonwold and Atholl. The report highlighted that South Africa has 40400 dollar millionaires, and has as many as 2130 individuals who have more than R125m in their accounts. It said there were 160 millionaires in South Africa who owned private jets. Items commonly found in the wardrobes of a HWNI in Africa include Gucci and Louis Vuitton handbags, Patek Philippe watches and Prada shoes. South Africa was the most popular African destination for the super-rich, with around 15 000 multimillionaires visiting during the year. Major destinations included Cape Town, Johannesburg, the Garden Route, and the Whale Coast (Hermanus). Mauritians are the wealthiest individuals in Africa with an average wealth of US$25700 per person, while people living in Zimbabwe are the poorest with $200 per person. North African countries such as Algeria, Egypt and Morocco rank high on the list despite recent instability. Notably, back in 2000, Zimbabwe was one of the wealthiest countries in sub-Saharan Africa on a wealth per capita basis, ranked ahead of the likes of Nigeria, Kenya, Angola, Zambia and Ghana. However, now it is ranked well behind them.

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Ethiopia: Cement

production transforming Construction Sector The construction industry is booming in Ethiopia. Years ago, the country had been importing cement at huge costs for its developmental projects. In 2010/11 the country imported 0.3 million tonnes cement by spending millions of USD. However, owing to the growing numbers of cement factories, these days, the country has begun exporting beyond meeting local consumption.

he number of cement and chemical producing industries has been increasing from 18 in 2003 to 66 in 2007 E.C. Specifically in cement, there are 13 factories that are producing over 12 million tonnes of cement per annum. Industry Survey Supervision and Support Directorate Acting Director Simeneh Gizaw said that currently, the number of operational cement factories are 13; additional 3 cement factories that would commence production this fiscal year are under construction. He said that the country is working to attain the five-year cement production target, raising the national cement production capacity to 17 million tonnes by 2025. The country is on the right track for producing sufficient cement product to the local demand. Moreover, in 2005 E.C, Ethiopia began exporting cement to neighboring countries and earning foreign currency which is a remarkable stride in the construction sector. On the other hand, the engagement of foreign investors in the sector has resulted in higher production, income tax, job creation, knowledge transferring and technology advancement. They are also supporting to empower the local cement industries by organizing training programmes. Besides increasing the production volume, the Ministry of Industry together with stakeholders is working to create conducive environment for the construction sector through supporting and supervising. According to Simeneh, the Ministry is working in the sphere of human resource development together with Adama Science and Technology University. Currently, the country is constructing different mega projects such as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, sugar factories, houses, industrial parks and railway among others. “For all these mega projects cement is one of the most important inputs.” 50

Mugher Cement Enterprise Director General Fekadu Deme said Mugher was the beginner in cement production and there has been production and quality increment in the sector since its establishment in 1957 E.C. The ensuing industries have also been playing notable role in the national building arena. Mentioning his Enterprise’s 5000 tonnes of cement per day supply to country’s mega projects, Fekadu noted that the enterprise is working to increase sufficient and efficient product by modernizing system, technology and resources. Provided that other producers walk in similar road they might start exporting beyond supplying the local demand. Today, the nation is consuming a higher amount of cement for its daily growing construction projects. Locally, the main cement consumers are the government, clients (contractors), development institutions (operators) and private owners. And the cement market is also growing from time to time. According to Zelalem Hailegiorgis, CSA Business Statistics Directorate Director, in 2007 E.C, the country secured some 8.7 million Birr from cement and related chemicals’ sale, of which 177, 245 Birr is earned from export to Kenya, South Sudan, Somalia and Djibouti. Some 11, 143 jobs have also been created in the manufacture of cement, lime and plaster production within similar period. However, when the nation stop importing cement and begin earning from export, still there is a question of quality and management. Dr. Engineer Gashaw Washa, Deputy Director of Ethiopian Construction Project Management Institute, believed that besides boosting the product volume, the nation must work to improve the quality of cement. As to him, the current motive in using cement is not efficient. He said that since the product is among the perishable ones, cement should be used before its service time went out. The transportation and mixing process should also be operated in a full care. To alleviate all the drawbacks and keep the quality of cement, there should be an organized association that would offer quality transportation service by receiving cement and mixing it with the needed construction chemicals within a proper atmosphere. According to him, the establishment of concrete processing association would help to prevent these problems. While the current motive to produce cement is very inspiring, there should be proper concern for the quality and management of the product. “Even if the process of cement production in the country is improving due to the dispersion of foreign notable producers, the management is still low. And it should be one of the mechanism to draw a lesson about the management system from these producers. Starting from the packing, all the transportation and mixing process ought to be under a strong care.”

Construction & Civil Engineering Journal / April 2017 Issue

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