Infrastructure news from around the continent

KENYA

Water management key for mining sector

Kenya’s mining industry, which generated an estimated Ksh22.7 billion (R3.6 billion) in 2020, is expected to grow, as more operators are set to begin production next year.

The western part of Kenya will attract large-scale gold mining in 2022, after Shanta Gold – a mining company with operations in Kenya and Tanzania – stated that additional visible gold has been identified in seven different intersections. Another mining company, Lakeside Limited, has also begun prospecting for gold in Bondo, Siaya County.

The projects are expected to create highly skilled jobs, improve roads and other infrastructure in the surrounding areas, generate revenues for the national and county governments, and generally boost the local economy during the construction and operational phases of the mines. Lakeside estimates that construction of its mine will cost R29.3 million.

Mining places a strain on the environment, especially given that the industry uses large amounts of water during the extraction and separation of minerals. Water is an extremely efficient medium for supplying chemicals and mixing materials, and is an essential ingredient for some chemical processes in mining. It is also a medium for gravitational and centrifugal separation of minerals from host rocks.

In most mining operations, water is sought from groundwater, streams, rivers and lakes, or through commercial water service suppliers. Unfortunately, mine sites are often located in areas where water is already scarce and, understandably, local communities and authorities can oppose the mines using water from these sources. And even where water is plentiful – such as in Kwale, where Kenya’s largest mining operation is being done – water management can be a challenge.

Additionally, during construction of the mines, there are potential dangers to the environment when mines are dug below the water table and toxic materials seep into the groundwater. The potential of heavy stormwater also increases after construction because of the increased ground surface sealing – inhibiting percolation and the consequent infiltration of water. When there are no well-designed storm drains, the rainwater can end up stagnating and hence creating conducive breeding areas for water-based vectors, leading to transmission of diseases like malaria and cholera.

Fortunately, these challenges can be tackled by installing water management infrastructure that uses Weholite HDPE Structured Wall Technology. The light nature of the Weholite pipes makes them easier to transport and install – a great advantage for projects where the mines are in remote and difficult to reach areas. Also, the technology has a 100-year service life when buried, which reduces the maintenance costs associated with such projects. Weholite technology can also be installed in builtup areas with minimal disruptions.

Local mining company Base Titanium has used Weholite pipes for several applications over the last few years at its Kwale-based mine, while Anglo Gold Ashanti is using Weholite technology at its mine in the Geita region of Tanzania. This technology was delivered by Megapipe’s sister company, Plasco Limited of Dar es Salaam. Megapipes Solutions is currently building a factory at Oaklands, near Ruiru, which will manufacture Weholite products up to 3 m in diameter. Designing water management solutions specifically for the unique needs of mining companies will be one of its main aims.

MALAWI

Country’s first solar power plant now operational

Malawi’s first solar power plant is now connected to the national grid. Located in the Salima district, 101 km from the capital Lilongwe, it has a capacity of 60 MWp.

It is the result of a public-private partnership between JCM Power Corporation, Matswani and InfraCo Africa, a private infrastructure development group company. Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden and the Dutch Development Finance Company later joined the project in its construction phase, along with JCM Power and InfraCo Africa.

The consortium will sell the clean electricity generated at Salima to the state-owned Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

UGANDA

Move to protect vanishing wetlands

Uganda's National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) has indefinitely suspended all consideration of new projects in wetlands, in a push to better protect areas seen as key to curbing worsening flooding in Uganda.

Over the last two decades, Uganda has lost about 40% of its wetlands, many of them filled in as the country’s rising population looks for new farmland or to create space for industrial expansion.

A report on the country’s environment and natural resources indicated that the area of Uganda covered in wetlands has fallen from 16% in 1994 to 9% in 2016 – the last year in which losses were estimated.

Worsening run-off from heavy rains is making homes in lowland areas such as Bwaise, a Kampala suburb, much more prone to flooding. In the past, the Nsooba wetlands near Bwaise slowed and purified rainwater run-off before it entered Lake Victoria. Today, with the wetlands reduced in size, more polluted water enters the lake, affecting marine life and water quality. However, removing factories built by wealthy Ugandans, Chinese and Indian industrialists from wetland areas will prove difficult. The factories – which produce everything from electric appliances to mattresses – offer much sought-after, lowpaying jobs in a country with high unemployment, like many subSaharan African nations. Uganda has the right legal framework to protect wetlands, but laws were not being enforced in part because of a lack of finance and staffing for NEMA.

MOZAMBIQUE

Expanded water and sanitation access via solar power

The government of Mozambique is receiving a US$150 million (R2.4 billion) grant from the International Development Association, the World Bank Group’s subsidiary. The funds will help improve the supply of drinking water in northern Mozambique by relying on solar photovoltaic energy.

The northern provinces of Mozambique (Nampula and Zambezia) have the highest rates of multidimensional poverty and the lowest rate of access to basic services such as water, sanitation and electricity.

The funds will support the country’s Rural and Small Towns Water Security Project, whereby piped water supply schemes will be built for 22 rural growth centres, with the construction and upgrading of water sources, treatment plants, transmission, distribution and household connections. Works will also include the construction of solar energy sources for new systems and shifting from diesel generators and grid energy to solar for existing systems, both of which will contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Energy-efficient pumping equipment will be prioritised throughout the programme.

“This project will also support job creation,” adds Pierre Francois-Xavier Boulenger, senior water supply and sanitation specialist and the project’s task team leader. “Small towns and rural growth-pole water supply schemes managed by private operators are projected to create 190 new permanent positions, employing at least 65 women. The project will also ensure that a third of women are represented in district planning and monitoring groups, and provide training and business development support grants for 50 female water and sanitation entrepreneurs.”