Infrastructure Quarterly Vol 04 2014 by ValueWeb

Volume 1 No 4

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ISSN: 2360-9095

N1000 $6.00 £4.00

Foundation Technologies: How strong is that foundation?

DOKA: Guarantees infrastructure projects with Foundation Formwork solutions

Oil & Gas: Crash in oil price, 2015 budget: What is the way forward for 170 million Nigerians?

Power Reformation: “One of the biggest challenges to power generation in Nigeria is transmission infrastructure”

Contents

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January 2015 Volume 1 No 4

www.infrastructurequarterly.com

ISSN: 2360-9095

N1000 $6.00 £4.00

Foundation Technologies: How strong is that foundation?

DOKA: Guarantees infrastructure projects with Foundation Formwork solutions

Oil & Gas: Crash in oil price, 2015 budget: What is the way forward for 170 million Nigerians?

Contents

Power Reformation: “One of the biggest challenges to power generation in Nigeria is transmission infrastructure”

Prof. Chinedu Nebo Renewable Energy: Lifeline to Nigeria's power dearth

Dezaini Alison -Madueke Crash in oil price, 2015 budget and way forward for Nigeria

27 64 53

George Onafowokan Coleman Wires High Tension cables sets the pace

50 42

Cover: Foundation Technologies: How strong is that foundation? When it comes to building projects and life in general, the foundation is undoubtedly the most important work

Abia: Creating multiple projects to boost economy

Digital Broadcasting: Nigeria must do more for the sharp change over-Obaseki

Solid Waste Management: what Nigeria must learn from LAWMA- Lagos example of waste management is enough for states across Nigeria and other African countries to save citizens from environmental hazards.

Meeting Housing Target: Nigeria's N224 billion mortgage market needs to do more

www.facebook.com: IQ Magazine twitter.com: @iQMagazineSS www.linkedin.com: NILES SUPPORT SERVICES

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Volume 1 No 4

Contents

Volume 1 No 4

Healthcare:

Abia is saving more lives with modern healthcare infrastructure. For the people of Abia state, the establishment of the State Specialist Hospital and Diagnostic Centre is reprieve from travelling abroad for medical challenges

NESREA:

Environmentalists thronged Abuja over compliance, monitoring and enforcement as a means of getting more sectors of the economy involved in the battle to make our environment what it should be.

Industry:

Nigerian Automotive reform soars as SCOAN, MAN Truck sign deal for local plant. The new deal between SCOAN and MAN Truck is no doubt a sign of improvement to boost the country's economy and enhance the industry's contribution to national GDP.

Interview:

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Volume 1 No 4

Editorial

Which way on Pre-paid meter Following the privatisation exercise leading to agreements in the power sector since over one year now, Nigeria seems to be going in the right direction in what looks like a revolution in this sector of the economy. Series of developments and activities from the government and private investor to see that power supply improves drastically have been seen in this sector for some time now.

Though the NERC boss has promised to ensure all those who paid for metre get it in two weeks saying the commission would enforce the 45 days deadline. It is expected that electricity regulators in the country should ensure that strict adherence to transparency and standard practice is followed and clamp down on defaulting distribution companies for failure to provide meters. It is advisable that NERC should not take a stand of playing the role of a mediator between electricity consumers and the distribution companies. At a time like this, duty calls on NERC to come out and be the authority that it is in giving a standing order on what should happen on the pre-paid meters and ensure that within the shortest time or deadline, the meters are made available.

Notwithstanding these eﬀorts, the consumers are yet to experience the long awaited promise of stable power supply and understandably this may take a longer time to come when it would be celebrated just as our neighbouring Ghana celebrated a few years ago the one year of uninterrupted power supply in that country. Nigerians are yearning and dreaming for such a time when it would be said that the country is self suf icient in power. It is then that our manufacturing sector would pick up again as well as other sectors of the economy.

Publisher/Editor-in-chief Oladapo A. Orelaja Editor/Consultant Dachi Maduako Chief Operating Officer (COO) Yewande Green Research Analyst/Reporter Kingsley Jeremiah

One issue that has remained unaddressed in the chain between the consumers on one hand and the GENCOs and DISCOs on the other hand is the issue of Prepaid Metres. When a few years ago there emerged the pre-paid meter, the people heaved a sigh of relief believing that their problem of estimated power consumption was inally coming to an end. This was not to be as soon after the take oﬀ, the distribution of the meters stopped and no one could give any acceptable explanation to the people. And up till date, the matter has remained as it was not minding that a lot of Nigerians have made payments for meters without hearing or being put in the knowledge of when to collect them.

Contributing Writers Nnamdi Uzondu Mary Chikezie Loveth Okonoboh

Statistics released recently shows that the forecast of energy demand at its peak in the country would be as high as 12, 800 mw while the highest peak generation was 4, 517.6 mw and that was on December 23, 2012. With current peak generation put at 3,821.8 mw while generation stands at 3,485.04 mw and energy sent out is 3,415.85 mw, the power at the disposal of consumers is not anything to write home about.

Marketing & Sales Omotayo Adewale Gloria Akudinachi Moreen Imbor Dorothy Onyeka

It is therefore, sad and remains a serious concern to most electricity consumers who are not satis ied with the current power at their disposal more so, when regulatory framework as being championed by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) does not seem to have helped to resolve the issue of the billing system where they bicker over paying for what they did not consume due to estimated billing. It is hoped that prepaid meter holds the answer to the problem.

Design/Graphics Abidemi Lott

According to the authorities, the metering gap in Nigeria is about 50 per cent and it is reasonable that Nigerians don't expect that gap be closed in a short while. But since privatization is in place, it is expected that estimated bills which give room to corruption and arbitrary tariﬀ would become a forgotten issue and allow individuals and corporate organizations to pay for what they consume. The electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) have failed to improve on metering despite the continuous wailing of most consumers.

Published by: WOOD XTRA Building & Construction Support Services. Copyrights reserved. Reproduction in any form, in whole or in part without permission is forbidden. The content or views expressed in adverts, advertorials, special features, and supplements in Infrastructure Quarterly are exclusively those of the advertisers.

The developments have become so bad that a lot of electricity consumers in the country are expressing frustration over the inability of power distribution companies to ensure that prepaid meters are made available to households across the country, two years after they submitted applications and paid for meters and instead of getting the metres they continue to pay outrageous tariﬀs for products they did not consume.

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US$500m BUA Cement Plant Set in Nigeria

BUA cement plant

By Kingsley Jeremiah

Nigerian company, Bua Group International has concluded plans to commence production in its new three Metric tonnes per year production capacity cement plant Okpella, Edo state of Nigeria in February 2015. The new cement plant whose construction in the Okpella, has attained high level of completion is expected to be ready for commissioning in February 2015. After commissioning, it will increase production of BUA Group International to 5.3Metric tonnes per year. The executive director, project and technical at BUA Group, Okpella, Yusuf Binji said the new investment would reduce the number of unemployment in the country as the company hoped to hire no fewer than 1000 people indirectly and directly. “Apart from the planned 3Metric tonnes per year capacity cement manufacturing plant at the Okpella, BUA is also setting another cement plant at the same state, which is expected to have an output of 1.5Metric tonnes per year once completed.” The company is already operating another cement manufacturing plant at the Sokoto State in Nigeria, through Sokoto Cement – which is its subsidiary. The plant at Sokoto has a production capacity of 0.5Metric tonnes per year and is running at 100 percent capacity at the moment. This comes in the wake of increased activity in cement manufacturing around Africa, with new entrants in the region.

Kaduna invests Nigeria embark on 149 Dam in erosion control projects to boost power, water

aduna State government has embarked on a full scale war against erosion with projects worth US$11.21million in six locations across the state. The projects are expected to be completed within a scheduled period of 36weeks and are at advanced stages of completion.

Construction of Kashimbila Dam in Nigeria

The construction of the Rigasa Erosion Control is currently in progress and funded under the execution of the 2013 ecological fund projects in Igabi Local Government. Other erosion projects in other local governments include similar construction works for soil erosion projects in Bakin Kasuwa/Kakaki/Kaura in Zaria Local Government Area, Fatswam in Jema'a Local Government, Likirba in Kauru Local Government, Kakuri/Nasarawa in Kaduna South Local Government, and Kusallo in Ikara Local Government. The state governor, Alhaji Mukhtar Ramalan Yero said that the soil erosion control projects would help in land reclamation and prevention of land degradation. In his opinion, the state government is committed to complete the projects to protect the residents from the negative impact of soil erosion.

Erosion control site

igeria's minister of Water Resources, Sarah Reng Ochekp has revealed that the Federal; government is undertaking 149 dam projects across the country just as the construction of 37 other large dams have already been completed. According to the minister the Kashimbila Multipurpose Dam, which is now at 87 per cent completion is to ensure control of possible lood originating from the imminent collapse of Lake Nyos upstream in Cameroon. The minister also indicated that procurement for the proposed Datsin Hausa Dam was currently being reviewed. The dam is expected to address looding emanating from uncontrolled release of water from the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon. Through the new dam construction projects, the ministry will supply water for hydropower, irrigation, ishery development, lood control, tourism and recreation throughout the country. The Minister has also said that 10 dams were rehabilitated during the last four years. Of the completed 37 dams, 16 will be utilized for power generation of about 135.15MW of power. The country will also increase its water tapped on dams to 3.6 billion cubic meters once all the dam construction projects are completed.

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Nigeria to prioritize construction of second runway at Abuja airport

ollowing a recent directive by the presidency to ensure that the construction of the second terminal of the Abuja Airport project is revisited and undertaken, senior Special Assistant to the President on Aviation, Cpt. Shehu Iyal, has said that the ministries concerned are now prioritizing construction of a second runway on the airport.

Disclosing this in a press brie ing in Abuja recently, Shehu said the project was expected to increase safety, security and ef iciency at the airport, amidst increased interest of international airlines to ly to and from Nigeria as indicated on the Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria.

Aerial view of Abuja Airport: construction of a second terminal will start soon, following a Presidential directive to have the project revisited and undertaken

Mulk invests $40m in Nigerian shopping centre

He stressed that the construction of the new runway was due to start “soon” after the directive to have it revisited and placed on national priority list. “Airline sector has recorded a boost following government's plan to waive custom duties on airplanes and spare parts for operators. The boost has also been attibuted to the country's eﬀorts to restructure the sector. The restructured airports include the Bauchi, Dutse, Akwa Ibom and Asaba. Already there are ire- ighting equipment installed on various airports in the country.”

Construction work starts on Nigerian golf course

eading London base golGarden City will be the second golf course in the city, the heart of Nigeria's booming oil industry, and also the second TPL course in the country. The irm's irst Nigerian course, Summit Hills in the city of Calabar, is nearing completion. Garden City is a golf and housing estate developed by Lagosbased ARM Properties, close to the international airport of the 1.5mn population city. Homes in the gated community will be marketed to both local buyers and the many expatriates who call Port Harcourt home. Contractor Bouman Golf is building the course, while the global engineering irm Arup is handling project infrastructure. Project management is being provided by Lagos-based irm Courtney Michael.

n United Arab Emirates based irm, Mulk Holding is set to invest $40m in the fast growing shopping industry in Nigeria to develop a Duty Free shopping centre in Lagos.

TPL principal Tim Lobb said: “Although we had ideas for green designs before we started construction, we aren't inalising them until clearing and rough earthworks are done.

A local media in the region, Constructionweekonline said the company had signed a contract with global retailer Suzanne Group for the centre at The National Theatre of Nigeria. “The project is to convert approximately 30,000 square meters of the existing space in The National Theatre into a Duty Free and retail shopping mall with all facilities for Nigerian and international shoppers. The total project will be developed in two phases. Phase one will be 15,000 square meters and the second phase will involve another 15,000 square meters.”

“So we can adjust hole strategy as the site opens up. The drivable par four sixteenth is a good example: we changed the teeing positions because of trees revealed during clearing. I think the sixteenth may be my favourite hole – it is built around a lake, with fairway on both sides oﬀering a safe or aggressive routes to the green. All three closing holes will be extremely exciting.”

Shaji Ul Mulk, chairman of Mulk Holdings, said: "We are extremely happy to partner with Suzanne Group to develop the landmark shopping mall project, which is estimated to be completed in the year 2016 at total investment of $40m.”

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The new Pure Dynasty seeded paspalum blend, supplied by American irm Atlas Turf, is being planted wall to wall; Garden City will be one of the irst Pure Dynasty-grassed courses to open for play, expected to be late in 2015.

Volume 1 No 4

Regional

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Ghana targets 60MW hydroelectric power plant in Wassa

he rapid development in Ghana is taking another length with a 60MW hydroelectric power plant at Sekyere Himang in the Wassa East District of the Western Region to meet the high demands of electricity in the country. The government project which is being undertaken by the China International Water and Electric Corporation with support from the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum is estimated to cost US$3m and will be completed in three years to reduce the erratic power supply in the country.

By Kingsley Jeremiah

Kpong dam in Ghana

Discussion is already on by the representatives of the Energy Ministry, Ghana Water Company, Environmental Protection Agency and traditional authorities from the various communities, with the residents who will be aﬀected by the hydroelectric power plant project, on the eﬀects and bene its of the project. China International Water and Electric Corporation has already acquired 1,500 hectares of land for construction of 1,650 houses in Tsitsimhwe, Bosomase, Okyerekrom, Adukwah, Nyamebekyere and Yeriyebiahwe for the residents who will be displaced when the hydroelectric power plant project is undertaken.

Arab Contractors eyes US$3 billion businesses in W'Africa

gypt's leading construction irm Arab Contractors (AC), is planning to double its business operations in Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea to US$3 billion by the end of 2016.

The irm's director in charge of Africa sector, Ashraf Rateb, who revealed this recently, said that the company intended to expand by carrying out a number of infrastructure and housing projects in the two countries. This is part of Arab Contractor's plans to enroute its presence in the two West African countries.

A bridge under construction in Egypt by Arab Contractors

The company lately won a new contract worth US$100 million to carry out 1000 housing units in Equatorial Guinea's administrative capital, Oyala within one year and a half. Mr. Ashraf also pointed out that the company is planning to win a number of road and bridge projects in Nigeria. Constructiononline said the company's business portfolio in Equatorial Guinea was currently worth $ 190 million, encompassing projects in infrastructure and military camps. The leading construction company from the North African country is also currently implementing ive new projects in Nigeria estimated to cost US$65 million

GPHA signs MoU for expansion of Tema Port

hana Ports and Habour Authority (GPHA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Meridian Ports Services (MPS), to construct various infrastructure at Tema Ports. The expansion project which is expected to cost a total of US$1.5bn will enable the port handle more vessels at the berth measuring 450 metres said Director-General of GPHA Mr R i c h a r d A n a m o o , a d d i n g t h a t t h e construction at the port includes berths, breakwater, quay wall and terminals. Dredging of the port to adequate depths will also be undertaken as part of the expansion exercise, Anamoo said. The project is expected to start oﬀ by second quarter of 2015. The two berths are expected to be completed by October 2016, a move that w i l l m a k e i t p o s s i b l e f o r r e l a t e d infrastructure to be completed by December 2018 – these include a rail and road network,

and deeper draughted vessels and this will help link Ghana to outer world, availing an opportunity for Ghanaian companies to compete in business, globally. Construction of a truck park along the major port will also be part of the expansion practice. The land has already been acquired for this construction. Construction works for expansion will help the port handle increasing cargo – currently; the port is handling about 70 per cent of cargo imports. GPHA and Joint Ventures of Bollore Africa Logistics and APM Terminals are the principal investors. railway terminal and a quary. The project will involve expansion of hinterland connections – rail and road network between Tema and Accra. Dredging will see the port capable of handling larger

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The expansion of the port, according to Anamoo, will be crucial for the port to handle growth and providing of a world class infrastructure to support the country's economic growth, construction review online reported. Volume 1 No 4

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Ethiopia's Wind farm expansion to add 40 MW

ergnet Group SA is currently conducting a feasibility study in Tirgay Regional State to expand the Ashegoda Wind Farm.

The project will help the country add to the grid a total of 40MW in Tirgay Regional State. The project director for Ashegoda, Lodovic Dehondt, said the project was expected to end in 2015. The organization reveals that German-based Company Lahmeyer International GmbH has been hired by the government to provide project consultancy services and contract supervision and administration works. The funds for the project will be sourced from European banks and the French Development Agency (AFD). The Minister of water, Irrigation and Energy (MoWIE) Alemayehu Tegenu, and the Minister of Communication and Information Technology, Debretsion Gebremichel have also entered into another agreement to expand power generation. Ethiopia aims at generating 10,000Mw electric power from water, wind and geothermal sources through the Ashegoda wind farm and Adama wind farm during the conclusion of the government's ive-year growth plan. Vergnet Group SA is a French irm and deals with power generation from wind, solar and hybrid sources. It has installed 900 wind turbines and operates in nearly 35 countries.

Adama wind farm in Ethiopia

Sub-Saharan Africa Infrastructure spending to hit $180bn P.A By Kingsley Jeremiah

nfrastructure spending in the subSaharan Africa is projected to reach a whopping $180bn (R1.9 trillion) a year by 2025 as the region strides in economic development. This is according to the latest PwC Capital Projects and Infrastructure in East Africa, Southern Africa and West Africa report released recently. The report reveals that Africa will only spend two per cent of the global $9-trillion expenditure in infrastructure during the same period. Nigeria and South Africa were the biggest spenders at 68 per cent of all the spending in the region in 2013. Kenya is third at 10 per cent, then Ghana fourth at eight per cent, Ethiopia at six per cent, Tanzania at ive per cent and Mozambique at three per cent. Africa continued to attract the interest of global investors, developers and operators searching for growth. While there were short-term concerns in some of Africa's regions, the opportunities abounded for infrastructure investment and development, the report said. In the PwC report, more than half of the respondents said their planned spending on infrastructure on both new projects and refurbishment of assets would increase by more than 25 per cent from the previous year. They said much of their spending would be focused on new development, with 51 per

cent of all respondents planning to spend projects and the impact of political risk and more than half of their budgets on new government interference during project life assets. cycles.

“Respondents from west Africa were especially optimistic, with 58 per cent planning, an increase of more than 25 per cent in spending, followed by those in east Africa (53 per cent) and southern Africa (40 per cent),” the report said.

“Resolving these quickly and creatively will not only positively aﬀect their current projects but, more importantly, will attract other project developers, owners and investors to enter the African market,” Cawood said.

Capital projects and infrastructure leader for PwC Africa Jonathan Cawood said shallow economic recovery in most developed markets has shifted the focus to fastergrowing regions. This is also true for the infrastructure development sector, “With an abundance of natural resources and recent mineral, oil and gas discoveries, demographic and political shifts and a more investor-friendly environment, the investor spotlight shines brightly on Africa.”

“With a number of concessions having been cancelled by governments in the region, an improvement in transparency, regulation and procurement is needed to help restore the con idence of foreign investors in partnership models.”

“Stability, coupled with greater regional integration and cross-border cooperation, is essential for the successful economic development of southern Africa. The region is clearly on a strong growth trajectory but better project selection and preparation, tighter collaboration and improvement in trust are required to ensure sustained development,” Cawood said. He said that while respondents were clearly committed and optimistic about the continent's infrastructure development, there were a number of obstacles they had identi ied. These included lack of skills, inadequacies of states to plan and deliver

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Uganda reserves US$400m for Entebbe airport expansion

ganda's Entebbe International Airport is embarking on a US$400m expansion project for the construction of a second terminal under a public private partnership (PPP) with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

relocation of oil tanks. The project is expected to help the country's agenda of increasing passenger numbers from 1.46m in 2013 to 10 million in 2033.

According to Ugandan government authority, the project would include construction of a new cargo centre together with a shopping mall, more aircraft bays, a new runway, six more passenger check-in areas, aprons and

The country which has 21 airlines, six local and the rest international wants to improve its air transport to increase tourism in the country, which has been on the rise for the past 10 years.

Shelter Afrique Radisson Blue to construct to finance two hotels in Uganda, Ghana US$200m housing project R in Uganda By Kingsley Jeremiah

adisson Blue Hotels is prepared to construct two new hotel branches in Accra, Ghana and another in Kampala, Uganda. This announcement was made by the company at the Africa Hotel Investment Forum.

helter Afrique renewed hope for 20,000 Uganda citizens with a new housing p r o j e c t t o b e i m p l e m e n t e d i n collaboration with the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development. The project will be developed in a period of four years where 4,000 commercial and social housing units, schools, health centres and wa ste m a n a g e m e n t fa c i li t i e s w i ll b e constructed. The Government has already identi ied and secured 650 acres of land in various parts of the country. Uganda Prime Minister said the government was committed to providing aﬀordable houses for its citizens and for this reason; it's on a mission to support institutions with the agenda to improve housing and grow per capita income of ordinary Ugandans. Uganda is currently experiencing a high rate of urbanization with increased rural to urban migration. This has led to uncontrolled growth and expansion of housing units which has greatly contributed to the mushrooming of slums within and around town centres in the country.

The second hotel will be constructed at Ghana's Radisson Blu Accra Airport by Carlson Rezidor, and will be called Radisson Blu Accra Airport hotel. The planned hotel will sit on a 75,000sqm of land and will entail a mixed-use development that include of ice, commercial and retail units.

Developers which include Actis and Laurus Development Partners said irst construction phase of Ghana's Radisson Blu Accra Airport Hotel is expected to be completed in 2016. They will also develop the property in partnership with Mabani Holdings. Among facilities set for construction for the Radisson Blu Accra Airport hotel to be opened in 2017 include 207 keys, rooftop swimming pool and itness centre. It will also have a banqueting and meeting facilities and eating areas. Carlson Rezidor will, through this new mixed-use development, advance its portfolio in sub-Saharan Africa. It will be a “world-class infrastructure” developed in partnership between Actis and Carlson Rezidor, according to Philip Salem – the Director of Mabani Holdings. Carlson Rezidor has 51 hotels in Africa and it's regional activities are managed through an of ice located in Cape Town. Actis is managing funds close to US$6 billion all invested in Africa, Latin America and Asia. The company is also constructing/developing One Airport Square, Accra and Jabi Lake Mall in Abuja-Nigeria. The Radisson Blu Kampala Hotel will sit at the CBD. Among facilities set for construction are 195 keys, food and beverage outlets, company's signature facilities, gym, and swimming pool. The deal to construct the hotel is entered with Park Hospitality. There are also plans for the latter to explore opportunities to advance the brand in East Africa. This hotel is expected to open in 2016. Other investors planning to set up new hotels or branches in various regions in Africa include THP – which is planning eight hotels in Nigeria and Radisson, Tribe, Ole Sereni and Dusit, who are planning a total of ive hotels in Kenya.

