Infrastructure news from around the continent

ANGOLA

Megaproject to house 20 000 people

Community and housing project Centralidade do Halavala, located in the municipality of Bailundo, Huambo Province, was recently inaugurated in the presence of His Excellency, the President of Angola, João Lourenço.

The project’s aim is to build urban communities, as envisioned by the Angolan government within the scope of the National Urbanism and Housing Program, and implemented together with contractor Kora, the real-estate and urbanism subsidiary of the Mitrelli Group.

In addition to the provision of more than 3 000 housing units, it was designed to provide a new way of life to more than 20 000 inhabitants who will have greater access to essential services such as education, health, security and a network of internal and external infrastructures open to the community. The new residents will be accompanied by social services throughout, provided by the Multisectoral Integration Program initiative, to ease the cultural transition into their new homes and community, resulting in a better quality of life for them and a brighter future for their families.

GHANA

Primary substation increases power capacity

A new substation at Sefwi Bibiani in the Western North Region of Ghana will improve power supply to 36 towns in the Bibiani District region. This substation was recently inaugurated by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG). It has a capacity of 2 x 20/26 MVA, valued at about US$8.7 million (R138.5 million).

Before the construction of the primary substation, the Bibiani District region had a booster station, which supplied electricity to residents. However, with the ever-increasing electricity demand due to industrialisation, especially following the government of Ghana’s One District One Factory agenda, ECG is compelled to provide reliable power supply to support the demand.

ECG’s 2022 approved budget for projects to improve service delivery in the Western and Western North regions totals about GH₵ 24.7 million (R51.5 million). These projects include the construction of Elubo Bulk Supply Point, construction of 2 x 20 MVA Primary station, reconstruction of Axim Switching Station, and the reconstruction of Sefwi Dwenase Primary Substation.

EGYPT

Step towards green hydrogen production

UAE’s Masdar and Egypt’s Hassan Allam Utilities have signed agreements with state-backed Egyptian organisations that will see the parties work together on the development of large-scale green hydrogen projects in the Suez Canal Economic Zone and on the Mediterranean coast.

“In the first phase of the project, Hassan Allam Utilities and Masdar aim to establish a green hydrogen manufacturing facility, which would be operational by 2026, producing 100 000 t of e-methanol annually for bunkering in the Suez Canal. The electrolyser facilities in the Suez Canal Economic Zone and on the Mediterranean could be extended to up to 4 GW by 2030 to produce 2.3 Mt of green ammonia for export, as well as supply green hydrogen for local industries,” explains Amr Allam, CEO of Hassan Allam Holding.

He adds that Masdar and Hassan Allam Utilities see Egypt as a hub for green hydrogen production, targeting the bunkering market, export to Europe, and boosting local industry. “Egypt enjoys abundant solar and wind resources that allow generation of renewable power at a highly competitive cost – a key enabler for green hydrogen production. Egypt is also located within close proximity to markets where demand for green hydrogen is expected to grow the most, providing robust opportunity for export.”

KENYA

Improved access to clean affordable energy

In Kenya, renewable energy currently accounts for 73% of installed power generation capacity, while 90% of electricity used in the East African country is generated by green energy sources such as geothermal, wind, solar and hydroelectric.

According to the Energy Principal Secretary, Major General Dr Gordon Kihalangwa, Kenya is on course to achieve a 100% use of clean energy by 2030 and to achieve 100% access to clean cooking by 2028.

Kenya’s flagship installation, the Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) Project, is the largest public-private investment in the country’s history at a cost of €625 million (R10.5 billion), and is the biggest wind power plant in sub-Saharan Africa.

Comprising 365 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 850 kW and a high-voltage substation, LTWP supplies renewable energy to the Kenyan national grid, and is committed to the sustainable application of all resources to the benefit of the environment.

The electricity generated by LTWP has reduced Kenya’s reliance on fuel imports from neighbouring countries, saving more than €281 million (R4.7 billion) between 2018 and 2021, and enabled the continued economic growth of the country in the process.

The Principal Secretary says reforms in the energy sector are continuously being formulated and implemented to improve the sustainability of the performance of the national economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These reforms will support the implementation of the Paris Agreement and efforts towards achieving Kenya’s climate targets as set out in the country’s first Nationally Determined Contributions.

MOZAMBIQUE

Port of Maputo unveils rehabilitated berths

A total of 1 058 m of berthing area (composed by berths 6, 7, 8 and 9) was recently inaugurated by the President of Mozambique, Filipe Jacinto Nyusi.

The berths – rehabilitated, expanded and dredged to depths of up to -16 m – are now fully operational and will allow the port of receive and load an increasing number of bigger vessels.

In an inaugural speech, President Nyusi said, “With this increase, there will be more revenue and income for Mozambicans.” Some of the planned investments for the port include: • creation of a food terminal (grains, sugar, vegetable oils, molasses) • expansion of the container terminal • expansion of the intermodal container terminal • expanding TCM (dry bulk) capacity to 12 million tonnes per annum.