The project implementation team from Shelter Afrique met the Uganda Prime Minister who was briefed of the project by the Minister for Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Daudi Migereko. The housing project also follows a recent plan by government of Uganda to come up with sustainable housing projects that can accommodate everyone. infrastructural information, Re-defined www.infrastructurequarterly.com

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Zambia initiates road construction projects

350m long Chembe Bridge in Zambia: construction of the Lubembe River Bridge is also part of the planned road construction projects

u a p u l a P r o v i n c e o f Z a m b i a i s constructing series of roads as well as rehabilitating many others to heighten economic activities in the region. Luapula which is a business hub also boasts of its other potentials including tourism, mining and agriculture is welcoming a more business friendly environment as the RDA's Link Zambia's 8,000 roads programme, will help complete new road projects across the country. Part of the road construction works include

the Mansa-Kasama road which spreads to the North Province of the country. It is projected to open up Luapala to Tanzania and the Dares Salaam port.

Rehabilitation of the Pedicle road that links Luapala to Zambia's Copperbelt is on-going. Rehabilitation pertains to a 68-kilometer road that also passes through Katanga Province in DR Congo is also under going Others include the construction of the heavy work. Lubembe River Bridge. Report said the Luapula River at Chembe on the Zambian The contract for the new road project is under border had been completed; Kashikishi- the Zambia's Road Development Agency Lunchinda-Kaputa road project is also (RDA) as the main client. Other parties underway, there is also a plan to build two involved are HHO Africa Infrastructure one-stop border posts and a border facility Engineers, Rankin Engineering Consultants and Copper ields Mining Services Limited. for Chembe.

Zambia target two gold Rwanda plan new petroleum refineries in 2015 storage facility in 2015

The country’s Minister of Mines, Energy and Water Development, Christopher Yaluma said that the government was in talks with investors interested in the gold re ineries projects. This new move will help in value-addition to gold export products according to the Minister.

Source said the storage facility which was constructed by a local company dealing in transportation and distribution of petroleum products, Societe Petroliere Ltd (SP), will be located in Gasabo District, Kigali, and it is anticipated to be completed in the next four months.

ambia is taking giant strides in gold production in 2015 with the construction of two new re ineries to enable the country export processed gold,

The government reveals that one of the re ineries would be set up in Lusaka, while the second one would be in the Eastern Province of Zambia. Yaluma however cautioned those involved in illegal gold mining in the region, warning that they should halt their operations as they are risking their lives by indulging in those activities, otherwise, they should do so at their own risks.

wanda is planning to construct a new petroleum storage facility that will have capacity to store 21 million litres. This followed a move to boost the overall national reserve that currently stands at 30 million litres.

Operations manager for Societe Petroliere, Jean Paul Rubulika, reveals that the Ltd has said the upcoming project would help Rwanda greatly since the country consumes about 25-30 million litres of petroleum a month – it means that in case of an emergency, the reserves would last for only a week, he added. Currently, the largest storage facility is Gatsata Depots – it has a capacity of 15 million litres. Kabuye, on the other hand, holds ive million litres of petroleum. Both petroleum storage facilities are supplemented by smaller facilities located at Kigali International Airport and Rwabuye.

“Through illegal mining, the Government is losing out on revenue because those involved smuggle the gold out of the country and do not pay tax,” he said. Dunrobin, which was recently re-opened by Reunion Mining is expected to produce 500-600kg gold per annum. The country has registered over 300 occurrences of gold deposits throughout the country, and some deposits are currently being-re-evaluated. infrastructural information, Re-defined www.infrastructurequarterly.com

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Africa's tallest tower coming up in Morocco

By Kingsley Jeremiah

audi Arabian construction giant, Alturki Holding Group has been con irmed to build a 514 meters tall tower in Casablanca. The tower is expected to be the tallest to ever exist on the African continental. In a recent report by IBNLive, executive director, Osama el-Husseiny rt, said the $1.5bn project would usher in construction of the tallest building to ever exist on the African continent. The building which is to be situated in the downtown area of Anfa City, Husseiny said would see the best modern technologies applied in building the 114storey tower. The contractor also reveals that that the number of loors was identical to the number of chapters in the Quran. The group is planning to construct a 250-hectare modern city in Bouskoura, south of Casablanca, according to the irm's executive director. Mr. Osama routed for the opening of a joint chamber of commerce and contacts between investors and Morocco, as a remedy to raise Gulf States' investments in the North African country, which were on a declining path. Data from the Moroccan Foreign Exchange Of ice shows that in 2013, trade between Morocco and the Gulf States reached $ 2.6 billion, out of which 80 per cent came from Saudi Arabia, Construction Online reported.

Algeria's East-West Highway to cost US$ 13 billion

Qatari royals to build $300mn mega-palace

heikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned bought three homes in Regents Park last year for $190mn. Plans have been put forward which will see the homes being converted into one huge mansion. The new home would be a “33,000ft2 mansion, boasting a spa, heated swimming pool, beauty salon, butler and nanny quarters, a children's loor, games rooms, powder rooms, massage areas, two lifts and a gymnasium”, according to reports in a British newspaper.

Ongoing construction works for the East-West Highway

he minister of Public Works in Algeria, Abdelkader Kadi has said that the on-going 1,216 kilometres East-West Highway construction would cost not lesser than US$ 13 billion.

Speaking at an interactive session with a member of the National People's Assembly, the minister said that the construction was estimated to cost US$ 11 million per kilometre. The road which extends from Tunisian borders to Morocco border according to the minister is aimed at helping road users within the country and the connected borders.

Sheikh Al Missned's family currently own the Shard in London, Harrods and the Olympic village. However, the new 13 bedroom mansion will be the London home of Sheikh Hamad's son, the current emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The Grade 1 listed buildings bought by the Qataris are 1, 2 and 3 Cornwall Place, which were designed in the 1820s by Decimus Burton, the proté gé of John Nash, the architect who designed Buckingham Palace. It was named after King George IV, whose titles included the Duke of Cornwall. The homes were badly damaged during the Second World War by air attacks. After refurbishment, one of the properties was the of icial residence of the New Zealand High Commissioner from 1955 until the 70s and saw lavish parties for royalty, celebrities and ambassadors.

According to the minister, cost of the road construction project was set in the context of the tender and that the average cost per kilometer changes from region to another and depends on soil quality and reliefs. The planned road construction project will involve setting up a six-lane highway and is taunted as one of the largest public works projects worldwide. A complex consortium of international suppliers is undertaking the project, after it was started in 2007, but there have been concerns of corruption and delays, report said.

It was then overtaken by squatters in 1975 who called themselves the Rainbow People - before being redeveloped in 2007 by a property company and sold.

The minister said some engineering irms which had not complied with the control of the road construction project works had been banned from working in the country and had their contracts terminated.

Data from the Moroccan Foreign Exchange Of ice shows that in 2013, trade between Morocco and the Gulf States reached $ 2.6 billion, out of which 80 per cent came from Saudi Arabia, Construction Online reported.

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Volume 1 No 4

Continental

News

Malawi to conclude inland port Africa's largest feasibility studies solar plant goes online

outh Africa solar power plant which is also the largest in Africa has started operation. Located near Kimberly in South Africa, the new power project is estimated to produce 96 megawatt (MW) photovoltaic on rated capacity and will highly help the country in meeting its electricity demand at a time when it has reported load shedding and persistent power shortage. The solar power plant, known as Jasper plant is standing as the largest solar farm in Africa in operation and will be producing 180, 000 megawatt-hours of energy in a year. It is being undertaken by SolarReserve as the developers.

Part of rehabilitation works for the Nsanje Inland Port include opening the Shire Zambezi waterway

Construction of the plant came two months earlier than the set time and will provide electricity enough to power up to 80 000 homes.

he current construction of Malawi International Inland Port has entered feasibility studies phase, report said.

The success of the studies will witness the conversion of the facility of the multimillion dollar Nsanje Inland Port project to support transport in the region. Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Transport and Public Works, Rexie Lyson, revealed that the country has entered into Memorandum of Understanding with Zambia and Mozambique to see the execution of the project. Lyson said government would be looking forward to constructing of ices and other infrastructure in the area if the feasibility studies are completed. There is an expectation that countries including Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique which are expected to share Zambezi river basin will enjoy aﬀordable costs on the Shire Zambezi waterway once it has been worked on. According to him, part of rehabilitation works might include dredging of silt and water hyacinth by Mota Engil. In addition, the covers will also need to be replaced. The of icial has already visited the site before, to access what the government would do to prevent further siltation and damage at the port.

According to SolarReserve CEO Kevin Smith, part of revenues from the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) will go towards bene iting local communities through the Enterprise Development and Socio-Economic Development. Jasper power project will give oﬀ over 325 000 PV modules, 180 000 megawatt-hours of renewable electricity a year, and there is a 20-year power purchase agreement with Eskom, the South African power utility company for distribution of the proceeds. Being a Concentrating Solar Power plant, it generates electricity by converting heat produced on a central point to electricity – the heat results from sunlight being re lected and concentrated onto a central point by means of 10,000 tracking mirrors called heliostats. The mirrors reside in a 1,500 acre ield and re lect and concentrate sunlight onto a large heat exchanger –

Lyson also added that feasibility studies were taking longer time because of the concern the government had on environment. The feasibility studies began ccording to the irm's executive director. in November last year and will focus on technical, economic, and environment viability. The study, which is being carried out by Hydroplan GmbH from Germany, would also focus on planning and investment appraisal. The Cabinet Secretary also commented on what would happen if the feasibility studies for the Malawi inland port rehabilitation were negative, saying the government would explore other opportunities. The Malawi inland port project is owned by government and could not be abandoned in such a situation, adding that it can even be converted into a tourist attraction facility. The Cabinet Secretary has already said that the government had identi ied funds for the project. Malawi was also planning to build a new bridge to be built along Kamuzu Barrage, as part of the water infrastructural projects funded for 15 years through the World Bank Shire River Basin Management Programme. In addition to checking looding downstream, the project would help provide suitable levels for the river to allow stable electricity generation. Jasper Power Plant infrastructural information, Re-defined www.infrastructurequarterly.com

Volume 1 No 4

International

News

Nikki Beach to open on Dubai's Pearl Jumeirah

OMA, Olin to design Washington DC Garden Bridge

nited States beach hulk, Nikki Beach has con irmed the opening of a new resort in Dubai's Pearl Jumeirah in 2015. This came as shock just immediately it annulled plans to open its irst property in the Middle East on Doha's The Pearl Qatar. The 52,000 squre meters Nikki Beach Resort & Spa Dubai is expected to have a 400 metres of white sandy beachfront14 beach villas, 132 units 61 branded residences, 117 rooms and suites, one 1,350 squre meters three-bedroom ultimate beach villa, three restaurants, a VIP lounge. Other facilities include the brand's famous Beach Club, Nikki Spa by ESPA and Tone Fitness Centre Founder & owner of Nikki Beach Worldwide Jack Penrod, told CNN that “We have been waiting for the right time, location and partners to expand our brand in Dubai and after 10 years of waiting, I am happy to announce that we have inally found the perfect location and the perfect partners (Meraas Holding) to open Nikki Beach in Dubai," "We are proud to partner with Meraas and share a common vision to make of this beachfront boutique resort a new benchmark for the luxury lifestyle & hospitality industry," added Jihad El Khoury, cofounder and CEO of Nikki Beach Hotel & Resorts EMEA. The Miami-based brand, famous for its all white parties and celebrity guests, announced in 2011 it was to open the Pearl Nikki Beach Resort & Spa at the The Pearl Qatar development in Doha in February 2012.

London Okays new bridge

estminster Council has approved the construction of Thomas Heatherwick's London Garden Bridge months after Lambeth councillors deliberations greeted the development. In a report Lambeth councillors ruled that the bridge would need to comply with a number of stipulations – including the requirement for groups of eight or more to formerly apply to cross in order to prevent the site becoming a gathering point for protests. The bridge would straddle two boroughs, both councils needed to approve its development. However, inal decision rests with the city's mayor, Boris Johnson

em Koolhaas' irm OMA based in Netherlands and American landscape architecture studio Olin have won a bid to create the charming design for the 11th Street Bridge Park – a raised garden spanning Washington DC's Anacostia Rive The two hulks, OMA and Olin won amongst tight competitions from three other design teams to landslide a government-supported struggle to design a bridge that could provide a new "civic space" for the USA's capital city Report said the project which was expected to cost $35 million (£22 million) proposed to ind new uses for a series of piers that previously supported a major road crossing across the Anacostia River, which was moved to a new location. The new design is comparable to New York's popular High Line Park and Thomas Heatherwick's Garden Bridge proposal for the River Thames in London The stern competition saw 40 teams entered the irst stage of the competition after it was launched in January. Four were chosen for the second stage, receiving $25,000 (£15,000) each to develop their proposals. These consisted of OMA and Olin, Balmori Associates with Cooper, Robertson & Partners, Stoss Landscape Urbanism with Hö weler + Yoon Architecture, and Wallace Roberts & Todd with NEXT Architects and Magnusson Klemencic Associates. OMA and Olin's winning proposal suggested a structure that splits into two levels that meet in the centre to form a cross shape This creates space to create a number of enclosed facilities including a cafe and an environmental centre, while retaining large areas for gardens and plazas. "Our design creates a literal intersection and a dynamic, multi-layered amenity for both sides of the river," said OMA partner-in-charge, Jason Long. "It simultaneously functions as a gateway to both sides of the river, a lookout point with expansive views, a canopy that can shelter programs and a public plaza where the two paths meet. The resulting form of the bridge creates an iconic encounter, an 'X' instantly recognisable within the capital's tradition of civic spaces." "In its purest role it is a hyphen that connects and celebrates the physical and cultural histories of two historic and vibrant Anacostia shoreline communities, while establishing a civic expression of democracy," he said.

Additionally cyclists may have to dismount in order to cross the bridge. It will close up to 12 times a year to host fundraising events and will be shut from midnight to 6am every day. The bridge will measure some 6,000 squre meters but less than half of that – about 2,700 squre meters – will be planted land. It is expected to attract 30,000 visitors a day. Heatherwick whose other recent projects include a central park for the city of Abu Dhabi – said: “The bridge would be an extraordinarily special place, either to race across, relax in or look back at the rest of the city's sights.” infrastructural information, Re-defined www.infrastructurequarterly.com

Volume 1 No 4

International

News

Middle East: Rogers Stirk Harbour, waterfront skyscrapers debut

bu Dhabi is welcoming a Rogers Stirk Harbour Partners' row of four waterfront skyscrapers the irm's irst-ever project in the Middle East

The Maryah Plaza development project estimated at £478 million is designed by Richard Rogers' irm to create 500 high-end residences aimed at both locals and tourists, varying from one-bedroom apartments up to penthouses. Commissioned by Taiwanese property developer Farglory Group, the 153,000-squaremetre scheme will be located on Al Maryah Island – close to the transport links and amenities of Sowwah Square "Maryah Plaza has been conceived to complement the waterfront position, with maritime themes running through the design and great views over the water," said Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners in a statement. It will create "a diverse, rich and vibrant public realm that maximises permeability and connectivity throughout the site", say the architects The masterplan also includes "beautifully landscaped parks and shaded open spaces", alongside art galleries, community centres and shopping areas. The 114-hectare island has been earmarked to become Abu Dhabi's new central business district. Construction of the irst tower is already underway and is set for completion in 2016. The

Floating cycle path Underway for London's River Thames

o promote the development of better cycling links in London, a consortium of architects, artists and engineers have proposed a new east-west cycleway that would loat on the River Thames This is to enable the Thames Deckway provide a solution to the British capital's "deep-seated traf ic and pollution problems". The plan is expected to cover a 12 kilometre stretch from Battersea in the west to Canary Wharf in the east, the cycleway would run close to the south bank of the river – away from the main water navigation channel. The company in a statement said London n e e d e d to t h i n k o u t s i d e t h e b ox o f conventional solutions to solve its deepseated traf ic and pollution problems, adding that the Thames oﬀers vast, untapped potential to ease and improve London's

infrastructure problems. What is needed is of stopping points and refreshment kiosks. imagination to unleash it. Traf ic low and density, river movement and waves, and any hazardous conditions would The project is expected to be funded through be monitored by satellites, weather stations p r i va t e i n v e s t m e n t a n d w o u l d c o s t a n d o n - b o a r d s e n s o r s c o u l d r e l a y approximately £600 million according to i n fo r m a t i o n d i re c t ly t o t h e T h a m e s estimation by River Cycleway Consortium Ltd Deckway's users. – currently including engineering giant Arup a n d L o n d o n - b a s e d H u g h B ro u g h t o n A lat rate of £1.50 would be charged for single Architects – j o u r n e y s t o g e n e r a t e r e v e n u e f o r River Cycleway Consortium Ltd would maintenance. provide a car-free route and potentially slash the journey time from end to end to half an River Cycleway Consortium Ltd was founded by London artist Anna Hill and architect hour by David Nixon, one of the founding partners of The pathway is designed to rise and fall gently Future Systems. w i t h t h e r i v e r ' s t i d a l c y c l e , a n d t o accommodate commuter and leisure cyclists, Currently seeking funding for a detailed feasibility study, the company believes that, if as well as pedestrians. successful, the infrastructure could be Embankment ramps would be situated at completed within two years from full gointervals along the route, along with a series ahead

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Volume 1 No 4

Power and Energy

Renewable Energy: Lifeline to Nigeria's power dearth

renewable energy succeeded by putting in place regulatory & institutional frameworks Strong and credible support mechanisms. Adenukinju stressed that there must be incentives for non-state actors; feed in tariﬀs, competitive bidding process, renewable obligations, inancial incentives, renewable portfolio standard, generation disclosure rules and taxing fossil fuels. And also building strong education, awareness, enlightenment programs, strong technology and research nexus

By Kingsley Jeremiah

ne year afterThe privatization of the power industry in Nigeria, the lack of steady electric power supply still remained an endless source of concern to the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Nigerian public. Being a handicap to the growth of the country's commercial, manufacturing sectors and economic development, experts in the power industry from across the world are now looking at tackling the challenge with renewable energy.

“To meet the Nigerian Vision 20:2020 target of 40,000MW, generation capacity would require growing by 4.3GW every year. Every energy source, including renewable energy, will be needed, if this target is to be met. Evidencebased policy will be a game-changer in growing new RE markets, a coordinated, coherent and comprehensive RE policy is needed to drive this directional change. Such a policy will give impetus to RE development”

To resolve the electric power problem, minister of power, Chinedu Nebo is now at the forefront of advocacy to direct attention to explore opportunities that accrue from renewable energy. Just recently, he revealed his intention to experts who gathered from across the world to attend the Power Nigeria conference and exhibition in Lagos elevating the need to channel resources into renewable energy most especially solar to ensure that power is transmitted to the nook and cranny of Nigeria. Currently, Nigerian government is working on oﬀ grid by tapping into the power generation opportunities in renewable energy. This however is expected to take considerable time because of the time durable it takes to order for equipment which can only be produced after such equipment have been ordered. The process alone could take close to 36 months, Nebo said. The minister said the renewable energy option had worked in some communities in Nigeria. Lately president Goodluck Jonathan commissioned a 24/7 power supply method in three communities in Nigeria using solar PC cells and the power ministry intends to use the same solar technology to bring electricity supply to the rural other communities. If the power sector must work there is need for a state-wide development of the transmission infrastructure in Nigeria. The reason is that, there is no way you can get infrastructure for transmission to reach 170 million Nigerian in a day except you grow it gradually and since it could not be done at a glance the minister called on foreign investors to partner with Nigeria. He said a minimum of 1billion US Dollars was needed every year in transmission alone.

One of the key speakers who is the Director School of Sustainability Lagos and Research Fellow, Centre for Public Policy Alternatives, Dr Olufemi Olarewaju delivering a paper titled “PSR Nigeria: Institutions, Policy and Causality to Increased RE Utilization Expanding the Country's Energy Mix said Nigeria needed to increase power generation to Rising population, urbanization, improvements in standards of living, and the consequent need for the expansion of urban infrastructure will continue to drive increased energy demand. Giving reasons adequate attention must be put on sustainable renewable energy, Olarewaju said demand would be more evident in the r e s i d e n t i a l a n d c o m m e r c i a l s e c t o r s , predominantly in the form of electricity and that worldwide electricity use was projected to increase by 90 per cent from 2010 to 2040, with about 85 per cent of the growth expected in developing countries. He stressed that adequate technology and institution must be in place to focus on the distribution system of electricity and tackle governance issues, such as policy design and access, and on the formation of a partnership or consortium. He also called on the Federal Government to supports the construction of

Nebo said the nation was on a journey to ind an end to the power problem by ensuring that power is available to all Nigerians 24 hours everyday In a paper titled Economy: What needs to change to make renewable energy grow as a sector in Nigeria, president, Nigerian Association for Energy Economics (NAEE) Prof. Adeola Adenukinju said investors must receive a return on renewable energy infrastructure suf icient to make those investments attractive. He also backed that businesses owners and the government need work together to reduce investment risks and the cost of residual risk as well as ensuring that Governments provide long-term signals to stimulate long-term investment in supply chains.

Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo cutting the tape

Prof. Adenukinju who was represented by Dr Temilade Sesan said Nigeria must follow the independent renewable systems in areas not examples of other countries which recorded success in utilizing the opportunities in covered by the electricity grid. infrastructural information, Re-defined www.infrastructurequarterly.com

Volume 1 No 4

Power and Energy Participants at the power professionals' conference which took place in Eko Hotel and Suites said the present administration in Nigeria and the Power Minister were doing very innovative things to improve the problem of electricity. An of icial of Skipper limited said, Nigeria had a lot of power generation capacity to utilize and that improvement in power supply would be visible by December or January. Other participants pushed for adequate policy frame work which would bring measurable improvement in the power sector. They bemoaned that the nation had operated without favourable policies until the present administration came on board. Since the last ive to six years the policy framework has now been established and things are rapidly changing. It is obvious that power is the main problem in Nigeria but I think the coming years for Nigeria will be on the right part of power sector development, Skipper of icial said. The minister of power who spoke on other sundry issues said against generally hbelief Federal government was not given out any money to DISCO and GENCO held ower transmission distribution in Nigeria. He said the federal government was only trying to stabilize the market to meet the short fall accruing from privatization and remaining on a tariﬀ regime that is not too competitive to make sure that Gas is paid for and all the power supplies are paid for. “What the federal government is trying to do through the central Bank is to stabilize the market by giving loan to the generation companies and gas companies because of debts that are owed in the past so that they will now have the impetus to invest the money in expanding their facilities in a way that Nigerians will bene it the more. And if they have the loan they will pay back in 10 years and on a good interest rate. We are hoping that all the companies will sign up in time and in couple of weeks the deal will be signed” He assured that the transition electricity market is going to keep oﬀ the contractual agreement and ensure that everybody plays his or her role in a way that is governed by contracts which are legally binding and that we help in investment. On Unnecessary billing, Nebo said that the international business owners in the power sector were now manufacturing, smart and intelligent metres which are targeted at curbing the challenges of billing. “The government is trying to bridge the wide metering gap in Nigeria, at a time it was estimated to be 2.7 million and 8 million is said to be needed in the next one or two years in order to meet the metering gap. This is very critical because it is not fair for individuals to be paying for something that's unjusti iable. We have planned to be

scienti ic about all these things that is why we are hoping that if any money goes to the DISCO from this speculation funding it has to go into metering, to develop their capacity to meet the metering need. The Nigeria Electricity Commission has made it mandatory given a time span that the entire DISCO should have all their customers metered”. Condemning rumour over plan to increase power tariff, Nebo said, we don't want to see any increase in tariff until power generation and distribution increases. Because people want to see electricity, we are talking of megawatts and people do not care about megawatts, all they want to see is electricity. There will be adjustment but the adjustment can only come if electricity stabilises and if we are able to go beyond what we are doing and as we will in the next couple of months the regulators will never allow what will be at the detriment of the customers. He stressed that there would be measurable tariff that will give comfort to customers so that all parties will be satis ied. We are not in a hurry to adjust the tariff at the moment, he added. H e s a i d t h e government did n o t i n t r o d u c e b u r e a u c r a c y i n p o w e r s e c t o r which could stop state governments from generating p o w e r independently. The only thing you can d e p l o y e a s i l y m ayb e w i t h i n a year or few months i s r e n e w a b l e Participants at the Power Nigeria Conference & Exhibition energy like solar. W h e n y o u n o w have to think about gas to generate electricity you have to get your gas supply or gas sales agreement. You have to secure the gas. You have to make sure you've done your Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA); you have to make sure that the transmission study has been done and to make sure that transmission lines are ready to carry electricity, the minister said. “We have made mistakes in the past by building power plants without gas. But we have a mapped out plan now with the help of the petroleum minister who has been synergizing so wonderfully with me. A lot has been done in that aspect, so, gas is gradually beginning to grow. It is not really bureaucracy but just that one has to do the right thing before building power plants. If any government is interested we will help that government since what Nigerians want is electricity”.

Okonjo-Iweala, Nnaji, Ughelli Power, others bag WAPIC award By Kingsley Jeremiah

oordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former Nigerian Power Minister, Barth Okechukwu Nnaji and Ughelli Power were some of the popular awardees at the inaugural West African Power Industry Awards which held recently in Lagos.

following its on-going grid energy solution in Ofosu community in Ondo state. The award for Best Rural Electri ication Project was won by Solar Light Company, based in Ghana. Quintas plans to develop a 500 kilowatt biomass power plant which will take advantage of the community's agricultural and forestry residue, including sawdust from the four sawmills in the area that currently rely on expensive diesel for power. The new power plant will include a steam turbine, generator, and gasi ier with a combustor, and the electricity will be paid for through pre-paid meters.

O k o n j o - I w e a l a w o n t h e a w a r d f o r Outstanding Woman in Power, while Prof Nnaji, now Chairman of Geometric Power Limited, was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Ughelli Power, owned by Tony Elumelu's Transcorp won the Power Transaction of the Year, after the company signed an agreement with General Electric to expand the capacity of the Ughelli plant by In other categories of the award, ABB won 1000MW over the next three to ive years. the excellence in power transmission Ghana's Solar Light Company emerged as award, while Seven Energy was given the Best Rural Electri ication Project while excellence award in power generation. Quintas won Best Renewable Energy Project

infrastructural information, Re-defined www.infrastructurequarterly.com

Volume 1 No 4

Power and Energy “Today, we are happy to say that we have crossed TCN Privatisation would allow GENCO, 500MW of electricity, this year, we intend to cross 700MW and by next we will go up to 1,000MW. We DISCO Ownership of Transmission are in discussion with a group on a plan that can add additional 1,000MW and then with General Electric Network for 1,000MW; that will take between two to three The value chain of the power sector in Nigeria is gradually seeing improvement after the federal government lagged oﬀ the privatisation process of the power sector. Though the growth has been unstable, the Chairman of Transcorp and Heirs Holdings, owners of Transcorp Ughelli Power Plant is insisting that privatising the Transmission Company of Nigeria, (TCN) and allowing generation and distribution companies in the electricity value chain to own and operate it would be a remarkable move to improving the power problem in Nigeria. Kingsley Jeremiah Writes...

years in phases and that should take our plant to 3,000MW,” he explained.

Narrowing down the challenges of the electricity industry to transmission and adequate gas supply to power plants, Elumelu noted that with the TCN still procrastinating on its expected mandates, generation and distribution companies in the value chain might increasingly doubt its capacity to deliver t the 11th edition of the West Africa Power Industry (WAPIC) conference and on its expected responsibilities whenever electricity production improves in the country. exhibition titled “unlocking investment and growth in the West African electricity sector” in Lagos, Elumelu said that the seeming weak operational “It will be in our interests that the transmission lines structure and non-competitive character of the TCN had informed his proposal. work because if they don't work, we won't evacuate or distribute and if the Gencos With series of promises made by the and Discos will come together m i n i s t r y o f p o w e r a n d t h e “In Nigeria, one of the biggest challenges to to fund this, I think as a private sector driven by corporate anticipation by Nigerians to see power generation is transmission and in fact, goals and the need to make it signi icant improvement in the power while Ughelli Power Plant generated at full w o r k , i t c a n b e t r u l y sector, most of the experts and capacity for the irst time in July, we've been revolutionary and can help us investors from across the value chain achieve this.” in the power industry want the asked to scale down generation because of the government to get oﬀ the way and so out-dated transmission systems; for every Speaking on the ambitious expansion plan which will see that the power sector can improve in a 100MW generated and sent to transmission Transcorp Ughelli power plant short while. companies, 40 per cent is lost, in part because generate about 3,000MW of Transmission is a major problem and I electricity within the next think we need to do something as a of this infrastructure issue.” three years, Elumelu posited country if we mean to overcome this that the expansion plan will be challenge, Said Elumelu. f u r t h e r b u o y e d b y a n “What I think we should do as relates to the transmission is that I know we have just investment in gas production and supply from the concluded the privatisation of the Discos and Gencos but I will like to propose that we company's interests in oil ields in Nigeria. consider it very seriously to privatise the transmission network” Gas to power infrastructure has been a major challenge in powering plants in Nigeria but this may “I have two ideas; one is that we can privatise the transmission company for investors to come in and take charge of its operations or we can say that since transmission is not be serious concern for the Transcorp Ughelli core and key to everybody, both the Gencos and Discos and now that the private Power Plant, Elumelu explains “we are pleased that companies are involved and in charge, we can have an arrangement where our oil assets in the Niger Delta will eventually produce gas to meet our gas needs at Ughelli. At current production projections, by the end of 2015, 150 mmscf per day will be produced and that will meet about 40 per cent of the gas demands for Ughelli”.

Many plants in the country can produce more than they currently do, but the limited availability of gas makes it dif icult to produce according to the companies' individual capacities, which aﬀects the total supply and explains why the average Nigerian hears reports of increased capacity which is yet to be translated to increased power availability in homes and places of work.

Discussants at the WAPIC conference

government can value the transmission lines and get the Discos and Gencos to form a In Nigeria, one of the biggest challenges to power generation is transmission and in fact, while company which will own the transmission line with mutual destiny. Ughelli Power Plant generated at full capacity for Elumelu explains, “I am an avid believer in the capacity of the private sector and the the irst time in July, we've been asked to scale discipline it can bring to bear. I know that we will deliver on the promise of abundant down generation because of the out-dated power, which in turn will help address the pent up demand for access to electricity transmission systems; for every 100MW that our vibrant economy needs to keep growing at an even faster pace. A healthy, generated and sent to transmission companies, well regulated, and largely private power sector is possible and will form one of the 40 per cent is lost, in part because of this infrastructure issue. cornerstones of true economic development”. To ensure that power improves signi icantly, Transcorp Ughelli power plant reveals plans to upgrade generation capacity to about 3,000 megawatts (MW) within a threeyear phased project plan. But as interesting as this may sound the eﬀorts become futile if there is no proper transmission plan. infrastructural information, Re-defined www.infrastructurequarterly.com

Also, power generation is capital intensive and as it stands, we send the power we generate to the transmission company as soon as it's generated and we count on the government to pay in a timely manner, but that has posed a bit of a problem. Volume 1 No 4

Power and Energy

PetitJean innovative power mode now in Nigeria

By Dachi Maduako Jeremiah Kingsley

ith the revival expectedly going on in the nation's power sector and the need to lighten the streets and every nook and cranny of the nation, Nigerian investors have succeeded in bringing the renowned French company PetitJean into the country launting its quality products to brighten the Nigerian landscape. Introducing the two products – steel columns for transmission poles which come in decorative and functional as well as the h i g h m a s t a n d t o w e r p r o d u c t s , a representative of the organization, Mr. Emeka Okparagu said the Nigerian investors took advantage of the indigenization policy of the country to buy the franchise to enable it come in and operate as a Nigerian company. “Knowing the existence of the indigenization policy of the government they decided that Nigerians partner so that it becomes an indigenous company. So, we have Nigerian investors and were registered sometimes in April 2014 but we didn't start until July. PetitJean is a French company. Early last year a group of Nigerians decided to see that the organization is operational in Africa particularly in Nigeria, so that it can bring in its products” he said.

PetitJean's functional product on display

very reliable; the organization is best in this area so far in Europe. We recently got a bid that we submitted to Julius Berger, part of the requirement was that it must be Petitjean of France standard, so it is a company that we are proud of that we are representing them so we are looking forward to having a relationship with government and other corporate organizations in Nigeria,” he said.

According to Okparagu, the company is in network with construction companies in Nigeria majorly Julius Berger, Dantata and Sohwe among others. The product was also used for the street lights at the Tinapa in Calabar while it was brought in by Naida in most of Abuja's colourful columns that dot the highways.

He explained that the two diﬀerent products in their stock, the decorative and the functional are for houses, walkways, highways gardens etc, pointing out that the high mast and tower products, were used at the Lekki Toll gates adding that the company was approached by Mikano towards the end of last year for installation of pole at the Lekki Free Trade Zone. “The company is known for quality and it's a good thing that we are in Nigeria and we are very willing to do business with anybody who is interested in quality. A good name is said to be better than money. We have made a name for over 50 years in quality and another thing is that we don't produce locally, we just send whatever quotation we have to France and we import directly. One major thing we have which others don't take into consideration is the wind loads. What happens when you see poles falling along the streets? Secondly most of the street lights in Nigeria are not steel products, they are just aluminum but ours are steel,” he insists.

“We are basically involved in the production of steel columns. If you have been to France all the electrical works, transmission poles are Petitjean's products. It is durable and

Okparagu who is the company's Sales Executive noted that the future for power in this country, in the next ive to six years may not still be solved a reason that has led the company to seek other avenues that can better the situation which made them decide to go solar and met another company which developed a solar light system. Projecting their new product, he said, “The normal solar lights we have have panels that deface the environment but we have a brand new project developed in 2014. It is beautiful, attractive and the panels are hidden somewhere and the batteries are somewhere at the base; the batteries have a guarantee lifespan of 15 years. It operates in two with the hybrid and the grid He pointed out that the company was working on the area of transmission poles saying that Nigeria has privatised the GENCOs and the DISCOs but the transmission is still controlled by the federal government. “The problem in the power sector is not generation; the problem is in transmission and distribution because our wire, cables and poles are outdated so even if you generate a hundred million megawatts what we have cannot carry it. So the federal government must improve on transmission that is where my organization comes in. We are hoping to play a major role in transmission infrastructure in Nigeria this year. On the company's future plans, he stated that they have a plan to key into the federal government's Ajaokuta Steel plan which would enable them to open a company in Nigeria. “We all know Nigeria doesn't produce steel and that is why cars and other steel materials are expensive so once the federal government is able to come out with a framework, we would de initely use the African and Nigeria franchise we have to start a company because it will be cheaper on the long run since the cost of import duties is very high and even at that some of our products are still cheaper than the ones manufactured locally.

PetitJean's Sales Executive, Mr. Emeka Okparagu infrastructural information, Re-defined www.infrastructurequarterly.com

Volume 1 No 4

Oil & Gas

Crash in oil price, 2015 budget and way forward for Nigeria By Nnamdi Uzondu

prudent and less corrupt to ensure the expansion of the economy and its diversi ication in the long run. The way forward:

Restoration of the manufacturing sector. Despite the rebasing of the country's economy, which makes Nigeria the biggest in Africa, it is sad that the manufacturing sector contributes little or nothing to the basket. In fact, the sector which used to account for over 30 per cent to the Gross Domestic Product, GDP, in the early 1980s had remained a sad metaphor of how not to grow an economy.

Petroleum Minister, Mrs. Dezieni Allison Madueke

he persistent decline in the price of crude oil in the futures market, without pretentions, should challenge oil producing nations, especially members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC ,to go back to the drawing boards to seek a way forward for the prosecution of their national budgets and other inancial commitments. As the 2014 was fading away, the international oil market was forcefully hit by a ferocious fall in the price of crude oil. Indeed, the fall was so sudden, but, plainly persistent that today, a barrel of oil which sold as much as $130 and above in the boom days, now goes for as low as $50 or less in the early days of 2015. In Nigeria, a leading member of the OPEC and whose oil minister, Mrs. Deziani Alison-Madueke is its current president, the crash in oil price has posed grave challenges of how to fund her budget and also meet other development needs including the Millennium Development Goals, MDGs, and the funding of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF. The challenge posed to the Nigerian economy and its handlers stems from the fact that the country, had over the years depended almost solely on 'oil money' to inance her budgets and other inancial obligations. At present, Nigeria unlike some leading economies across the globe uses oil money to inance her budgets to the tune of about 70 per cent while crude sales account for over 80 per cent of her foreign exchange earnings. Today, these heart-warming developmentswhich had made decades of economic players and managers of the commonwealth simply lazy, appear to be fading away. The danger is potent. The challenge, nonetheless is daunting, though surmountable. But some economy watchers and players believe that the crash in oil price should send Abuja thinking. They believe that the development should task those who call the shots at Abuja to be more creative, more

Today, despite all claims to the contrary by the bureaucracy, the sector makes less than ive per cent to the GDP. One sub-sector- Textiles, for instance, which used to husband as much as half a million jobs in irst level employment and over one million on third party engagements, has, as at 2014, less than 10,000 workers. Indeed, a visit to Onitsha, Kano and Kaduna which all used to be the hub of textiles manufacturing activities would shudder any concerned citizen. T h o s e g a l a x i e s o f t e x t i l e s manufacturing irms have decayed and had been taken over by weeds and rodents. This is just one sub-sector. Now, consider the fact that the privatized companies like the Iwopin paper Mill, the iron and steel rolling companies and the fraud-infested Ajaokuta steel complex and the Delta Steel company as well as the low performing country's four oil re ineries which, though have a combined total capacity of 445,000 bpd, now operate at less than 20 per cent capacity, and their negative impact on the petrochemical and allied industries which are c u r r e n t l y l y i n g c o m a t o s e a n d contributing nothing to the economy- the picture of a manufacturing sector seriously bleeding and gasping for b r e a t h e a s i l y emerges. Given the need to c r e a t e j o b s a n d s t r e n g t h e n t h e c a p a c i t y o f t h e economy to generate wealth and national income, the Nigerian government should strive to rekindle a c t i v i t i e s i n t h e m a n u f a c t u r i n g s e c t o r. E m i n e n t economist, Bismarck Rewane thinks that

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t h e s e c t o r a n d o t h e r e c o n o m i c infrastructure should be put in place to reduce dependence on oil. According to him, the issue of power supply must be addressed, just as the services being rendered by banks must be enhanced and lending for business made accessible at aďŹ&#x20AC;ordable rates. He noted in a media programme recently that the fall in oil price was a wake-up call for oil producers, especially Nigeria to expand their national income base.

The point must be stressed that the minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has also expressed similar concerns noting that the manufacturing sector, indeed, the economy would do better with sustainable power supply. According to her, the Nigeria government is conscious of this fact and that has explained why so many eďŹ&#x20AC;orts had been put to ensuring that the power reform agenda of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration is fully achieved. Pointing out that the budget was meant to grow, the economy through massive job creation for wealth generation and poverty alleviation and bridging the gap between the poor and the rich, Dr. OkonjoIweala observed that these budgetary targets could only be realized when there is functional power supply. Development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, MSMEs. The Nigerian government has the challenge to grow her Micro, small and medium enterprises in the economy. According to the Minister of Trade and Investments, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, the sector has the capacity to turn-around the economy of the country, in the same way it did in the Asian Tigers including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Korea as well as Japan, China and India. Accordingly, the Nigerian government should strengthen the capacity of the sector to stand and be in a position to catalyse the economy through massive job creation.

A re inery installation

Volume 1 No 4

Oil & Gas Experts are of the view that the MSMEs have the potential of soaking over 70 to 80 per cent of the current over 100 million youth unemployment in the country. This, according to them, could be achieved provided the necessary incentives are made including cheaper access to funds, tax holidays and w a i v e r s , r e l i a b l e a n d f u n c t i o n a l p u b l i c infrastructure such as power, water, road network and security of lives and property. At present, over 75 per cent of those engaged in MSMEs are mainly artisans whose operations are hinged on the uncertainties of these poorfunctioning state agencies and public utilities. Our correspondent gathered that over 97 per cent of businesses in the country fall into MSMEs and as such cannot be ignored. And whereas government has made some reasonable progress to strengthen the sector, through inancial intermediation with the banks and pool of funds by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the reality on ground is that greater eﬀorts should be made to equip the operators of MSMEs with the right skills, checkmate multiple taxation/levies by states and local governments; protect small producers from dumping and also ensure sustainable inancial policies Agricultural revolution. The story is usually told how the then four regions – namely East, West, mid-West and North, ran their budgets using agriculture. The story is told of the great oil palms of the East; the groundnut pyramids of the North, the Cocoa plantations which adorned the landscape of the West and the robber plantations of the mid-west.

Reduction in cost of governance. The current Emir of Kano, Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, as the Governor of the CBN said a few years back that the National Assembly, NASS, consumes about 25 per cent of the national budget. Although he was pilloried and eﬀorts made by the NASS and their sympathizers to rubbish the disclosure, the fact is that Nigeria runs a bogus government. With a bicameral legislature, a 36- state structure plus a Federal Capital Territory and a massive presidency, the cost could be humongous, if not, unimaginable. Indeed, for the past four or more years, the capital expenditure of the central government has remained less than 35 per cent with the recurrent expenditure always standing at over70 per cent . This should be redressed, given the unfolding development in the oil markets. Expanding the income basket. Experts have identi ied Nigeria as having the highest deposit of solid minerals in the world, after India. What this translates to is that there is hardly any solid mineral that is not present in the country, perhaps, only one. With oil almost going extinct, the Nigerian government should think hard on how to begin the extraction and mining of all the available solid minerals in the country. Research has shown that every state in the country has, at least ive solid minerals. These minerals which include coal, tin, gold, bauxite, lead, uranium, gypsum and others should be exploited and developed. Conclusion: Dr. Okonjo-Iweala has given hint of a possible part removal of the petrol subsidy if the slide in crude persists. This should be avoided because Nigerians are currently paying the highest price for petrol among oil producing nations in the world, apart from Russia. In fact, with the fall in oil prices, the cost of petrol per litre should actually be reduced as it does no longer tally with the international price parity of crude per barrel upon which the cost of petrol was ixed, in the irst instance. No doubt, the country needs to tackle the high-level of corruption in public life including the oil industry as nothing justi ies the huge import of petroleum products at the expense of local public re ineries with its outrageous sharp practices, redundant staﬀ and capital light.

These realities of the past went with the huge petroldollar which came with the advent of oil production in the country. Yet, it is estimated that cassava consumption alone can save Nigeria over N187 billion annually. In the same way, rice production can also save Nigeria over N1 trillion annually while the use of local raw materials in brewing, bread making, agro-allied industrial processes could save the country several trillions of naira, yearly. Whereas, there is massive improvement in the agricultural sector under the Agricultural Transformation Agenda, ATA, of the Jonathan administration, the fact remains that a lot more needs to be done. The fertilizers are not fully reaching the farmers without sharp practices; the extension workers are not available; the banks are still reluctant to easily access funds to the farmers; the storage facilities are still lacking while the cottage industries that should provide backward integration services are absent. Besides, the bureaucrats are still fraudulently facilitating access to government funds to nonfarmers, at best, to third-party farmers while the real farmers are made to suﬀer from poor funding and unbalanced produce-buying inter-mediations. To fully enhance the sector, thereby, making it attractive to the youth population in the country, the various governments should improve access to inputs, inance, fertilizers, storage facilities and extension services and markets. Indeed, the value chainaddition being trumpeted by Agriculture Minister, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina must be diligently pursued. There must be institutional capacity- building. This is currently lacking. infrastructural information, Re-defined www.infrastructurequarterly.com

Volume 1 No 4

Nigeria Ofce: Authorised Sales Agent: Oladapo Orelaja; Tel: +234-8069484557; D/L: +234-8023050678 Istanbul Os: Haydar Aiyev Cad. Cira SK. HaydarBey Apt. NO: 2/6 Tarabya/Sariyer-ISTANBUL Tel: +902122745927; GSM: +905321110424; Fax: +902122745926; Email: vurmak@vurmak.com.tr Mersin Yakakoy fabrika: Anadolu Mahallesi Ataturk Bulvari No 58 Akdeniz Mersin/Turkey Tel: +903244540605 GSM: +905321110424 Fax: +903244540600 Email: vurmak@vurmak.com.tr Tarsus Fabrika: Tarsus Organize Sanayi Bolgesi 9. Cad No: 1 Tarsus/Mersin/Turkey Tel: +903246764764 GSM: +905321110424 Email: vurmak@vurmak.com.tr

Cover

Foundation Technologies: How strong is that foundation?

By Dachi Maduako Kingsley Jeremiah

hen it comes to building projects and life in general, the foundation is undoubtedly the most important work and the basis of everything that comes after. The strength of the foundation goes a long way to determine the future of every structure. If the foundation is sound, everything that goes on top of it has resounding assurance of stability and durability. What determines if the structure would or would not turn out well depends on what is at the foundation level, if it is well built; the structure on top has a better chance of turning out right. A solid foundation is an anchor for all that follows. To a novice, the foundation may seem just like a simple part of the overall construction process, but getting the foundation right is incredibly important. The biggest reason for this is that any mistake made at the foundation level will only get worse as you go up. It will form a compounding defect and it m e a n s t h a t m i s t a k e s g r o w. W h e n a foundation is upright everything that comes on it installs properly. foundation to perform the same function of transmitting the load to a more suitable soil. An expert in foundation technology, who is If the surface soil is not in the capacity then the managing director of Foundation Systems we use the deeper ones. There are two types (Nig) Limited, Festac Town, Lagos, Engr Akin of foundation that may apply in this case Akinrinde, says foundation goes beyond what called the surface foundation and deep the ordinary man thinks. The lay man knows foundation. In all, the basic function is to about conventional foundation which is the transmit the load to the soil, said Akinrinde. beginning of any structure, but this support or foundation varies depending on the Application of speci ic types of foundation structure and then the nature of the ground. If To a lay man, it may look confusing when you the ground is such that will not support have so many types of foundation. You can't normal foundation then special foundation a p p ly t h e fo u n d a t i o n a nyh o w. E a c h application will now have to come in and foundation type has its own technology and that's where the work of the foundation each type is applied to a particular situation technologist begins. From all indications, the to solve a particular problem, depending on soil that supports the foundation is equally the soil, environment, load and other important to the success of the building.” variables. Sometimes the same type of Oftentimes, the soil must be replaced or application is used to solve speci ic problem. amended to form a viable foundation,” said If for instance you want to construct a foundation in the middle of so many other Akinrinde. structures, because there are houses around, Have you ever wondered why emphasis is laid you will need to take note of the environment. on the issue of foundation? Though you may You won't use a method which will cause easily conclude, like the Bible, that the damage to other structures around. You may righteous are rootless if the foundation be not be able to use a method which will create faulty but experts in the foundation industry noise. You have to use a method which will see far beyond the insight of the conventional not cause noise and vibration which could man. Akinrinde said foundation remained aﬀect other buildings around. The reasons the only carrier of any weight a structure may above greatly limit you to the right option. pass down to the soil and that when the soil is There is obviously the right and perfect good enough, the foundation which is called solution to every particular problem. surface foundation would now transmit the load of the structure unto the upper layers of Eﬀects of Load and soil on foundation Soil has characteristics, while some can carry the soil due to the uprightness of such soil. very heavy load, others can't carry, while But what happens when the soil is not so good some can't carry load at all. In this case or the structure is so heavy that the surface instead of surface foundation you now have soil cannot support the load? Engr Akinrinde to go deeper into the ground and to said there would have to be special d e te r m i n e t h i s , yo u h ave to d o s o i l infrastructural information, Re-defined www.infrastructurequarterly.com

investigation to ascertain the characteristic of the soil before applying the foundation. Universally accepted technologies in foundation construction A c c o r d i n g t o E n g r A k i n r i n d e , t h e technologies used across the world in foundation are basically the same. However, there are technologies in the developed world that do not apply to what we do here or that we have not had access to. Technologies like the CFA, diﬀerent types of piles are applicable in the same manner to both the developed and the developing world. But there are some other methods which we have not started using. These technologies are few, there are also some special application technologies specially required by some p ro j e c t s wh i c h we h ave n o t s t a r te d experiencing in our part of the world. We hope that when we have needs for such j o b s w e w i l l e q u a l l y d e p l o y s u c h technologies. One of such jobs is the deep sea pile insulation we came across recently. The requirement is that this is used to install piles about a thousand meters into the water. We are only used to surface piling here. Now this piling requires some special types of hammers which we don't have here. These are hammers which can operate deep into the sea, but we were not practicing that here. The need has now arisen in the oﬀshore oil industry and we have got the need to import the hammer. In fact we have to import the whole technology. There are few other types of piling methods including the soil replacement type of CFA which mixes the same soil that you are going Volume 1 No 4

Cover Soil requirement for foundation The soil is the soil and you meet it naturally. If you want to develop a project and you have a soil, it is the soil that you have on the ield that you work with, you will have to deal with it and that cannot be forecasted, nobody can say here you need certain soil to have a perfect foundation and here you have a rock. You deal with the soil that you meet on the project site. What you do is to determine the soil property by doing your soil testing to know the engineering property of the soil.

to take out with cement and form a concrete cement color. That however, depends on the characteristics of the soil. The cement is injected and the machine will blend it into the soil. Challenges in the foundation technology industry in Nigeria Experts in Nigeria identi ied challenges in the foundation industry to include lack of inance and manpower. Since the industry is still very young there are not enough trained man power, secondly, the sector is seriously facing inancial de iciency as most companies if not all cannot aﬀord to buy brand new equipment which are very expensive. Foundation technology O r g a n i z a t i o n s re ly b a s i c a l ly o n u s e d equipment and machine from Europe. Besides, the market rate of buying new equipment is very high.

Foundation for bridges and houses Under normal circumstances, buildings have easier foundation technology. Bridges have more dif icult foundations because they are subjected to moments. Technically, bridges piles are suggested to higher bending moments whereas building piles are subjected to very small building moments even when you have tall buildings the moments are not to be compared with what you have from bridges because bridges have got moving loads. That's the diﬀerence between the two. The same pile methods can be used for both. How to check for winds and loads in foundation technology In building, the wind creates the moments, if you have a tall building, the wind blows from one side to another to move the building and each movement in either direction would be transferred to the piles and as a result it will either want to bend the pile or uproot the pile. For bridges it is also subjected to wind moment but wind loads for bridge is an additional moment load because the vehicles that move to and fro subject the bridge to moment or bending. If the vehicle applies brake the braking force would want to move the bridge in that direction or opposite direction then when wind comes, it adds to the moment. Bridges have higher wind moment than building. It is the same thing for storm, tornado and the likes. Dealing with areas prone to earthquakes and typhoons Akinrinde said what was required was to increase the unit of wind load. If 10 are used here, an area open to such disasters may require 100. So they design the structure to withstand this load. The structural Engineers would have to design the building in such a way that if everything is shaking the building will remain structurally intact. If it is an earthquake, Engineers would have calculated based on laboratory information, the maximum earthquakes in the zone or region so the structural Engineers would have to take it into consideration. “Forces can be reduced, like the horizontal forces can be reduced to vertical components, since winds are horizontal forces which could be reduced into their v e r t i c a l c o m p o n e n t s , t h e v e r t i c a l components will now be calculated based on horizontal forces which is what foundation technologist will use in constructing the foundation. Checking for loads

Again people are yet to appreciate the industry, “Right now we have a lot of quacks who are spoiling the market, therefore, if you go in to price a job, the quacks are ready to take it for 40 per cent lower than what you are bidding. They do substandard jobs, so, most clients don't appreciate that they have to pay appropriately Structural Engineers who are specialists in to get a quality job done,” he said. this area solve the load and give foundation engineers the loads at foundation level. There is a problem with the urban renewal, With the help of the Information and Engr. Akinrinde said, “if you have an urban communication technologies, there are renewal project in Isale Eko for instance which now softwares that structural Engineers is highly built up, like the job we did for a client can use to calculate wind and loads. As the in Isale Igando which is in the heart of Lagos, a variables are imputed into the software the portion of the area was carved out and they loads at the foundation level change. All you want to put some buildings. The place is hardly accessible and the project was to be done with need to do is to input your analysis into the heavy machines, so, we had to ind a way there software and the software will tell you for such a big structure to come but if the urban straight away what you need to build. renewal is planned then the government will start carrying out renewal projects from the edge of the city and renew bit by bit like it was done in Hong-Kong and most developing cities in Asia”.

Repairing damaged foundations There is what experts call underpin. If for instance, at the initial design of a building, the foundation becomes under developed and years later it was discovered the

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Volume 1 No 4

Cover building is cracking and investigation discovers that the problem is from the foundation, if the foundation was piled or not there can be an underpinning. Citing a recent case Engr Akinrinde said the Central Bank of Nigeria recently bought some new equipment at its minting room which were heavier than the loor could carry and as the machines were working over the years, there was a heavy weight which cause the loor to begin to sink, the problem he said was solved through the application of more piles. If a building needs additional loors if the foundation is not adequate you will have to underpin to prepare for the addition load, said Akinrinde. The foundation Also speaking on foundation technology is a certi ied engineer, and an expert in Geotechnics and Highway Engineering, Engr. Apata Akinrinde. According to him, Foundation is critical and determines the future of a structure either buildings or bridges. It is the fundamental part of the structure so it is always i m p o r t a n t t o g e t t h e foundation right before you put your structure. Once there is a mistake in the foundation you have missed the whole thing. When you talk about foundations you should be aware there are d i ff e r e n t t y p e s o f foundations and each type w o r k s f o r d i ff e r e n t structures. The structure or load determines the type of foundation that must be constructed. For instance, if you are building a twenty to thirty storey building, you should know that you need the pile foundation. Again it all depends on the type of ground or soil you are building on. What is required for a water logged area is different from the areas that are dry land. When you are building on a dry land you may not need much work like someone who is building in a waterlogged area. You don't just wake up and start building. It is important that before you start any of your structures, you need to go to experts to tell you what you need to build, the type of foundation you need, the depth of the foundation and other issues. How to deal with the waterlogged areas when building. The irst thing that builders are to do is to irst carry out an investigation or examination of the area, and the only people that can do that are experts who will tell you the kind of foundation you need and the depth of the foundation. At present when you look at buildings in the waterlogged areas of Lagos, you will either discover that they are either sinking or not standing erect and the reason is the fact that proper plans and considerations were not followed.

W h o i s t o b e b l a m e d f o r p o o r foundations? Engr. Akindele who is at the helm of aﬀairs of the engineering department of the Lagos State Materials Testing Laboratory as the Director of Engineering Services says that ignorance is not an excuse in the court of law. He points out that the government is not to be blamed for builders who build without consulting the necessary bodies put in place by the government. He noted for instance in Lagos where he operates that “The government has made plans by establishing bodies like the Materials Testing Laboratory where you can determine the quality of your construction before you do them. If you have brought your soil for testing we will recommend to you the exact thing you can do with it. What is the need to build a house of four million Naira this year and it collapses next year because you are running from the standard

required for building it rightly? Why there are failures in foundations and reasons for building collapse Giving reasons for recurring collapse, he said that “Those buildings that are collapsing now were in place even before the establishment of an of ice like ours, so how can that be a blame on the aspect of the government. Though I believe there must b e a g o v e r n m e n t b e f o r e t h e n b u t organizations like this were not in place to checkmate this. Even if you have a case of a recently constructed building collapsing when you get to the site and have interrogations with the owners you are most likely to discover they don't have approval or don't follow the plan, how will you blame government for that? Lagos state Materials Testing Laboratory now goes to sites and serves notice on the building and call them up for a proper plan. So, it is not the fault of the government. You need to ask and contact the right people before you start putting up

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a structure C h e c k ing f o r w ind a nd s to rm in foundations These are natural phenomena. Wind can basically affect storey buildings, and that is why when your processes are right before you start building, the Engineers would have put into considerations what would be done so that the wind load will have little or no effect on the structure. And when you have the plan it is advised that you don't change it. If you will need to add additional structure you must notify necessary authorities since the plan and the foundation are designed to carry speci ic loads. But in the case of erosion, building along the line of water is very dangerous. Some areas in Lagos would have been abandoned for water collections but people will feel it up and put their structures on it. Comparing Nigeria to other parts of the world Foundation here in Nigeria and what we have in other parts of the world is more or less the same but because our situation is not the same; some technologies may not be the same. In countries w h e r e t h e y e x p e r i e n c e earthquake, they construct their technology and apply it to withstand the earthquake. Those with typhoons and hurricanes, the Engineers have that in mind and channel their technology to advance techniques and the type of foundation that will protect o r i g h t a g a i n s t t h o s e disasters. How is the effect of loads c h e c k e d f o r a p r o p e r foundation? If you have the mind that you want to put up a number of structures, for instance 10 storey building from the beginning you will have that in mind and the amount of loads that is anticipated on the soil. The engineers are then guided by that information to assist them to do a proper design of that exact foundation required. But let us assume you have 10 storeys in mind and because you don't have enough money you put up ive storeys with a foundation capacity of ive storey building and later you now want to add another ive the foundation becomes weak to carry the load. The public is responding to sensitisation. People are gradually responding to the clamour by The Lagos state Materials Testing Laboratory to ensure they do every necessary thing to ascertain amongst other things how they go about their structures but when people remain adamant the Task Force is now out to check irregularities. Volume 1 No 4

Cover Foundation Formwork

Its excellent manufacturing quality and extra-durable Xlife-plywood gives a high number of repeat uses possible, this results in less maintenance hence a great investment to the owner. The specially designed Xlife sheet is quicker and easier to clean and condition. Clean concrete inish is guaranteed from the high-grade Xlife sheet with its plastic-enhanced surface. The hot-dip galvanized steel frame ensures that the formwork system will have extra-long service life and free from rust! When it comes to pouring, the frami system is exceptional by the permissible fresh-concrete pressure it can take: 60kN per 1 sqm (60kN/m²) up to 3.00m. This system is foremost when it comes to saving time and labor costs, which are major project constraints The durability of the system lowers repair and rehabilitation costs

Current urban development presents numerous new challenges, which calls for lasting infrastructure solutions. Construction companies are confronted with demanding tasks. With its many years of experience and high-performing systems, Doka serves as a reliable partner when it comes to formwork solutions for infrastructure projects. At Doka we have diﬀerent systems available to solve any concrete construction issue in regards to formwork. One of the most commonly and wildly used systems here in Nigeria is the Frami Xlife panel formwork system. This system has tremendous advantages;

A vital aspect of this formwork, is the huge lexibility it oﬀers due to its combination of various panel heights to achieve desired concrete cast height Workplace safety is very important and doka formwork like all its systems has provided the frami Xlife system many safety accessories, handrails, pouring platform, safely climbing ladder with cage… Executing the construction work successfully calls for a great deal of coordination and precision. In addition to our formwork systems, Doka services provide work low optimization through Engineering planning, on-site support and training with our experienced project supervisors.

In a communiqué issued at the end of the conference, the participants observed that Nigeria has no national infrastructure report/score card. This The lightweight Frami Xlife formwork in action used to they said is a veritable tool for progressive comparative assessment of the achieve a smooth concrete inish on many of our projects performance of nations, regions and states in infrastructure delivery. And to around Nigeria; showed here in the pictures (no. 1 to no. 4) ensure a change the NSE has set up a high level expert group. being used in the foundation stage of one of our prestigious www.doka.com projects in Lagos, Nigeria.

The crane-independent panel system used on this unique project site in Lagos, Nigeria for fast and ef icient work activity As the hammer being the only tool needed to assemble, the system can be put to use quickly, as it does not require special assembly of loose parts. It comes ready to be installed on site anywhere. No wonder Frami Xlife owners are amazed of the results, also the carpenters and labors using it while installing see the bene it right away, and request to apply it to most of the jobs they have. The Frami Xlife is adaptable to various shapes and sizes of foundations, columns, walls, single-sided walls, slab dropbeams. Because of its logical system grid, the panels come from 30cm to 90cm in width with an increment of 15cm each and into 4 diﬀerent heights: 1.20m; 1.50m; 2.70m; 3.00m Its ease of man-handling (crane independent) makes our system the right choice in tight or congested project sites. infrastructural information, Re-defined www.infrastructurequarterly.com

Volume 1 No 4

Cover

Foundation Techniques Engr ALLI Abiodun Joseph O. BT Struct & Partners (Civil & Structural Engineers), Akobo, Ibadan, Nigeria. and Engr (Mrs) ALLI Olutayo Olatundun Department of Civil Engineering, The Polytechnic Ibadan, Nigeria. ABSTRACT Over the years, incessant collapse of structures has been a serious problem that urgently calls for a research which will bring a lasting solution. Good understanding of the various causes of foundation failures and consideration for the selection of the foundation type, which will eventually assist in the Foundation techniques. This work exposes the earlier mentioned points with necessary graphs, plan and sections INTRODUCTION Foundation It is an act of justifying that all loads from slab, beams, columns, and walls suspended on beams (both lives and dead loads) are adequately transmitted unto the sub-soil without any or future diﬀerential settlement i.e. no load will discomfort the soil strata beneath the earth, thereby causing gloating or jeering on the aesthetic façade of the structure under consideration or inished product. Causes of Foundation Failures with their corresponding solutions The various causes of foundation failures itemized with their individual headings are as follows:Usage of none professionals: In Nigeria today, almost all the clients or intending owners, (be it government or individual) of a building do not like to patronize the professional for ignorance or what they perceive as high consultancy fee on the part of the professional. The professionals on their part should come down to each of the clients' level in other to have a good foundation design and to forestall collapse of the building due to faulty foundation design done by unquali ied personnel. Search on sub-strata conditions: No work should be done on site until sub-soil conditions are known through serial investigations by the soil Engineer. Many clients do not know that the result of soil test m ay o r m ay n o t re d u c e t h e c o s t o f constructing the foundation but it will enable the structural Engineer to have a precise dimension for all the sizes of the footing which eliminate trial and error or failure of footing due to inadequate information on sub-soil conditions.

Nature of constituent materials used in constructing foundation: The nature of constituent materials must be looked into in foundation construction if failure is to be forestalled. Those materials include: i. Sand: It should be free of all impurities, if there is going to be a relative adhesion with all other materials, a simple check for this on site, is to have a handful of sand from the ones deposited on site and drop it, or unfold the hand to check whether there is any stain on it, if there is any, it shows that the sand has impurities and vice versa.

selection of the type of foundation that can be used for a particular area in order to disallow foundation movement or settlement. Where one has clay material, due to its shrinkage nature when dried, and it's luid state when extremely wet, one can recommend short bored pile, connected with ground beams to disallow the walls from touching the ground, also to disallow up-rising of ground water into over site concrete and walls. In a sandy case like Lekki, Ajah and its environs, the underground movement of water is rapid, as it moves in and out. It is recommended that pile connected with ground beams over the pile cap should be used after serial soil classi ication has been done.

ii. Coarse Aggregate: There is improvement on the size and cleanness of the coarse aggregate in construction nowadays compared to the olden days when construction relies on washed gravel as coarse aggregate. Any impurities contained in sand and coarse aggregate will result in cracks on the surface of the c o n c re t e wo r k t h e re by a l l o w i n g underground permeation of luid that can impair both the hardened concrete and the reinforcement embedded in the concrete.

·Growth of trees adjacent to foundations: G r o w t h o f t r e e s a d j a c e n t t o w h e r e foundations were laid can adversely aﬀect its stability due to absorption rate of moisture by the root of the trees. For clay sub-strata it seems more dangerous because of some of its properties stated above. For sandy area, though it will draw moisture and make the soil particle to re-adjust itself to a more stable state, unlike clay that changes formation from solid to liquid and vice versa. Hence, planting of none or short root trees can be done about 6 meters away from any foundation.

iii Cement: It is a material that binds all others together, which when used eﬀectively in their appropriate mix ratio with other materials will produce good concrete which should harden between the minimum time of 45minutes and maximum time of 10hrs according to the s e t t i n g t i m e p ro p e r t y o f c e m e n t (Macginley and Choo pg 10). To forestall failure when using Portland or Dangote cement, the constituent materials in percentages should be examined in the laboratory and cement stored for more than six months should not be used for foundation construction.

·Mode of selection of contractor: In most of the jobs given out today in Nigeria, it is a matter of whom you know not on how versed you are in the profession. Job giving is selective and not competitive and since its selective most of the contractors see foundation as a section where they can do whatsoever they like and seal it up in other to make more money, for the client to battle with the problems when the time comes. On this, client should stop selective award of contract and give job to contractors with integrity to forestall foundation failure in future.

·Nature of the environment: The environment also plays a vital role in determining the depth of excavation for the placement of foundation. In the winter, what seems hard may be deceiving excerpt one has the knowledge of it in order to prevent failure in future. In a situation like this, past environmental records will be of great help in v. R e i n f o r c e m e n t : R e c o m m e n d e d determining the foundation type and reinforcement type (e.g. High yield, Mild technique. Steel either Imported, Ajaokuta and the Consideration for selection of Foundation likes), size in the diameter of the bars type (e.g. 25mm,20mm, 16mm etc), and a r ra n g e m e n t s o f t h e b a r i s ve r y There are three major factors to consider necessary to be adhered to adequately to before selection of a particular foundation prevent failure, preferably test should be type which are: done. All necessary tests should be done on the I. The soil conditions and properties. The complex properties of soil make it individual material before usage. dif icult to assess the settlement rate of · Nature of underground water: individual foundations or to predict the The movement of underground water in distortion of complete building relation to soil has in luence on the Clays shrink on drying and swell again iv Water: Water that is not free from impurities or not clean, coloured, or has chemical substance should not be used for construction of foundation, due to the fact that, the chemical or impurities can aﬀect bonding, as well as the embedded reinforcement.

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January - March, 2015 Infrastructure Quarterly

Cover when wetted which often cause movement in shallow foundations. It occurs both in vertical and horizontal directions, so, there is a tendency for walls to move towards the shrink area thereby causing separation of the aﬀected walls from the whole building or crack within the wall.

The maximum permissible settlement can be estimated using the graphs of Figs.1 and 2,

Trees which are planted close to building in clay stratum may also allow settlement due to extraction of moisture by the root thereby causing shrinkage in the clay soil. With beds of sand, ine particles can be washed out of bed reducing its stability and makes the building susceptible to diﬀerential settlement, this happens in areas like Lekki, Ajah, and part of Epe in Lagos state.

II. The type of structure and loading. Essentially, the type of structure determines the magnitude of the load that comes into the foundation. A high rise with multiple loors will de initely have heavy loads to transmit unto the sub-soil when compared with a bungalow or one loor building.

Knowing the nature of the structure, a permissible value is selected, using the appropriate curve, the corresponding diﬀerential settlement and maximum permissible total settlement is obtained. The actual settlement likely to experience by the subsequent section. This value should be less than the permissible settlement found from the curves presented by Bjerrum.

III. The permissible amount of differential settlement. It has been revealed by Bjerrum (1963) through graphs that, in granular soils, the minimum differential settlement can be equal to the maximum permissible settlement. While in clays the differential settlement is much less than the maximum permissible settlement. In sands, the maximum differential settlement seldom exceeds 3/4 of the total settlement, while in clays it seldom exceeds 1/2 of the maximum differential settlement. Having taken all these three points into consideration, it is then that one can select or recommend foundation techniques out of many Foundation Techniques include the following: I. Strip footing:

This is a situation in which a continuous strip of concrete provides a continuous ground beam under the load bearing walls. This type of foundation is placed centrally under the walls as it can be revealed in ig.3a and is generally composed of plain concrete, often to a mix of 1:2:4 by volume (1 part of cement, 2 parts of sand and 4 parts of coarse aggregates), with thickness that is not less than 150mm. At times it can be reinforced concrete strip over a length as shown below in ig. 3b to support row of columns.

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Volume 1 No 4

Cover Fig. 3b. Section and Plan of Strip Footing connected with Ground Beam (BT Struct&Partners) II. Pad footing:

Fig. 4 Plan and Section of a Pad Footing (BT Struct &Partners) III Combined footing:

These types of footing occur when two adjacent pad bases encroach into each other or there is limited space for the extension of the entire length of one pad footing due to closeness of the adjacent structure or when the load carried by two adjacent columns are heavy to disallow individual pad footing.

These are isolated foundations to support columns. The area of footing is determined by dividing the column load plus the weight of the foundation by the allowable bearing pressure of the soil. The thickness of the foundation must not be less than 150mm. The size of the base can be reduced by providing steel reinforcement at the bottom of the foundation running in both directions as it can be viewed in the section B – B in the ig.4 below..

Fig. 5 Plan and Section of a Combined Footing

Fig. 6 Section of a Raft Foundation (Bt Struct&Partners)

IV Raft footing:

V Deep foundations:

These types of foundations cover the whole area of the building and usually extend beyond it. They consist primarily of a reinforced concrete slab, (i. e, having both top and bottom bars) thickness and reinforcement to be determined through design. Raft foundations are best used on soft natural ground or ill, or on ground that is liable to subsidence (movement) as in mining areas. The primary advantage over strip foundations is the ability of the raft foundation to act as a single unit, thus eliminating diﬀerential settlement.

They are frequently used with multi-storey buildings and in cases where it is necessary to transmit the building load through weak and unstable soil conditions to a lower stratum of suf icient bearing capacity.There are many reasons a geotechnical engineer would recommend a deep foundation over a shallow foundation, but some of the common reasons are very large design loads, a poor soil at shallow depth, or site constraints (like property lines). There are diﬀerent terms used to describe diﬀerent types of deep foundations including the pile (which is analogous to a pole), the pier (which is analogous to a column), drilled shafts, and caissons. Piles are generally driven into the ground in situ; other deep foundations are typically put in place using excavation and drilling. The naming conventions may vary between engineering disciplines and irms. Deep foundations can be made out of timber, steel, reinforced concrete and prestressed concrete.

Fig. 7b Pile driving operations in the American Port Fig. 7a A deep foundation installation for a bridge in America.

REFRENCE http://bestengineeringprojects.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/relation-between-total-and-diﬀerential-settlement-in-clays.jpg\ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pile_Driving_2.jpg 2013 American Jornal. Maginley T,J, and Choo B,S. Reinforced Concrete, Design Theory and Examples E.& F.N. SPON London 1990 pg 10 BT Struct & Partners Consulting Civil and Structural Engineers Ibadan 2014. Drawings infrastructural information, Re-defined www.infrastructurequarterly.com

Volume 1 No 4

The role of cement in concrete applications for foundations 3.

Tope Arowolo

The use of low quality concrete has been suggested as one of the main causes of the incessant collapse of buildings in Nigeria. Some people have even attributed the problem to cement. However, studies have shown that cement will do its binding job given the right conditions and applications. Concrete grade quality is mainly impacted by use of poor quality aggregates, low 4. water quality, poor workmanship and the preparation of lean concrete mix with low cement quantity. In the construction of most privately owned buildings where concrete trial mixes and concrete compressive strength quality assurance tests are not conducted, 5. concretes used for building constructions are produced using rule of thumb for the mix without scientic measurements. This practice has over the years compromised the consistency of concrete qualities. Cement is a binder for the concrete. It is therefore important that a correct mix ratio of aggregates, sand, cement and water is applied for each concrete mix. It is also important to ensure homogenization during the preparation of the mix. Water demand of the mix need to be determined as this varies depending on the soil quality/moisture content, quality of the aggregates, sand quality and the ambient. Cement will play its role correctly provided all other prerequisite conditions are 6. met.

Build the frame for your footings, using two by 10 lumber and wooden stakes. The lumber will stand vertically on the ground and be held in place by the stakes -- nail them to the wood for added support. Run two pieces of rebar along the center of the footings. The rebar should be supported on blocks cut from two-by-four lumber and tied in place with string. The rebar will help give the footings extra support.

Measure and cut two-by-four lumber so that it can be run along the center of the footings. Each piece should be cut at a single slope so that the groove they form in the wet concrete is angled inward. Set aside until the concrete has been poured. Prepare the concrete for pouring. Concrete with a 25 mega Pascal rating is ideal for foundation work (Consult your structural engineer to determine the right concrete grade for your application). Once the concrete has reached a uniform consistency, pour it into the form. Spread the concrete out, using a shovel or rake, so that you have an even layer. Insert the already prepared two-by-fours along the center of the wet concrete. When the concrete dries, this will act as the place where the foundation and the walls connected via anchor bolts. Leave the footings to dry for a few days before removing the wooden frame. Backll the center of the foundation with a thin layer of gravel or sand with a vapor barrier to prevent any moisture from seeping through the ground and into the foundation. Place a wire mesh in the center of the slab area and ll in the area with concrete.

It is recommended that all stakeholders in the Nigeria built sector come together and collaborate on creating awareness for Nigerians and educating individual home builders, construction industry professionals and Foundation Functions unskilled artisans, on the need to: A building foundation actually performs a number of 1. Conduct soil tests before commencement of functions. The three most important functions are to construction works bear the load of the building, anchor it against natural 2. Engage the right professionals for construction to forces such as earthquakes and to isolate it from ground ensure the right procedures are adopted moisture. The relative importance of these functions 3. Secure necessary permits/approvals for their changes with the type of land underneath the building buildings and where there is a change in the usage and the building design. For smaller accessory buildings intention, repeat the process of approvals such as sheds, a foundation is less important. The 4. Ensure concrete mix used for their projects are foundation often creates an underground space which designed according to the needs of the specic site can become another usable oor level. CEMENT CURING Cement sets or cures when mixed with water which causes a series of hydrated chemical reactions. The constituents slowly hydrate and crystallize; the interlocking of the crystals gives cement its strength. Maintaining high moisture content in cement during curing increases both the speed of curing, and its nal strength. Gypsum is often added to Portland cement to prevent early hardening or “ash setting”, allowing a longer working time. The time it takes for cement to cure varies depending on the mixture and environmental conditions; initial hardening can occur in as little as twenty minutes, while full cure can take over a month. Cement typically cures to the extent that it can be put into service within 24 hours to a week. METHODOLOGY 1. Excavate the area you're intending to place your foundation. Remove all large rocks and organic materials, and then level off the surface. 2.

Foundation footings are required wherever there is a wall. A concrete foundation is required at the base of every structure. An unstable foundation can have disastrous effect on a building, so it is important to make sure that you have a strong and sturdy foundation. The two basic types of concrete foundations are shallow foundations and deep foundations. Shallow foundations are built either at ground level or just below the frost level. Deep foundations extend below the top layer of soil to a stronger layer below. When building a foundation, check your local building codes to make sure you include all of the necessary components. Buildings and other infrastructures are generally viewed in simplistic manner. However, experience has shown that attention to details and engagement of the right professionals is paramount for a successful and sustainable construction. The rules have to be followed and necessary approvals have to be obtained from requisite authorities. An area that is critical is the foundation and our focus in this write-up will be on factors affecting selection of the right foundation for specic constructions.

Dig a trench around your foundation for the footings. The footings should be 2 feet wide, with the depth determined by the size of the structure the foundation will be supporting. Dig the trench 1. roughly 6 feet wide so that you have plenty of room to work – 2 feet on either side of the trench.

buildings. Other loads such as wind loads, earthquake loads, snow loads etc. are equally important to be evaluated The quantity of loads depend on the type of structure, number of oors/dead loads and imposed loads for that specic building.

2. Types of Soil Soil is a mixture of solid particles, moisture and air. Soil can be of many types e.g. loose soils. The soil close to the surface is called top soil and that below a depth of 300mm is used as base for foundation of small buildings. However, soil investigations should be carried out to know the nature of soil, depth of different layers of soil and the load bearing capacity of soil at different levels for a specic site. When the load is transferred from the structure to the soil foundation, the soil will experience some stability or instability. This consolidation process can be quick in case of non-cohesive soils. The complete settlement of foundation in sandy soil may occur even before completion. Clayey soil can hold the water for longer time and thus settlement is very slow as this type of soil holds large amount of water. 3. · · · · · 4.

Soil investigations should be carried out for the following information: The nature and thickness of make-up ground/top soil above the sub-soil The nature, thickness and stratum depth of subsoil An assessment of allowable bearing pressure Groundwater levels, chemicals in the ground etc. Existing structures or hazards in the ground. Types of Foundation: Types of foundation such as isolated foundations, combined footings, pile foundations are dependent on the type of soils on the project site and loads from the buildings can be selected based on suitability of the soil for different building types

Load –Bearing In engineering terms, a house foundation must bear the dead and live loads of the house superstructure built on top of it. The “dead” load is the constant weight of the house structure itself – it is “dead” because it never changes. The “live” load is the changing weights of contents and people, and in cold locations the live load includes the weight of snow (in a winter environment) on the roof. A continuous foundation can be thought of as a single structure, all four in-ground wall footings are connected together. It must be fairly rigid in order to transmit the weight of the building into the ground without being seriously compromised itself. If the ground underneath is problematic – soft soil or a wet or sloping location – additional foundation structures such as vertical piles may need to be installed to keep the structure stable. The purpose of a foundation is to hold up and hold together the structure above it. Contrary to our everyday experience the ground is not quite still and in many cases not totally solid. A house which is just plunked down on bare earth is more likely to be cracked or damaged over time by natural forces. A properly-built foundation increases the amount of abuse a house structure can take and remain safe for the people inside it.

Loads from Building The rst factor to consider is loads from the building on the foundation. This load is a key factor on the

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Volume 1 No 4

Professional Practice

Structural Engineers discuss cement strength on concrete performance By Dachi Maduako

he issue of nipping the incidence of collapsed buildings in the country in the bud took the centre stage again at the 2014 annual general conference of the Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers (NIstructE) held at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Ikeja Lagos in October. The Structural Engineers who had been concerned just as other professional bodies in the built environment sector of the economy, gathered for two days to discuss the “Eﬀect of cement strength on concrete performance.” Also gathered alongside were other key players in the industry including cement manufacturers and concerned organizations who have been ighting to ensure the elimination of building collapse especially as the phenomenon tends to be on the increase currently. Speaking at the occasion, the NIStructE President, Engr.(Dr) S.K. Ilugbekhai regretted that the institution had warned to no avail of the impending incidence of collapsed buildings in Nigeria which has now assumed a higher frequency and fatality rate saying, “We are deeply concerned because the situation can get worse, more lives may be lost and that is why we are reaching out as far as we can for permanent solution. Structures do collapse but ours is peculiar and it requires urgent attention and a peculiar solution.” He explained that buildings are professional structural engineering interconnection of concrete and other structural elements such as structural steel, structural aluminum, structural timber, structural glass and other currently trending innovative structural materials. He pointed out that to ight the trend of building collapse in the country, they had to start with cement since it is the binding agent in binding concrete in Nigeria adding that for structural concrete to deliver, eﬀectively on its integrity and ef iciency, all its various components must

be combined in the right proportion, right atmosphere, right circumstances and by the right personnel among others. He point out the need for the country to formulate a structural engineering policy in Nigeria with the involvement of structural engineers adding that since there is no truthful technology transfer from one country to another, there should be a deliberate plan to develop the Nigerian professional including the Nigerian engineer since technology is conceived, nurtured and developed by patriotic professionals of the particular nation. Engr. (Dr.) Ilugbekhai charged the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) to enforce the production of high yeild steel to appropriate sizes and clearly label them by size, yield strength as well as issue certi icates of quality assurance on every consignment. He also called for strict adherence of structural foundations to the recommendations of the soil/geotechnics and foundation engineers while admonishing that the use of beach sand in Lagos for block making and construction of buildings should be banned because of the negative eﬀects of salt on reinforcement and other components of concrete. Also speaking on “Cement lives and contributes to building collapse”, Prof. Joseph O. Odigure of the Chemical Engineering department of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State, said, cement is the major living unit in any cement based construction – roads, buildings, and other infrastructure, therefore, requires understanding of cement and cement-based materials “living ecosystem” to be able to select the right cement type that guarantees the service life span. He noted that the Nigerian market is dominated by limestone Portland cement of 32.5 and 42.5 MPa mechanical strength which is relatively unstable in acidic solution due to the presence of excess CaCO3 which makes them liable to attacks by acidic gases, aggressive solutions and heat. Prof. Odigure observed that the strength of cement-based structure is considerably weakened by heat and can easily collapse on application of force. The highly attended conference which was sponsored by several organizations included the two major cement companies in the country, Lafarge Africa and Dangote Cement who have been in the forefront of the struggle for use of cement types in maintenance of standards in the country. But speaking on “Building collapse and cement grade – any linkage,” Engr. Uzo Nwankwo said that building collapse would usually be preceded by loss of structural integrity which may occur over a period while actual collapse would usually occur spontaneously. He pointed out that there are a lot of reasons why buildings collapse including poor construction practices as well as wrong concrete mixes among others adding that if properly used, cement does not contribute to the collapse of any structure. “Therefore,, the 32.5 cement is good for the most “everyday” structures while the 42.5 and 52.5 should be sought by high end users for the types of structures they were made for.” Nwankwo insisted that there is no linkage between cement grade and building collapse adding that building collapse will continue apace, from time to time, even if all were made to use 100.5 cement grade unless something is done to clean up the construction industry. He suggested that it should now become a statutory requirement for the structural designer to supervise his structure to eliminate buck-passing as well institute penalties to serve as deterrent while eﬀorts should be made to revamp the nation's technical schools and rigorous training of artisans and technicians.

NIstructE President, Engr. (Dr.) S. K. Ilugbekhai

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Volume 1 No 4

Professional Practice

Town Planners cast searchlight on Cities Management

ith the growth of cities in the country most of which were not planned but had grown with all the problems they impose on city managers and administrators, the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) within the last days of October, gathered in Lagos to consider ways o f a s s i s t i n g c i t y m a n a g e r s a n d administrators develop in a way that would enable the country tap the opportunities they can aﬀord.

The president of the institute, Chief Steve Onu said the discourse came up at a time when planning issues arising in many cities were becoming overwhelming to city managers and administrators.

With the emergence of urban centres in diﬀerent parts of the country that had been rural in times past, much problems are being created for city managers most of whom do not have answers to the enormity of infrastructural demands that are needed to make them liveable.

According to him, “Over the years, the call has been on the need for planning our human settlements which have been e m e r g i n g s p o r a d i c a l ly l e av i n g o u r administrators helplessly in search of ways of navigating through the challenges these settlements are imposing on them”.

But the Federal Government stated that it h a s p l a n s t o a s s i s t s t a t e s t h a t a re encountering such problems especially Lagos State Government in managing its population through the development of housing and relevant infrastructure. President Goodluck Jonathan stated this through his Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mrs. Akon Eyakenyi, at the opening ceremony of the 45th annual conference of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners in Lagos. The Federal Government had said it had programmes lined up to help contain population explosion in Lagos.

He observed that though in most cases some of these settlements emerged without any development plan, some have grown from small towns to cities, to metropolis, megalopolis and as in Lagos that has grown to a mega city. He noted that their administrators are faced with the problem of providing the basic necessities of life as well as the necessary physical and social infrastructure to make them livable.

T h e t h e m e o f t h e c o n f e r e n c e wa s : 'Management of cities in developing e c o n o m y : I s s u e s , c h a l l e n g e s a n d opportunities’ Peering into the future, the President predicted an explosion of urban centres that would require much attention in the area of management. Said he, “In the near future, there would be more than 800 urban settlements, including Lagos with about 15 million people and 10 other millionaire cities as well as many other intermediate cities”. But he was of the opinion that despite the growth, it had become worrisome that cities in the country do not contribute much to the economic growth.

development people tend to move there. The government is coming up with diverse projects in the state. We have concessioned the FESTAC Phase two housing project which will help the surge in population," he said.

By Dachi Maduako

strategies that would make the city centres of economic development even in the face of limited resources. Prof. Egunjobi pointed out that about 3.3 billion people live in cities today while the population would increase to 5 billion in 3030. This population increase according to him is growing at the rate of 280, 000 daily and the bulk of the increase is recorded in less developed regions. “Managing our cities has become one of the most critical challenges of the 21st century as a result of the uncontrolled and unplanned sprawling of our cities. The rapid process causes a lot of diﬀerent ecological, economic, social and infrastructural problems and risk. Considering the high density and large number of inhabitants combined with the accelerated urban development, cities in particular run highest risks in cases of natural and man-made disasters,” he said. He noted that management of cities in developing economy has remained a concern to urban and regional planning professionals in Nigeria adding that cities and massive conurbations are complex and dynamic systems that reproduce the interactions between socio-economic and environmental variables at local and global scales. He emphasized that cities are the engines of economic growth and social development.

Chief Onu stated that the post development management of any development plan holds the key not minding how grandiose the implementation program may and execution o f t h e p r o j e c t s r e s u l t i n g f r o m t h e Also speaking in a goodwill message, the programme may appear. President of Ghana Institute of Planners GIP) Corroborating the NITP president's Dr. Steve Yirenkyi commended the Nigerian assertions, the President of Town Planners counterparts for focusing on the theme Registration Council of Nigeria (TOPREC), saying that in West Africa and Africa all other Prof. Layi Egunjobi said that urban planners things prosper when the economy grows were currently facing formidable challenges except the cities and their landscape. managing the consequencies of rapidly growing cities just as they are evolving new Giving reasons for this he said that “As

“The contribution of our cities to economic growth is embarrassingly low compared to other developed and emerging countries,” he added. H e u rg e d s t a ke h o l d e r s i n t h e b u i l t environment especially town planners to help in the revitalisation of the housing and urban development sector. “There is no doubt that careful management of cities and the physical manifestation of urbanisation provides a strong springboard for sustaining and up-scaling national economic growth trends,” he said. He insisted that development attracts movement of people saying, “When there is

2nd right Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mrs. Akon Eyakenyi, lanked by the Lagos State Commissioner for physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr. Toyin Ayinde, President of NITP, Dr. Steve Onu and others.

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Volume 1 No 4

Professional Practice people become rich and adopt af luent lifestyle, they begin to lout the laws governing the cities. Everybody locks to the city and wants to do business anywhere in the city. In this situation, city management and urban governance go out of control because planning standards are no longer respected; regenerating the city cannot be sustained due to twin factors of cost and pace. This unfortunate situation calls for a strong and incorruptible institutional framework which will be required to run the cities.”

Oranmiyan New Town to solve Housing challenge in Osun

He charged the planners to operate above board where they would not be contaminated by corruption and politics saying that it is only at this level that sanity would prevail in the built environment. He commended the NITP for its 48 years of continuous existence that has made it an icon in the built environment in Africa, commonwealth and beyond especially for excelling in the areas of town planning, advocacy planning and development planning. The Coordinator of the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC), Arc. Reuben Okoya, emphasized the need for proper management of the environment as it plays a critical role the maintenance of peace, growth and development of the country physically, socially and economically. He projected that with the explosion in global population expected to hit 9 billion by the year 2050 from the 7 billion it was by 2007, it is expected that the world would be building an equivalent of a new city of about 1.4 million people every week with Nigeria as one of the greatest spots in the sub Saharan Africa while other hot spots include India, China and USA. The expected increase in urbanization he stated would be accompanied by increased demand for natural resources including water, energy and food which would create stress on most vital municipal services. Notwithstanding what we may call the blessings that accrue from urbanization, Okoya listed some of the problems that also emanate from it especially it poorly managed status which include decline in quality of life, greater environmental degradation, accelerating greenhouse gas emissions, social stresses and political turbulence among others. He therefore, called for more careful planning to help achieve a more ef icient, integrated use of resources. He said, “I make bold to say that Nigerians are earnestly waiting for town planners to 'cut the shots' to give our cities the be itting status, physically functional structures, balanced land use patterns, aesthetic beauty and environmental quality to promote growth and development in safety in this nation as well as helping out other nations in this sub region.”

Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola taking a look at the model of the proposed Oraminyan Town

he ongoing ambitious 2,572 hectares of land housing projects in Osun which is set to drastically reduce the problem of housing in the state is no doubt changing the face of new town concept in the country. The project was recently lagged oﬀ by the Government of the State of Osun, christened, Oranmiyan New Town, is coming after a long wait for a more conducive livable town in the state. The town which measures about 6340 acres, was irst acquired by Chief Obafemi Awolowo as the Premier of the old Western Region in between 1962 and 1966 for the purpose of banishing hunger and poverty and unemployment among the people. Promoted by the Ministry of the Lands, Physical Planning and Urban Development with support of an inter-ministerial committee, the new town is expected to have over 3,000 residential plots of varying densities, with the smallest plot being in the region of 1,000 square metres. It is also expected to cater for an estimated population of over 80,000 people. Amongst proposed basic infrastructural facilities, utilities and services within are road networks, uninterrupted electricity, water reticulation, drainage system, sewage system and other communal facilities. Under the new town scheme, a comprehensive development plan has been mapped, which will comprise seven neighborhoods, each accommodating private estate developments, commercial shops, strip malls, community centres, recreational facilities, police posts, and health centres; The recreational area will also have tennis and squash courts, 18-Hole Golf Course and Polo Ground. State Governor Rauf Aregbesola who spoke at the the lagging oﬀ ceremony of the project said it administration through the Ministry saddled with the responsibility of managing Government land in the State deemed it it to re-develop the remaining parcel of land within the GRA measuring up to 1,200 hectares into a new town that shall be a model that other neighbouring State will learn from.” Aregbesola added that developing new towns is a common phenomenon all over the world. The purpose of developing a new town is basically to create an environment that is aesthetically pleasing for living, working and recreating. More often than not, a new town can serve as a satellite town to an existing urban centre that has more or less reached its optimum level of growth so as to give room for its upgrading and partial re-development, he stressed. Governor Aregbesola pointed out that "when fully developed, the New Town will serve as a growth pole to the area surrounding it. There is no doubting the fact that this new town scheme shall add another feather to the cap of this state, which is already known for being the irst in a lot of programmes that are meant for bettering the lots of the citizenry. As already, this State is the only one that had prepared Structural Plans for nine of her major cities throughout the country; it is also only the State of Osun where Urban Renewal programs had commenced in nine cities at the same time! With all these developmental programs, the State is expected to stretch her neck higher and above those of her contemporaries in the nearest future."

President of NITP, Dr. Steve Onu, Current President Dr. Femi Olomola and another leader of the institute.

infrastructural information, Re-defined www.infrastructurequarterly.com

Volume 1 No 4

Professional Practice

WFEO expresses concern on African Infrastructure needs By Dachi Maduako

“The Scorecard being proposed by NSE will guide the state of built infrastructure in all sectors and states; and provide policy makers an empirical guide in making choices and investment decisions with respect to infrastructure development. It will also drive the ef icient allocation of resources for the renewal and continued development of our nation's infrastructure stock,” he explained. To ensure a quick follow up to the realisation of the policy on infrastructure, he disclosed the NSE's 2015 National conference scheduled to hold in Akure, the Ondo State capital would dwell on “National Integrated Infrastructural Master Plan (NIIMP) 2015: Strategies for Implementation” as its theme.

A Cross Section of Engineers participating in the WFEO Conference in Abuja.

Engr. Olorunfemi pointed out that the WECSI which focused on various sectors of the economy would serve as a wake- up call and would lead to practical Engineering Investment and Development Plan (EIDP) which could be integrated into existing plan to enhance their potency especially in the areas of power, steel and Engineering Education. These according to him are the basis for sustainable industrial transformation.

eveloping countries require a whooping $1 trillion dollars (N167 trillion) to ix their infrastructure needs annually from now to 2020 in order to ill the infrastructure gap existing in their countries. The World Bank had in its Global Infrastructure Facility (GIF) launched in October 2014 stated that the infrastructure requirement needed to support the large population in these countries is lagging far behind the rate of urbanisation in these countries.

Engr. Marwan Abdelhamid, the President World Federation of Engineering Organisations said he had interest in expanding the participation of engineering organisations in Africa in the WFEO because of the immense bene its that accrue from it.

To ensure that African nations get librated from their current infrastructural de icit African engineers have united and strategically positioned themselves to collaborate with governments, other relevant professionals and stakeholders to provide the necessary technical know- how that will encourage policy makers and industrial players into actions that will bring about sustainable infrastructural development.

He commended the WFEO Abuja declaration signed in 2013 during the NSE national conference in Abuja and reported that signi icant progress has been made since then.

President of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Engr. Ademola Olorunfemi said such infrastructural development would ensure ef icient integrated transport systems, reliable energy sources, sustainable industrial development, safe water and affordable housing amonst other infrastructure that would act as catalyst in the ight against poverty, job creation and the massive attraction of foreign direct investments. Adefemi spoke at the opening of the World Federation of Engineering Organisation (WFEO) held in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria recently. He noted that though the infrastructural requirement in Africa is enormous requiring $93 billion annually for a period of 10 years, the African nations on their part have made tremendous progress in infrastructural development. “African nations have in recent years demonstrated tremendous improvement in the development of infrastructure. The African Infrastructure Country Diagnostic (AICD), the holistic study conducted recently by Development Agencies in partnership with the World Bank, recently commended some African countries for the efforts made so far on infrastructure development,” he said. He pointed out that the implication of the huge inancial requirement for countries like Nigeria and the rest of Africa is that there is an urgent need to develop new and ef icient policy framework, technical capacity and inancing options for the rapid achievements of our targets. The engineers whose conference was the irst to be hosted by Nigeria since its inception over 40 years ago centred their activity on how to salvage Africa from huge infrastructural de icit as its theme “Development of Sustainable Infrastructure in Africa” suggests. The Nigerian engineers launted their efforts in ensuring that the Nigerian government's new policy on infrastructure revolution succeeds by making inputs to the National Integrated Infrastructural Master Plan (NIIMP). To this end the NSE President disclosed that an NSER Presidential Expert Group Meeting gathered recently with the mandate of developing an Infrastructural Ranking Scorecard Roadmap for Nigeria in the implementation of the country's 30 year NIIMP. infrastructural information, Re-defined www.infrastructurequarterly.com

Also in his welcome address, the Chairman of WECSI 2014 Main Organising Committee, Engr. I b r a h i m K h a l e e l I n u w a , n o t e d t h a t t h e development of infrastructure required to support large population in developing countries is lagging far behind the rate of urbanisation. This situation he said underscored the need for such a conference to discuss the issues. The conference discussed a wide range of issues relating to infrastructure under two major parts including “Fundamental/Cross cutting issues on development of sustainable infrastructure and Focus on speci ic critical infrastructure and services. The sub themes came under Fundamental principles of infrastructural provisioning; Fu n d a m e n t a l s o f s u s t a i n a b l e a n d G re e n infrastructure; Infrastructure, sustainable development and the Millennium Development Goals – what next after 2015; Engineering education, research and innovation as well as Business intelligence, infrastructure concessioning and inancing – new sustainable models. Other sub themes were on Energy and the African development agenda; Transportation – road, rail, air, water and mass transit systems; Water resources; ICT and telecommunications and Housing, Shelter and quality of life infrastructure.

Volume 1 No 4

Building and Construction

Disciplined execution key to achieving housing target By Lovet Okonoboh

According to the Chairman of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria( determined that the transformation of every REDAN), South – West zone Mr. Debo sector of our national economy will be at the Adejana the eﬀorts are laudable but not well top of our developmental agenda within the implemented. masses of our national development. “The potentials of the housing sector to change lives and engender economy development was too critical for any government to ignore giving the multiplying eﬀects that the sector can engender and create so many jobs as well as play signi icant role in our GDP. “We are committed to reducing housing de icit in our country. We are approaching this in three ways in terms of providing houses for workers and all Nigerians.

Minister of lands, Housing and Urban Development, Mrs. Akon Eyakenyi

t goes without saying that the link between good policies and realization of their targeted outcomes is disciplined execution.

In Nigeria this essential policy success factor has not been evident in the nation's policy landscape, especially in the housing sector where successive governments have failed to realize their objective in housing its teeming citizenry. It is against this backdrop that professionals and experts in the nation's housing sub-sector of the economy are calling for disciplined execution of the workers housing and other schemes to boost the economy. Although the GDP rebasing indices that saw the country emerging as the biggest economy in Africa, the fact remains, Nigeria's mortgage market is just N224 billion which is less than one percent of the country's GDP. Against all odds President Goodluck Jonathan has lagged oﬀ the construction of 10, 000 housing units for Nigerian workers in Abuja, assuring of bridging the 17 million housing de icit to give all Nigerians opportunity to live in decent houses. According to him, the project is the irst phase of the nationwide workers housing scheme, which the Federal Government is undertaking in collaboration with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and private developers.

Nigeria (FMBN) to live above board in its responsibility of making funds available to real estate developers may frustrate government housing projection.

“The one we are launching today is a partnership between government and the m a i n l a b o u r u n i o n s , g ove r n m e n t i s partnering with civil service unions to provide aﬀordable housing and of course we are using mortgage and partnering with private sector to build mass houses for all Nigerians.

The Managing Director of Realty Point Limited, a real estate development giant said to bridge the nation's housing de icit the role of FMBN in the housing sector must be signi icant because the bane of the housing sector in the country from the outset has been access to funds. He said,” We have not been able to access loans, even though we have applied for over two years running now. At a time we were told that there was an embargo and recently we heard that the embargo is about to be lifted. We do not know where we stand in it. “It is supposed to be a window through which developers can access fund to do construction which can help deliver the product to those who contribute to the National Housing Scheme (NHS) funds and the real estate developers to supply housing.

“We will continue to build affordable houses for all Nigerians so that within a reasonable “It has not really functioned the way it period of time, cost of houses will come down should, that is the challenge. But we are and Nigerians live in decent homes.” hoping that it will get better especially if the management is serious with addressing the For the scheme to make impact, the Minister shortfall as it wants us to believe. of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Akon Eyakenyi, enjoined state governments According to him, the inability of FMBN to to key into the project, saying through her play its role effectively had pushed REDAN ministry and its two parastatals, Federal members to explore other options of Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and the inancing their real estate projects. F e d e r a l H o u s i n g A u t h o r i t y ( F H A ) interventions, a total of 43,125 housing units Adejana added that READAN is doing its have been added to the national stock from best but as an association if the bank that is July 2010 to date. suppose to provide the funds says there is no money what can you do . REDAN is W h e r e t h e i s s u e o f d i s c i p l i n e d looking beyond FMBN and the Estate implementation comes is the fact that though Developers Loan (EDL) . the President Goodluck Jonathan led administration has toed this line before in its “ We are instrumental to bringing Shelter quest to provide adequate housing for the Afrique to inance housing projects. Nigerian citizenry its results have not been so Discussions are on -going with other impressive. institutions within and outside the shores Experts agree that it can only be achieved of the country to ensure that funds get to through a private sector-driven participation estate developers under its umbrella.” to complement government's efforts but the inability of the Federal Mortgage Bank of The Realty Point boss noted that though

The President, who is optimistic of these moves assured that the project would be delivered in good time. He said, “I thank NLC and TUC for their resolve to partner with government towards the provision of aﬀordable houses for Nigerian workers and their families. “From the onset, this administration was infrastructural information, Re-defined www.infrastructurequarterly.com

Volume 1 No 4

Annual General

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Building and Construction

No nation can fund infrastructure from budgetary allocation - Muhammad

FG reviews road, Bridge specifications, Design

By Dachi Maduako

Dachi Maduako

he Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Works, Dr, Abubakar Koro Muhammad has stated that there is "no country that can adequately fund the development and maintenance of its physical infrastructure requirements through national budgetary allocation alone.” He stated this at the Permanent Secretaries meeting during the 21st National Council on Works in Asaba, the Delta State capital, adding that the theme of this year's meeting which is "Funding Road Development in Nigeria: A Panacea for Economic Transformation" is germane to the vision of the present administration in the context of policy implementation challenges. He stressed that "It is also of particular signi icance for our engagement at this very important forum as we deliberate on the centrality of funds in our quest to improve the road infrastructure in Nigeria to drive socio-economic development” Dr. Muhammad mentioned that sustainable funding for the provision and maintenance of road infrastructure has been a recurring challenge to successive administrations in the country, reasoning that this is partly because government at any given time is understandably constrained to spread thin available resources in order to address other equally strategic sectors of the economy. He, therefore, called for creating viable options for increased inancing capacity for effective and ef icient delivery of roads. The Permeant Secretary opined that this is why the Federal Ministry of Works, under the present leadership continued to push for radical road sector reforms aimed at creating viable options for increased inancing capacity of the Ministry for effective and ef icient delivery of roads . He added that as there is no denying the fact that this progressive approach has made it possible for the Federal Ministry of Works to make signi icant strides into road sector development under the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan. He said with the reform thrust of the Ministry, two draft Bills were forwarded for legislative consideration for the establishment of the Federal Roads Authority (FRA) and National Road Fund (NRF) and af irmed that the Ministry is con ident that these Bills will be passed into law to enable a better and more effective road sector development. Dr. Muhammad further stated that the Federal Ministry of Works has embraced the policy of Public Private Partnership (PPP) programme in the road sector to enable the private sector play a vital role in the provision of road infrastructure, thus allowing the ministry to concentrate on project planning and structuring. He, therefore, called on stakeholders at the state level to key into the Federal Government's vision in order to create the required synergy in the delivery of the road sector. The Permanent Secretary said the meeting provides another opportunity for participants to review the progress made by the Federal and State Ministries of Works in the implementation of resolutions taken at the 20th National Council on Works h e l d i n I l o r i n , t h e K w a r a S t a t e c a p i t a l i n 2 0 1 3 . Earlier, in his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary, Delta State Ministry of Works, Engr. Donatus Adua Omukoro stated that the assignment before the Permanent Secretaries required in-depth analysis to fashion out viable alternatives of funding the road sector for sustainable socio-economic growth of the country. He asked the Permanent Secretaries to employ a deep sense of patriotism and team work to produce a document that will assist the Council in formulating policies that are visionary, realistic and ambitious but achievable in the short term". infrastructural information, Re-defined www.infrastructurequarterly.com

wenty years after the review of the speci ications and designs of the nation's roads and bridges, the Federal Government has inaugurated a Committee to review the speci ications on road and bridge designs in the country. This it said was to have a comprehensive statutory document for the delivery of quality and durable highways. Minister of Works, Arc. Mike Onolememen, who inaugurated the committee in his of ice in Abuja, said the review was long overdue, adding that the last review was carried out in 1994. The Minister who was represented by the Director, Highways Planning & Development, (DHPD), Engineer Bala Danshehu said that the need to update the statutory document was predicated on the fact that the nature of some aspects of the General Speci ication are outdated, adding that there was the desirable need to incorporate modern technologies in terms of new methods, new materials and new approach to designs as well as complying with international conventions. According to the Minister, the terms of reference of the committee include the careful study of the Federal Ministry of Works General Speci ications (Roads and Bridges) and identifying the sections that are obsolete and in need of review and updating in line with modern developments and best practice. Other terms of reference include to update Code of practice; that will take into consideration local environmental peculiarities; and to guide professionals in eﬀective speci ication of construction materials. He also charged the committee with the responsibility to examine the circulars issued by the ministry since the last review exercise in 1994 with a view to incorporating same in the revised document amongst others. In his acceptance speech, the Chairman of the 23-member Committee who is also the President, Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, (COREN), Engineer Kashim Ali, expressed his gratitude on behalf the members and promised that the committee will not betray the trust but will deliver as expected

Volume 1 No 4

Environment

Learning from LAWMA's solid waste management

thousand ton each, we already have at Marini, we have at Oshodi. You can see that we have new facilities to treat waste rather than allowing it to go into the Land ill. That is to tell you that we can simply and easily treat four thousand tons of waste. Before now there was nothing like that. Every year we keep adding to our vans and, we are currently taking delivery of another 25 new ones, last year we added 100, the year previous we added 100 by now we have close to one thousand trucks”. Since the land ill in Olusosun is getting illed every day, LAWMA said it has a structured arrangement as it has started a new one at Epe which is a bigger site and another in badagry. Currently the organization has more than ive land ills that would take over from Olusosun. Besides, the transfer stations are gradually taking over from the land ill as new recycling plants are growing, Oresanya said. On drainage maintenance which is a multi-sectoral activity combining the Ministry of Environment, Local Governments, LAWMA and other bodies, Oresanya said the LAWMA collaborated with the Local Governments to look at the waste in the tertiary drainage. The organization trains marine waste collectors to clean the drainages.

MD LAWMA, Mr. Ola Oresanya

The managing Director of Lagos Waste Management Authority LAWMA, Ola Oresanya in this chat discusses the readiness to make Lagos the cleanest city in Africa by ensuring that solid waste is well harnessed. KINGSLEY JEREMIAH writes…

hat we actually call waste are no waste and should not be unexploited. It is only government and people that are ignorant about the importance of waste materials that don't tap into the opportunities of what is accruable from the dust-bin. The example of the Lagos Waste Management Authority is a breakthrough for all state governments in Nigeria and other African countries to save citizens of environment hazards as well as the Ozone layer depletion by managing solid waste properly and growing the wealth in waste.

Waste to Energy Our plan is in three faces, we are converting the waste from the market to energy through the process of mechanization and we are using digester, we constructed one and it is already working very well and we are already producing electricity from the waste in Ikosi market. The second phase of that is the Olusosun maintain recovery that is also going on and we are yet to conclude on that. The third one is the thermal conversion of waste and that is going to be incorporated in transfer loading stations. We are still discussing with many potential investors in that area. On drainage maintenance which is a multi-sectoral activity combining the Ministry of Environment, Local Governments, LAWMA and other bodies, Oresanya said the LAWMA collaborated with the Local Governments to look at the waste in the tertiary drainage. The organization trains marine waste collectors to clean the drainages. Waste to wealth We have a lot of work ongoing on the waste to wealth project. We already have the conversion of waste decompose to fertilizer in our plant in Ikorodu where we produce about 250 tons of

At present, Lagos produces about 10, 000 tons of waste every day said Oresanya. Being a sign of growing population and human activities, to waste managers this is rather good news than a negative one provided the waste is well managed and LAWMA is in the capacity to do that, “because we are well structured, experienced and determined,” Oresanya informed. In 2008 when Lagos was still taking the lead as one of the dirtiest cities in the world, LAWMA set a target to make Lagos one of the cleanest states in Africa and today, the organization's managing director says, “we are closer to achieving that aim, by now if we are talking about irst three or four cities we should be one in the area of cleanliness”. As it is in every sector in Nigeria, the challenge of inadequate infrastructure is predominant but LAWMA MD reveals that the organization's working plan which enables the solid waste management outlet to curb infrastructure shortfall by growing the infrastructure on daily bases. “What we currently have can't be compared to what we had seven or eight years ago and we are still growing. More plants are being opened, we are opening new transfer station in few weeks, new material recovery facilities in few weeks time, new land ills are being developed, new vehicles are being procured every day and the numbers of workers are growing so we are battle ready” “There is a transfer station in Agege opening in two week time, we have a new material recovery facility opening in Igando each of this will take a infrastructural information, Re-defined www.infrastructurequarterly.com

January - March, 2015 Infrastructure Quarterly Volume 1 No 4

Environment

Environmentalists storm Abuja over compliance, monitoring and enforcement

he world over is concerned about the integrity of its environment. This is because the issue has gone beyond what could ordinarily be said to be normal are no longer that as long as the environment is concerned where climate change holds sway. Our environment has become very fragile that it must be handled with much care. It has now become imperative that for anything meaningful to be achieved in c h e c k i n g t h e a c t i v i t i e s t h a t c a u s e degeneration of the environment, the g o v e r n m e n t , N G O s , a n d i m p o r t a n t stakeholders as well as the people must join hands with the agency- National Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NASREA) to ensure compliance and enforcement. Recently in Abuja, the agency called out concerned stakeholders from different sectors of the economy to take a cursory look at these issues and take steps to check noticeable errors committed alongside e ff o r t s m a d e t o g i v e N i g e r i a n s a n environment good to live in and carry out b u s i n e s s e s w i t h o u t h a r m i n g t h e environment that accommodates all. The well attended stakeholders' forum lasted two days at the Nicon Luxury Hotel at the Central Area of the Federal Capital Territory. They came from different states of the federation and represent different professions including the media, judiciary, lesgislature, the academia among others. Speaking at the occasion, the Minister of the Environment, Mrs. Laurentia Mallam b e m o a n e d t h e s t a te o f t h e n a t i o n' s environment saying it calls for active engagement and participation of all stakeholders both from the public and private sectors and at national, regional and global levels. Mrs. Mallam raised alarm over the nation's environment saying it is a crossroad as we have reached or dangerously approaching tipping point in some areas. “The air we breathe is becoming more polluted than ever before from our indoor and outdoor activities. The water we drink is also increasingly being polluted and fouled by domestic, industrial and agricultural activities. Our landscape is being degraded and suffocated with all sorts of wastes, including electrical/ electronic wastes and plastics of all sorts. The noise levels in our homes, work places and public areas have exceeded the acceptable levels. Unsustainable exploration and exploitation of our natural resources are giving rise to various environmental p r o b l e m s a n d c h a l l e n g e s s u c h a s biodiversity loss, deforestation and deserti ication, erosion and looding among etc. We are becoming very uncomfortable, and at risk too, due to environmental problems, wherever we ind ourselves,” she said.

The Minister did not exonerate both government and the people from environmental hiccoughs the nation is going through. According to her, “We have created the problems for ourselves by absolute disregard and abuse of the extant laws and regulations bearing on the environment. We are also failing in our civic responsibility to be active watchdogs and vanguards against all forms of environmental crimes. By our actions and inaction, we are distancing ourselves from the attributes of a clean and healthy environment”. She explained that the forum had become necessary because it presented a platform for government to involve key sector players in socioeconomic and political processes that potentially affect the communities in which they live and work. She added that the stakeholders' enga gement is an effective approach in establishing environmental priorities and applying most informed decisions to seek solutions to environmental challenges. The Minister pointed out the areas stakeholders can meaningfully contribute to environmental governance including improving the public participation in the framing of public policies and t h e m a n a g e m e n t a n d p ro t e c t i o n o f t h e environment and natural resources; make them engage in active involvement in the defense of the rule of law and protection of environmental human rights thereby reinforcing public support to an enabling legal framework. She listed efforts made by the government to protect the environment including the reviewing of the National Policy on Environment which is on-going, the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programme that is being implemented to e n s u r e t h a t m a n u f a c t u r e r s d e s i g n a n d manufacture eco-friendly products that generate less waste and do not pollute or degrade the environment. Others are the Great Green Wall Project which addresses deserti ication and deforestation while the Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP) addresses erosion and watershed problems in different parts of the nation among others. Earlier, the Director General of NESREA, Dr. (Mrs.) Ngeri Benebo said that the mandate of the organization since inception eight years ago had been pursued to check and control environmental degradation and pollution in the various sectors of the economy. She stated that the aim of the stakeholders' forum which was the eighth in the series was to evaluate the gains so far and to further d e e p e n t h e u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e s t a k e h o l d e r ' s p a r t i c i p a t i o n a n d e n g a g e m e n t i n e n v i r o n m e n t a l governance, particularly in the area of environmental compliance monitoring and enforcement. According to her, the Agency had carried out its functions under ive sectors as Environmental Regulator, Environmental Operator, Environmental Adviser, Capacity Builder and job Creator adding that they try to identify and engage relevant

infrastructural information, Re-defined www.infrastructurequarterly.com

stakeholders to work with. In an address delivered by the Group M a n a g i n g D i r e c t o r o f D A A R Communications PLC, Mr. Tony Akiotu at the occasion, on “Communicating e nv i ro n m e n t a l c o m p l i a n c e a n d enforcement to target audience: the role of the media”, went on memory lane to the dumping of toxic waste at the port town of Koko which gave rise to the decree 58 of 1988 and the e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f t h e F e d e r a l Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA). He said it was the duty of the media to e n s u r e s t r i c t c o m p l i a n c e a n d adherence to the decisions reached at major global conferences on the environment which the media had most times localized, taking their home governments to task on areas like pollution, erosion, gas laring, forest conservation, aquatic threat, poaching among others. He called on the Agency to take eﬀective control on issues of the environment and related matters as well partner with various state governments, non- governmental organizations and the private sector on s u s t a i n a b i l i t y, c o n s e r v a t i o n , c o m p l i a n c e , m o n i t o r i n g a n d enforcement. Akiotu advocated for the setting up of N E S R E A u n i t s i n a l l t h e l o c a l government councils across the c o u n t r y f o r t h e p u r p o s e o f e n v i r o n m e n t a l c o n s e r v a t i o n , s u s t a i n a b i l i t y, m o n i t o r i n g a n d enforcement and partner with the media on the critical issue of the e n v i r o n m e n t a n d e n g a g e i n collaborative eﬀorts with them. He also called for such collaborations with various agencies of government, ministries, construction companies on r o a d c o n s t r u c t i o n , b r i d g e s , channelization, property development to e n s u re c o m p l i a n c e w i t h t h e appropriate approved standards while i t p a r t n e r s w i t h t h e S t a n d a rd s Organisation of Nigeria (SON) on quality control on construction materials to ensure standards and avert building collapse.

NESREA DG, Dr Mrs Ibinabo and a Director Dr Chidi Anukam

Volume 1 No 4

Interview

Communication

Broadcast Digitalisation: Nigeria needs to do more for the sharp change over - Obaseki By Kingsley Jeremiah

M i d - n i g h t o f December 31st 2 0 1 4 w a s e x p e c t e d t o unveil the era of s h a r p a l te ra t i o n i n the history of broadcasting in Nigeria as the n a t i o n i s p re p a r i n g t o s w i t c h o v e r f r o m t h e a n a l o g u e s y s t e m o f broadcasting to D i g i t a l T e r r e s t r i a l T e l e v i s i o n ( D T T ) following the m a n d a t o r y option by the International Telecommunic a t i o n U n i o n (ITU) to ensure t h a t b ro a d c a s t i n g Don Pedro Obaseki becomes digital w o r l d w i d e . Though the gap in Nigeria's communication Infrastructure is not in any way diďŹ&#x20AC;erent from the large issure which demands $2.9 trillion in the next 30 years if the nation's failing infrastructure will be restored but there seems to be hope because the fast approaching era of digitalization is bringing a total package which will enhance communication infrastructure. In this interview, DON PEDRO OBASEKI, renowned broadcast guru with several years of quality and impactful experience, former managing director of DaarSat and Chief Executive Of icer Broadcast Multimedia Ltd, a platform which provides a global standard in digital broadcasting, being an all-rounder in the communication and entertainment industry, he discusses with Kingsley Jeremiah germane issues that bother on communication infrastructure in relation to broadcast digitalization in Nigeria. Excerpts How can digitalization reduce the gap in communication infrastructure? Nigeria needs to come up with a uni ied ecosystem for Telecommunication and broadcasting since what is currently in operation is digital convergence whereby protocols that carry sound and digits are one. There is enough wireless technology in Nigeria but there is lack of terrestrial iber network. At present, Nigeria only has about 400 connected terrestrial lines which is the premise for digital convergence. There is a large gap in copper wiring in Nigeria. In developed countries most houses are already copper wired with telephone lines and this allows the running of iber lines on the existing pipes but for you to do that in Nigeria we are looking at 36 states in six geo-geopolitical zones with long distances that may take two to three days to travel from one state to another by land. However, Nigeria is already wired by National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) or Power Holding Company of Nigeria into all generating plants wherever they are and they are interconnected in the national grid. For us to run iber which is a broadband facility that carries broadband internet necessary for digital broadcast signal and exponential tube either for sound or audio, data, voice over or internet protocol, it becomes simple if you decide using the right insulator to reduce the interference with the electromagnetic wave that comes from high tension cables. Therefore, you infrastructural information, Re-defined www.infrastructurequarterly.com

don't need to dig ground, build new poles and other facilities; you just run them on those high tension cables and you are able to cover the length and breadth of the country since that is already in place. That is one thing that digitalization could do. However because of the advantage of wireless technology (Wi-Fi, Wi-max and broadband wireless) the facilities can be used to bridge that gap by providing base stations, Wi-max and Wi-Fi in your homes to allow digital services to places that are unconnected.

So what's the role of signal distribution in this? You will have to take few things into considerations; the existing infrastructure in terms of broadcasting is massive, AIT alone has about 32 completely integrated broadcast houses all over the country but unfortunately they are structured to carry basically analogue signals which by 2015 must change to d i g i t a l a s d i r e c t e d b y t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l Telecommunication Union (ITU). Nigeria is already replete with broadcast infrastructure; NTA has close to 50 head-end or base stations with masts and antenna. Now a signal distributor is needed to build across the nation the same infrastructure which must be designed to carry signal in a digital spectrum. Nigeria is changing its broadcasting to Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) and for that to become functional across the nation, there must be digital coverage all over the nation. It is important to note that DTT transmission most time does not go beyond speci ic limit so in a situation where the state capitals are very close or very far there must be a way to sort the signal distribution. For instance, Delta state capital is one mile away from Anambra but that same state capital is close to 200km away from Warri and about 70 to Agbor in the same state. If the mast to distribute signal for Delta state is in the state capital, Asaba, you are actually serving states like Edo and neighboring states without serving the untended state. This situation brings to fore a rethink of the geography and the demography of each of these states. For Edo state for instance, is just 35 kilometers from Ogharra in Delta state but 180 kilometers from Auchi in the same Edo state. If you put a distribution signal in Ikeja, Ikeja is just 4 kilometers away from Arepo in Ogun state, but close to 100 or 150 kilometers away from Badagry. How do you solve these issues? New infrastructure must be c r e a t e d o r o n e m u s t u t i l i z e t h e e x i s t i n g infrastructure that belong to the major players in the analogue era. The key point is that you must bring the infrastructure of NTA and AIT which is the biggest private player in the analogue era and are already all over the place. Hence, whoever is given the right to d i s t r i b u t e s i g n a l n o w b u i l d u p a d i g i t a l infrastructure. In the analogue space, the frequency or spectrum needed for one analogue TV is enough to transmit four to ive digital stations without drop i n q u a l i t y. D i g i t a l i z a t i o n b r i n g s a h i g h e r management of frequencies. We have close to 100 TV stations which can be increased to 400-500 without increasing the frequencies on the spectrum.

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Interview

Communication Daar communication, I know what it takes to produce the limited ones we use. It will take you a minimum of 4 weeks and if you produce the STBs oďŹ&#x20AC;shore, Nigeria will lose a lot of money. So, my suggestion to the NBC earlier in the year was to get all the Set Top Box Manufactures or vendors to build an assembly plant in Nigeria, by that we can import a lot more in a limited container, and reduce the money to be paid on importation fee for complete products and it will create new jobs for Nigerians. The fact that it is faster to import goods not already assembled will help the distribution across Nigeria.

So, how can digitalization boost wireless technology? Digital broadcasting rides on wire because electronic broadcast signal by nature is wireless. TV and radio in Nigeria are premised on wireless technologies so all the equipment for digital broadcasting is wireless either for radio or TV. The antennas are going to have wireless interaction with the receptor either a terrestrial area or antenna depending on your TV set. It could be satellite decoder or Set Top Box (STBs) that decodes the message signal. One can also go wireless via internet protocol (IP). Ordinarily Nigeria is a wireless community either wired to copper or ibre that run from a centre hall and distributes all over. Nigeria is one of the world's foremost wireless communities. Do you think the level of our technology and equipment can stand digital change over? Nigeria is ready. We live on the side of life where everything is handled as they unfold. Nigerians are always ready even when we don't prepare, we have been talking about the digital switch over since 2004 and in some parts of Europe they have been digitizing since the 1970s. We have little time to a deadline which is not optional to the Nigerian government, so, we must be prepared. But in terms of education, no broadcast house will claim not to be abreast of the impact of digitalization on broadcast lifestyle. We need to do more because it will be a sharp change from what we use to know and the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission for the last ive to six years has been carrying out reorientations. The new Director General of Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has also been pushing to actualize the speci ic timeline which I think we are meeting up with. I know that the backbone of infrastructure carrier, the signal distribution has been awarded. Apart from this, there are many issues to digitalization. There is the content provider, there is the signal distributor, and there is the set top box manufacturer like signal enumerator, irmware or software EPG creator, and those who charge bills. Some people are going to build the infrastructure or the signal distribution. So, everybody contributes into a national grid. There is going to be a content grid and the way of transporting and redistributing it from there is the job of the signal distributor who now charges an amount of money. But for the content to get to your house you must have digital STBs. How to make money and determine how content is distributed into diďŹ&#x20AC;erent states and locality are mapped out within the receptor, the STBs.

However, I think what will be done is to switch over in phases just like other countries did. For instance let's say December 31st we switch over in Abuja and Lagos and then you set a date for other states. The process will be gradual and less painful. But some people are advocating that government just switch over give STBs free to all Nigerians. Government can't do that, it is not the role of the government to make you watch TV, if at all; it is the distributors that should give STBs free because the boxes are useless without the consumers. Until the consumer comes into the value chain the equation is not complete. The broadcaster, signal distributor and the STBs distributors are all working for the consumer. At that point they can ind a way to harmonize the cost of STBs which should not be more than four thousand Naira, if it is more than that then some people are extorting the masses, even at that price there is a gain of 7-10 dollars per STB and we are talking about 10 million STBs, calculated together it will give billions of Dollars. It is fraud to buy STBs because the STBs belong to the signal organization. Digital Satellite Television (DSTV) decoder is not useful to any other Satellite channel. In the real sense we are only renting it form them. They just make us believe we have bought it but practically we have rented it because it can't be used for any other thing except for the channel it has been made for. If you want me to see your service give me the impetus to see your service, don't make me pay the subscription and also pay for STBs. What are the diďŹ&#x20AC;erences among this three transmission modes Terrestrial, Satellite and Internet protocol (IP)? People must know that in Nigeria today there are three basic modes of transmission. There is the terrestrial, there is the satellite and then there is the IP. The terrestrial which has been analogue is what is going digital called Digital Terrestrial Television or digital video broadcast via terrestrial. There is Digital video broadcast via satellite that's where you have

Let's look into the issue of Set Top Boxes (STBs), by 2015 if broadcast digitalization is in operation, all Nigerians need a Set Top Box. What is NBC doing to make it available to Nigerians? I don't want to say all Nigerians but all TV set either Cartridge or the one with punch back, plasma or LED needs STBs since there was nothing like terrestrial TV existing in Nigeria. Currently TV set is above 100 million and everyone of it demands Set Top Box. It is a huge market. The cheapest Set Top Box from Korea or China is in the range of 30-40 Dollars, multiplied by 100 million, you are looking at whooping sum of 4 billion US Dollars. There is no way you can watch TV content in digital era without STBs. Most publications and investors have addressed Africa as the next frontier but I don't agree with that. Africa is the present frontier because the future is already here. Apart from maybe China or India, Nigeria is the largest undeveloped market. Getting the number of STBs that will go round Nigeria is a challenge, if you come to Pedro now and tell me to create STBs for Nigerians ahead of 2015, I will be mad to think that it is doable between now and the prescribed date for digital switch over on the 31st of December this year. Arithmetically, from my experience as the Managing Director of infrastructural information, Re-defined www.infrastructurequarterly.com

NBC DG Emeka Mba Volume 1 No 4

Interview

Communication DSTV, CONSAT, DAARSAT, STARSAT, and MYTV. They are broadcasting via satellite irrespective of your location on planet earth as long as the satellite coordinate can be gotten by your receptor or disc you will get their services. That is not part of the digital switch over. It is only the DTT that is now going digital. The paid TV is already digitized but the DTT which is the TV for the common man inanced via advertising or government is the transmission that is experiencing a change. Can you estimate what is needed for A u d i o a n d v i d e o e q u i p m e n t , transmission equipment and operating equipment for digitalization? It will cost not less than one trillion Naira, though many of the equipment are already in place. Remember the estimation of STBs we made earlier, for digital transmission in the DTT to occur in a vast area like Nigeria, you need to have at least one Head-end i.e. transmission centre in every 100km. Between Lagos and Benin there must be three to four transmission centres, Benin and Enugu another 3-4 and count round the country. It may cost one to two million dollars to build a simple head-end? So, at present what do we have on ground f o r d igit a l sw itch over rega rd ing transmission centres? The only people ready for switch over is AIT and it is not because they want to be digitally ready but they have to be ready to host the 2009 Under 17 world cup. AIT did a digital

switch over in 2008 and apart from that no than the total population of half of West Africa have internet on their phones. other station even NTA unfortunately. W h a t ' s t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t we e n broadband and internet connectivity with digitalization? That is another problem all together. There is a problem of understanding and scope. If you have an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) license you can transmit wirelessly to any connected device. That process is diﬀerent from DTT. Someone who is on the IPTV has already switch over to digital transmission, that's why you can connect your phones via internet to watch an IPTV station, so, a channel like the Pigin TV which is now on DSTV is being moved via IP or broadband wireless as point to point. But in terms of delivery to homes you can bundle IP with your DTT if you have the right antenna. Internet is on a massive growth in Nigeria because of the importation of internet. With the move by the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) in 2008 to licence Mainone to bring in ibre infrastructure couple with GLO 1, MTN, Nitel, etc, there is therefore strong ibre internet which can be delivered in a verse mile via radio. The development is seriously crashing the prices o f i n te r n e t b u n d l e s . Two ye a r s a g o blackberry internet subscription was about N2000, it dropped to N1500 and down to N1000 and it is still going down. As at last year 35 million Nigerians have data access on their phones in Nigeria but by September this year it grows to 70.8 million. That igure is close to 100 per cent increase in just one year. So, you have 70 million Nigerians much more

In the recent AFRICAST conference, the NBC only focused on content creation; don't you think that is detrimental to communication infrastructure which is very key to the digital change over? It is important that the content provider understands its place in DTT. To get infrastructure is a warehouse thing, it is available and you can walk in and buy anytime you walk in and buy. The delivery of the content is not important to the man at home all they want is to have content to watch. Content is very key to the realization of broadcast switch over, it is important that the content providers know their roles without this the switch over becomes useless. Again, there's a problem that will come up in doing business in the digital era. It is also important that the player and the played, the viewer and the viewed, the transmitter and to who it is transmitted should know the implications of the migration both on their lifestyle and majorly on the business of broadcasting. The scope of business of TV in a digitalized environment aﬀects advertising because one can now do time shift, deliver advertising, delay it, do personal video recording, digital video recording, delay broadcast etc. That changes the entire arithmetic of TV both for the producer and consumers, the content providers, the engineer, and signal distributors. Nigeria is a nation on the go, we learn on the job and I am very convinced that we will handle digital switch over like we handle every other thing.

Expert points the way forward on infrastructure development

you begin to ask the question on what we were looking at until we found ourselves in this deplorable situation. It looks like we are not aware that globalization is driving very fast. Besides, there are a whole lot of question that needs to be answered about how we got the country depleted in terms of infrastructure. There is only one answer which is poor management of resources.

DR. OLUFEMI OLAREWAJU is co-promoter of the Sustainability School, Lagos, and leader of its Sustainability Solutions Practice. A Research Fellow at the Centre for Public Policy Alternatives (CPPA), Lagos, He has worked as a Research Fellow with the National Center for Policy Analysis with of ices in Dallas, Texas and Washington, District of Columbia. Olarewaju is a consummate professional with very diverse academic backgrounds in the sciences (BSc. Applied Geophysics, Ife), business (MS. Information Systems Auditing, California), public policy (Ph.D. Public Aﬀairs, Texas), and sustainability leadership (Executive Master's Arizona State). In this interview with KINGSLEY JEREMIAH, he discusses way forward for infrastructural development in Nigeria. What is your view on the gap in infrastructure development in Nigeria? It is obvious that every aspect of Nigeria's infrastructural development is dissipated. I inished from ABU Zaria and it took me only about N3.50k to enter train from Ibadan to Zaria. Eventually, everything collapsed and we were halted where we are today. When one stops building road network, power or air travel for

Dr. Olufemi Olarewaju

instance and the population continues to rise with the massive urbanization, the direct consequence is that there is increase demand in the use of infrastructure and resources that are not enough. So, there is no way we won't start seeing failure in our system in the massive lockdown. The Lagos Ibadan Express way is undergoing a major re-work after so many failed attempts. Then

infrastructural information, Re-defined www.infrastructurequarterly.com

How do we sustain infrastructure in Nigeria? Sustainability is just the judicious use of resources, making it to do what it is meant to do over a period of time and planning ahead for generations to come so that we don't jeopardize their existence. In the case of Nigeria, there are issues to be tackled. Why are we sustaining? What are we sustaining? We must irst of all provide an answer to that. Let's look at the human component where our graduates are leaving school yearly without job. what if we begin by asking necessary questions for instance, what percentage of our youth are in education, what percentage are in training but that are legible men and women?

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Interview Then we will know that if you are not working then you are either in school or undergoing some kind of training. But if you are not doing any of these then where are you? This information is needed because from policy perspective you really need to know what you are solving so that you can design intervention programme seeing that that's a big challenge in the country at the moment. Let's take the development in the power sector into consideration, with the level of dedication and private sector inclusion we can now see the sustainability component in allowing the private sector to drive the development. Again in the Aviation sector, some people have been clamouring that we should have a national carrier like we used to have. But the question is can the government run a national carrier? There are countries without a national carrier, if the government is incapable to run a national carrier why not hand it over to the private dropped. The budget has been benchmarked according to the price of oil. They (government) are now talking about agriculture which was a main stay of our economy. sector. There is a need for a proper developmental plan. Since the population of Lagos state is growing rapidly every day, what is the Lagos state government doing about the 20 million people who would grow very higher in the next three years? I am aware that Lagos state Government just launched a development programme from now to 2025. I am hoping that the document took a look and answered critical questions to create a clear understanding of where we are at present and where we hope to be. These are core issues that will help us to de ine our sustainability plans. We need to ask ourselves if we are really going in the right direction.

What are the roles of individuals in Infrastructure sustainability and awareness? The 21st century global development has a paradigm shift where people are more careful with what they do. This originally came with the global warming with a stress on the fact that we have to become global minded. It focuses on the awareness to rethink our reliance on the use of carbon. So we all need to begin to create awareness for resources control. Since you started your campaign for sustainable development what were the reactions from people and organisations? The private sector takes everything as business; corporate organisations earlier see the need for a corporate social responsibility as a means to become a part of their business community thereby taking responsibility of their business environment. That is why most organisations create Corporate Social Responsibility Department. These days, organisations are now going deeper to create a sustainable plan.

If you are a multinational company for instance and see that Infrastructure around you is not ixed and you did not plan to do something ahead, you may not be in business in that The major sector where attention is drawn now area for long. On the long run, aggrieved youth in the community will someday be pushed is the power sector. We are certainly going in the to the limit and stand up against you. So, big companies are now seeing the need to ix social right direction with the generation and amenities around them and local companies are now copying this trend as well. distribution and the regulatory platform. We are also going in the right direction with the The public sector has always been the slowest in terms of change. Besides, this part of the renewable energy. But those other intangible world is the worst. The US for example must see the sustainability plan of an organisation that only government can do, like right of before it procures anything from the organisation, we are not there yet but things have to ownership, protection of property ownership, begin to change. security and a general conducive business environment we are hoping that government do What are the reasons behind the failure of infrastructure development? it well to boost the con idence of the We can say that Infrastructure development has failed over the years for several reasons. development and allow the investors to come Our resources are not going into what deserve them, and if it eventually gets there they are and invest. We can begin to replicate what's being diverted from what it meant to be used for, that is why we don't have results. The going on in the power sector to make other mismanagement of resources has compounded over the years to the worst situation. How sectors function. If we are to narrow the do you achieve a plan when you have not looked forward, sideward, backward? question to the power sector I will just say let's continue what we are doing and make it There was a time our railway was working ine but before our very eyes we see it collapse. accountable, transparent, develop studies and We are now pumping serious money into making it work. We have to be more proactive and polices around what is working, and let's put more responsibility into the hand of the private individuals, create an environment of business to make them work or create public private partnerships and continue to drive collaborate. hard consistently. We also have to ind a means of engaging local people. Do you see policies in place to boost Assuming there is new federal ministry for sustainable development and you are Infrastructure? Policy is just a pronouncement of how things made the minister how would you use your of ice to solve the Infrastructure would be done. There are a lot of policy problem in Nigeria? pronouncements but are they working The irst thing is to start serious awareness at the public level to create an overall according to them. Now price of oil is down, did development approach and creating a boundary to work with every other department to we see this coming? We have been shouting create a value entity that will allow the public fund to be judiciously used with a designed about over dependency on oil, now it has goals towards Infrastructure development.

infrastructural information, Re-defined www.infrastructurequarterly.com

Volume 1 No 4

Industry The Trail Blazer:

Coleman Wires High Tension cables sets the pace By Dachi Maduako

T h e Ma n a g i n g D i re c to r, Mr. G e o rg e Onofowokan was sad that only ive other African countries have such an out it but expressed gladness that Nigeria as a country has the population as well as ef iciency exhibited by the teeming population.

The new Coleman High Tension Wire factory at Sagamu, Ogun State.

he transformation move currently going on in the country took a new drive as Coleman Wires blazed the trail in the industry by building and commissioning the irst high tension manufacturing industry in the West Coast of Africa. Located at Sagamu along the Sagamu – Benin expressway, the new factory is about two kilometres away from the expansive Nestle new factory. The area is now known as the industrial hub of Ogun State. About 54 new industries had been commissioned prior to the new one that makes it 55 since the life of the current administration in the state. The commissioning attracted the who is who in the business community and very important persons from the State. The Governor, Ibikunle Amosun led a team of g o v e r n m e n t o f i c i a l s i n c l u d i n g commissioners and assistants to grace the occasion. Others included a former Chief of General Staﬀ in Abacha's regime, Lt. Gen. Oladipo Diya (retd) who was also a former Military Governor of the state, former Minister of Industries, Chief (Dr) Akande, Chief Idowu Sofola, President of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Alhaji Remi Bello, the Managing Director of Fidelity Bank Plc, Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo among a host of others including inancial institutions. Delighted by the huge investment made on the project that gulped a whooping N10 billion, Gov. Amosun said the venture clearly spelt out the con idence the business community reposed in the state having established other industries numbering 55 since his administration commenced in less than four years. He pointed out that Ogun State has now become the industrial hub of the nation as more companies have continued to open shop in the state within the short period.

“This is one of the ways the organised private sector identi ies with the state. The state is now number one in the GDP in the country. We must create wealth for our people and it is factories like this that we rely on to achieve this. The administration has been creating the enabling environment for the people. All sectors of the state economy would be given opportunities to invest in the state,” he said. The Governor beckoned on investors to come to Ogun state to invest while encouraging the company to employ more people from the state assuring that the industry would attract more people from all over the world to work. He reminded the management of the organisation to be mindful of its corporate responsibility. Amosun reminded the organisation of the need to do more work on backward integration to source for raw material rather than relying on importation and urged Ogun State indigenes to come back home and settle down. He also assured inancial supporters to do more because Ogun State is prepared as Coleman will be the benchmark. Explaining the company's venture into the high tension cable production, the Chairman of Coleman cables Asiwaju Onofowokan said the factory was in response to President Goodluck Jonathan's clarion call for investors to be committed to the rapid development of the power sector of the economy. He explained that it took a lot of board room politics for the organisation to arrive at the decision to embark on such a huge venture and unusual entrepreneurial decision that r e q u i r e d t h e b a c k i n g o f i n a n c i a l institutions of which Fidelity Bank pioneered the inancial assistance and now leading other banks in inancing the project.

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Ac c o rd i n g to h i m , t h e i d e a fo r t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f t h e c o m p a ny wa s conceptualised ive years ago in 2009 a d d i n g t h a t c o m p a n y s t a r t e d t h e implementation with Nigerians with a construction irm ARBICO as the main contractor and with a team of Japanese, Chinese and Germans while construction commenced between 2001 and 2002 just as Fidelity Bank stood by the company to give inancial support when other banks avoided them. Thus with the commissioning of the irst phase of the factory, it becomes the irst of such in West Africa and in black African country. The construction of the second phase has also commenced and would hopefully be completed in June 2015. He spoke glowingly of the prospects of the products within the 170 million Nigerian populace market and the international market adding that the country remains a huge market in Africa. He praised the nation's eﬀorts in rebasing the economy which led to the country's economy picking up to emerge as the number one in Africa and 26th in the world economy. In this regard, the services sector topped the contributing sectors with 52 per cent of the total GDP; industry contributed 26.5 per cent while the manufacturing sector contributed 6.83 per cent. The Managing Director believed the manufacturing sector should be a driving force in the economy. Coleman has taken the bull by the horn. The manufacturing sector should take a viable place and remain at the commanding height,” he said. Beating his chest in accomplishment with the commissioning of the N10 billion Mega High Voltage XLPE factory, he said, “With the commissioning of the high tension wire in Shagamu, we are proud to say that we Nigerians are capable and can do it”. Sitting on a vast expanse of land along the Sagamu end of the Shagamu – Benin expressway, the factory occupies a loor capacity of 30,000 square meters and has a production capacity of between 80 and 90 percent of the total country capacity in house wiring, power cables (armoured and non-armoured) AAC, ACSR and the XLPE specialty cable among other power cables. He raised the hope of Nigerians saying that the completion of the factory will impact the Nigerian economy positively, conserve the country's foreign exchange as well as check Volume 1 No 4

Industry fake cable importation. He pointed out that with the factory cong into full operation, both local and international cable procuring companies who purchase from the West as well as the Asian suppliers will now look inwards to Coleman High Voltage XLPE factory for their wires and cables supply. Other bene its that are expected from the products to be churned out of the factory as it begins to roll out include the employment of between 500 and 1,000 people which will in eﬀect aﬀect 10, 000 bene iciaries; it would equally reduce the importation of fake wires and cable drastically as a team of Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) on inspection of the factory earlier had expressed optimism on the quality and standard. The SON has also given kudos the

The Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun and the Chairman of Coleman, Asiwaju Onofowankan inspecting the factory after it was declared open.

The MD of Coleman, Mr. George Onafowokan

SCOA, MAN Truck sign deal to assemble locally Jeremiah Kingsley

ollowing the signi icant development in the Nigerian automotive industry, renowned automobile giants SCOA Nigeria Plc and German truck and bus producer, MAN have entered into landmark agreement to assemble MAN products in Nigeria. Signing the agreement recently in Lagos before the Deputy Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mr. Joerg Steckhan, the Group Managing Director of SCOA, Dr. Massad Boulos said the event was historic in the history of the company. The MAN delegation to the agreement signing ceremony was led by its Vice President, Mr. Adel Luenz, and the Head of Sales, for Middle East and Africa Region, Mr. Noel Macaron while the chairman SCOA Nigeria Ltd, Mr. Henry Agbamu and the Group Managing Director/CEO, Dr. Massad Boulos represented the SCOA team at the event. Dr. Boulos who commended the federal government's initiatives to transform the automobile industry, boasted that the industry is capable of driving the desired economic development in the nation. “Mr. President and his team, in a bold and courageous move, put in place a number of policy measures needed to transform and attract investments into the sector. There is no doubt that a transformed automotive industry will realise its potential as a major driver of economic growth and diversi ication, job creation, local value addition and technology acquisition”

Motors, Volkswagen, Peugeot, Mercedes Benz, Fiat, Steyre, British Leyland and others were producing hundreds of thousands of aﬀordable vehicles and tens of thousands of good jobs while hundreds of auxiliary industries were springing up. He explained that the partnership with MAN will not only serve the Nigerian market but also the ECOWAS sub-region, adding that they were privileged to have the best product and to be the irst European brand to be assembled in Nigeria, under the new policy. The new MAN assembly plant which is billed to take oﬀ next month has the capacity to produce 3000 vehicles annually and can easily be expanded and increased if need be. Also speaking, the chairman SCOA Plc, Mr. Henry Agbamu who related the history of the company to 1932 when they ventured into automobile industry, said the irm in 1952 established Nigeria's irst private auto assembly plant in Apapa, Lagos where it assembled Peugeot 404 and 504 pick-ups and later metamorphosed into auto giant pioneering sales, distribution and maintenance of variety of automobiles. “The emotion of having MAN, assembled in Nigeria by SCOA, is simply awesome and with the support of the Nigerian government's newly launched automotive policy; the SCOA Motors Division is simply the right destination for MAN,” Agbamu said.

Boulos stressed that the automotive industry plays both a strategic and catalytic role in economic development with respect to employment creation, GDP contribution, economic linkages, development of SME's, skill acquisition and development, technology acquisition and innovation and research and development. “An automotive industry will create signi icant good quality employments and a wide range of technological advanced manufacturing opportunities. This industry base can then form the foundation of other modern advanced manufacturing activities like manufacturing of agricultural, mining and railway equipment and other non-civilian hardware and transport”, he added. According to the SCOA boss, the automotive industry thrived three to four decades in Nigeria whereby global auto leaders like General

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Volume 1 No 4

Health & Safety

Abia saving lives, foreign exchange through health care infrastructure provision

By Dachi Maduako

he place of health care infrastructure in ensuring a healthy people and securing their lives is a major provision every government should aim to pursue. For the people of Abia State, the establishment of the State Specialist Hospital and Diagnostic Centre is one that came at the right time to stand in the gap for people who had hitherto thronged overseas' hospitals for medical treatment. In the past such facilities were not available and rare in the country. For the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Prof Augustus U. Mbanaso, the driving force that led the State to embark on such a project was hinged on social service and the need to improve the health status of the people of the state. Looking back to the establishment, he said, “People who should have died because of lack of good health care are walking about alive. They don't have to go to Enugu, Ibadan or abroad to India for treatment are now treated here. For instance, the Deputy Governor of the State could have gone to the United States for his eye treatment but was treated at the eye centre and is very happy about the success,” he said. On how the centre has helped to improve the economy of the state, he said that though the improvement of the people's welfare was top in the consideration of the state, the health sector has equally contributed to the overall improvement of the state's economy. He added that a lot of money come into the diagnostic centre just as a lot is spent on consumables. However, people's health he says is more important to the state. Prof. Mbanaso also pointed out that the cottage hospital at Amachara has now been transformed to a 100 bed Specialist Hospital as well as becoming a training centre for House Officers. “More importantly is the job opportunities it has created for Abia indigenes. A lot of them have been employed,” he said. Apart from the infrastructural facilities provided at the Specialist Hospital, the Diagnostic Centre has been provided with virtually all the equipment required to take care of health needs of the people enough to avoid their going outside the state or abroad for health needs. The Diagnostic Centre is an all encompassing unit

A patient on one of the diagnostic equipment at the Diagnostic Centre Umuahia

with different equipment for different ailments including: Eye Centre, Dialysis, Digital X- ray, and mammography; The Citi-scan and the MRI. Engr. Chima Chukwu, the Diagnostic Imagery Consultant of the Abia State Specialist Hospital and Diagnostic Centre, Umuahia, said the government of Chief Theodore Orji in establishing the centre provided enough equipment for the centre all in one place and not requiring people to go from one place to another as used to be the case in the past. He pointed out that the Dialysis section has equipment to cater to different groups - people with regular blood, HIV and hepatitis. “So, here we have room for six dialysis equipment, four for regular blood, one for HIV, one for hepatitis. And obviously, the place is subsidized by the state government,” he said. What is usually done in the dialysis section is the removal of waste products from the blood streams and of course through the process of diffusion and ultra-filtration which of course is the major function of the kidney. And when these kidneys are not functioning, then we make use of dialyzers for dialysis. The dialyzer is called the artificial kidney. The machines come in different makes but Surdal machines are in use at the centre. He explained that this is one of the best in the world because the maintenance is around and can be accessed at anytime. Digital X- ray The centre is equipped with digital X-ray. He explained that unlike in the past when one takes X-ray and come back the next day or whatever to have it printed, the case is now different as the patient gets the X-ray done and gets it printed right away. “You can get it done with the patient sitting down, lying down or standing up depending on the condition of the patient” he stated. Mammography The Mammogram machine is used to check women for breast cancer and also do breast cancer biopsy. Basically at the digital X-ray and mammography section the picture either for mammogram or X-ray is taken and the cassette is slotted in for processing and you take a look at the screen to make sure that the pathology you are looking for is seen or the area you are doing the x-ray is properly covered. If not, you repeat it. If it is, you upload it to the other system and from the system, you upload it to the radiologist who will read them and send the result electronically. CT scan At this section, there is always a visual contact, voice contact between the patient and the technologist. From here they monitor what is going on on the other side; if there is any need to realign the patient or whatever they detail one of the aids to go in there and do whatever things and get it printed from the machine when they are done. The MRI Machine The MRI is used to do different scans of the body depending on what the doctor is looking for. The MRI room is one side and the technologists control from another side. The Eye Centre: This eye centre was commissioned last April by the immediate past Minister of Health, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu is run in partnership with Eye Foundation. The Supper Dupper eye centre has the optical section as well as the pharmacy to make sure that when patients are prescribed with drugs, they get it here before they leave.

A Dialyzer ath the Dialysis section

Giving further insight to the establishment of the centre Engr. Chukwu who was hired from US said the idea came up when the Governor of the state went on medical checkup abroad at the John Hopkins University Hospital in 2008 and discovered

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Volume 1 No 4

Registration closes 18th February, 2015

Health & Safety himself how the diagnostic equipment, everything is located under one roof unlike what we use to see here where you have to go from one place to the other to have your tests done. “So, he came back and said one of the first things he would want to do for Abia State is to find a way to create a healthy state. Obviously, he felt that it is better to govern a state that is healthy. People who are healthy would not worry about what to eat or what roads to drive on. So, it is out of that passion to help the state in terms of health care that the Governor now talked about and envisioned the establishment of a state of the art diagnostic centre”. The structures were bought, renovated by government and brought in Mecure Healthcare Partner and the Eye Foundation who partners with the state in the Eye Centre. When the space was not enough the state bought the extra space around from the previous owners and expanded and then built the dialysis centre. One of the digital equipment at the Diagnostic Centre Umuahia

As a major investment of the state, the government made adequate provisions to ensure uninterrupted power supply to

the centre by providing 500 KVA generator set while 500 litres of diesel is supplied every week to make there is constant power supply to the facility. Other facilities provided at the centre include the theatre upstairs and vehicles among others while at the Specialist Hospital at Amachara, there is the Accident and Emergency unit which was commissioned recently. There is also the hundred bed ward that was also commissioned recently, the chest clinic that deals with drug resistant TB patients. There is Federal Government presence in the hospital where the Federal Government is now finishing the research centre that it is building there which will conduct research on malaria, HIV and tuberculosis.

Safety professionals take to street over compliance Kingsley Jeremiah

xperts in the Health and Safety industry across the country recently gathered in Lagos for the irst time to conduct a walk so as to sensitize citizens of the need to be more proactive over their safety Speaking after the walk at the headquarters of Fire Service in Alausa, Lagos, Director General, Lagos State Safety Commission Mrs Dominga Omolara Odebunmi said it was high time people's lives were prioritized as well as properties in the country. Odebunmi stressed that only the living feels and behaves safe. That is when you can protect your property and make sure that whatever you do would last long, if you gather well and you gather so many things and you do not live safe you are going to waste those things in no time, she said. She bemoaned over avoidable incidents that continue to lead to disasters, stressing that the Lagos state government under the administration of Babatunde Fashola passed the Safety commission into law in 2011 to ensure that lives and property become safer. We have seen so many, avoidable incidents and accidents, people put cylinders close to their cookers, and they put slippery tiles in

their houses, in the bath room amongst others. We must make sure that safety becomes our lifestyle. She said recent statistic has shown that Lagosians are becoming safety aware but that the Safety commission was ready to increase campaign through collaborating with all Safety NGOs Safety is about removing the hazards that can harm. We must remember to remove it from source; Nigerians have made and managed hazard for too long, Odebunmi warned. The DG says becoming Safety conscious would enhance improvement in every aspect of human life. Your businesses would grow better, your pro it will increase, and workers will have greater loyalty to you in your organization if you are safety compliant, odebunmi said. “The security you are providing must be balanced, it is not about putting barricades and security men at the entrance everywhere, you must have adequate Safety measures with signage, communicate to people your safety messages, you also train and learn to manage large crowd. We want people to follow order because order brings compliances” “We have just covered the Ikeja area and we are also going to move it to all the areas that statistics showed that there are no safety awareness. Places like Ijede, Epe, and Lekki. There are a lot of accidents on the high way in Lekki.” She urged individuals and corporate organization to join the Safety professionals in their attempt to make lives and property of people safer. We want to use this opportunity to urge people to join us; it is not just the Safety professionals that should be safe but every citizen in the state, she noted. Speaking at the event, one of the Safety experts, Gbenga Onabanjo says human beings are meant to be active in their natural sense, and live by moving from one spot to the other but that civilization has kept people to their of ices, cars etc and making it dif icult to walk as required. He said regular exercise was required to complement what people lost by not walking.

DG Lagos State Safety Commission addressing safety professionals during the irst Walk for Safety.

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Volume 1 No 4

Projects

Obanu International Market favours new town development By Dachi Maduako

The Obanu International Market

new strategy of developing new towns seems to be inding its way into Abia State, Nigeria, as the State government might ind out that its decision to relocate an age long central market in the capital city Umuahia to a suburb community – Obanu is now leading to the development of a brand new town beside the new market. Going by the history of Umuahia town, the Umuahia Central Market had played a central role to the commercial activities of the old city. Centrally located, it served as what could easily go for present day neighbourhoods that normally provide such services to estates. It was not just of service to people within Umuahia Township but the surrounding communities. People also travelled from far distance to do their shopping. That was why people thought that it was not possible to move the market to a location about 10 kilometers from its location. Now known as Obanu International Market though a lot others choose to call it Dubai depicting the international and commercial status they attach to the market. Yet another market has also developed in a neighbouring community in Umungwa Obowu in Imo State, which the operators also chose to call Malaysia. “The Onuimo traders chose to call their own market Malasia while we call our own Dubai, just to show how high we regard our markets in terms of standards and the fact that we also travel to get to our markets,” says Chidi Okafor, one of the traders at Obanu International Market.

three phases. Phases two and three are yet to commence. Meanwhile all the developed units are all two bedroom detached bungalows. Speaking on the development, Mr. Agomoh Nkwachukwu, a Permanent Secretary said, “Actually, the estate being built by the side of the Obanu International Market is a partnership h o l d i n g b e t w e e n A b i a s t a t e government and Trade Moore Nigeria limited. The estate is an equity, we provided all the necessary enabling environment and the land, so all they are doing is putting in place the capital for the houses. And that is also happening in most specialties of projects in Abia state because since Federal government has attuned to the state to look for other means of development, also raising ideas and so on. In order not to incur more of the costs, we are entertaining partnership equity (PPP) Public Private Partnership with the private sector.

T h a t i s e s p e c i a l l y w h a t t h i s government has continued to do for the past ive years now. Even the market that was built, essentially, 60 percent of it was also private holding. That is to tell you where this government is going. Our problem is capital. Our problem is funding. If per adventure the equity share formula of the funds coming from the Federal Government changes may be that is where we will reap a little bit. Even with respect to our being an oil revenue state there is really not much impact in respect to funding coming from it but because of the sheer knowledge of bureaucracy and prudence by the Governor, he has continued to ind ways and means to make sure that everything works well within our time. In fact, if you remember sometime when the senate sat and said that Abia State is one of the most prudent and stable s t a t e s i n t e r m s o f e c o n o m i c management. That is to tell you where they found their measure of

As for the viability of the market, the projection is very high that from here, the urban population would disperse as traders would want to relocate to areas around the market. And because of this, land speculators have swooped on available lands within the corridor but the state government seemed wiser by entering into partnership with a private company Trade Moore International to build a 5, 000 unit Obanu Estate just by the periphery of the market. The estate now on the irst phase is made up of infrastructural information, Re-defined www.infrastructurequarterly.com

assessment”.

The Permanent Secretary also disclosed that another estate trailing the movement of the Umuahia Timber Market to its new location at Ahia Eke is also being built near the new Timber Market. The new estate i s l o c a t e d n e a r t h e C a t h o l i c Orphanage Home at Ahia Eke, just before the Timber Market in Lodu Village with a built up road by the State Government. The big estate he explained is being built there by the State Government under Public Private Participation (PPP). “All I am trying to say ponti ically is that we are trying our best to make sure that all things go well at the end of time. We might not provide all the necessary things that Abians should have but the fundamental issues of other foundations are being built by the State Government to attract the required measure of the best mark,” he stated.

He noted that the other towns that are springing up in several points are aimed at expanding Umuahia adding that, “We are putting up security. We are trying to make sure that all our localities are in sure path of security in the state so that there won't be any insurrection. The Governor is putting that measure to task and at long run we have seen all the results coming to bear fruit”. Also, Mr. Damian Ogbuo who operates at the market who applauded the growth rate at the market said that this rate when the market was just one and a half years old, the growth rate would assume a very high level in the next three years. “Initially, people were scared of coming here. Some withdrew. But now people are making it and other people are moving in. I foresee a situation where people will likely move over to the sides of the roads already bought by people. In 10 years to come the whole of this place will be run over by development,” he said.

Part of the phase one of the 5,000 units Obanu Estate being constructed by the Abia State Government in partnership with Trade Moore International.

Volume 1 No 4

Projects

Abia Projects designed to enhance development-Iwuoha

By Dachi Maduako

The completed and occupied Secretariat complex at Umuahia

Nigeria partners Brazil on Road infrastructure development In its resolve to revitalize and eﬀectively manage the nation's critical road infrastructure and for better socio-economic transformation, the Federal Government is to partner with the Brazilian Government.

bia State Government has said that the major development projects it embarked on were basic projects needed for the rapid development of the State. The projects include the secretariat, the International Conference Centre, the Government House, the E-Library and many others. Special Adviser to the Governor on Media, Mr. Bonnie Iwuoha said these imposing projects were not there before the Governor came to power. Said he, “They were all started by Chief T.A. Orji and the aim is to use these projects to establish a core foundation for the development of Abia State. These are the basic projects that are needed for the development of the State. They are the vision of Chief T. A. Orji to ensure that Abia State is properly developed and that Abians have the best in terms of health care, and in terms of education, that the pupils and students from Abia State excel in academics; that is why we had to start the e-library which is the best in the entire South East. The International Conference Centre, is the only one that equals that of the Federal Government at Abuja, otherwise, there is no other International Conference Centre anywhere in the country that is big in size and good and in terms of equipment and installations, there is none as good and well equipped as this one. So, this one is about the best in terms of International Conference Centres in this country. “The government of Chief T. A. Orji has done very well in establishing these projects and laying the foundation for a fast development of Abia State in future. The Secretariat is completed and occupied by the civil servants. The International Conference Centre is almost completed and in the next two or three months, it will be commissioned, the E- Library is ready and in the next two weeks it will be ready for commissioning and inauguration. As for the Government House, we are hopeful that before the end of the irst quarter of 2015, it will be ready. The Diagnostic Centre and other hospital projects have been completed, inaugurated and functioning,” he said.

The Minister, who stated that the visit was another opportunity for the two countries to ind a way to collaborate and improve on infrastructure development, hinted that bilateral funding arrangement on roads and bridges will be a welcome development should the Brazilian Government wish to invest in Nigeria. The Minister explained that he personally wrote a letter to the Brazilian authorities informing them of the available investment opportunities i n t h e N i g e r i a n r o a d s e c t o r w h i c h i s instrumental to the visit to irm up discussions between the two countries. Arc.Onolememen further said that in this era of Public Private Partnership, calling on the B ra z i l i a n a u t h o r i t i e s t o key i n t o t h i s arrangement in order for them to bring in their wealth of experience in developing the country, was a welcome initiative. The Minister added that the Federal Ministry of Works is willing to eﬀectively collaborate with the Brazilian construction companies that are interested in investing in the country most especially in the areas of road sector development. Earlier, the Brazilian Ambassador, His Excellency, Joao Andre Lima, stated that he is in the ministry in response to the letter by the Minister so as to discuss and fashion out strategic working relationship with Nigeria as his country is willing to collaborate with N i g e r i a n G o v e r n m e n t i n t h e a r e a o f infrastructure development.

The 5,000 seating capacity International Conference Centre, Umuahia.

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This was disclosed by the Minister of Works, Arc. Mike Onolememen, when the Ambassador of the Republic of Brazil, His Excellency, Joao Andre Lima, paid him a courtesy call in his of ice at the Federal Minister of Works Headquarters recently.

Volume 1 No 4

Events Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) 45th Annual Conference held at The Golden Tulip Hotel, Festac, Lagos.

(Centre) Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development Mrs. Akon Eyakenyi, ď&#x20AC;&#x201A;anked on the right and left by Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr. Toyin Ayinde and President of NITP Chief Steve Onu and others

Current President of NITP, Dr. Femi Olomola with other senior members of the institute.

Fellows of NITP taking the front seat at the AGM

NITP members busy at the registration point during the conference.

President of NITP Chief Steve Onu, the President in waiting, Dr. Femi Olomola and another leading member discussing at the conference.

Some Town Planners at the conference

The WFEO Conference on African Infrastructure Needs held at The International Conference Centre, Abuja

Centre, Min. of Works, Arc. Mike Onolememen cutting the tape at the opening ceremony of the event and ď&#x20AC;&#x201A;anked by the pres. NSE, Engr. Ademola Olorunfemi, Min of Power Prof Chinedu Nebo and Pres of WFEO

Cross section of participants at the WFEO at the International Conference Centre Abuja

Minister of Works, Arc. Mike Onolememen at the stands of American Society of Civil Engrs.

Some of the participants at the WFEO conference held recently at Abuja

Works Minister at one of the stands during the exhibition

The NSE President Engr. Ademola Olorunfemi and other members of the EXCO welcoming the Minister of works Arc. Mike Onolememen to the venue of the conference

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Volume 1 No 4

Events The 11 West Africa Power Industry Convention (WAPIC) held at Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos

Participants at the West Africa Power Industry Conference in Lagos

Speakers seated at the high table during the WAPIC event in Lagos.

Min. of power Prof. Chinedu Nebo (second right), Heirs Holdings, Nigeria boss Tony Elumelu (third right) ď&#x20AC;&#x201A;anked by other speakers at the WAPIC event in Lagos

Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo and other exhibitors at the WAPIC conference and exhibition

Exhibitors at WAPIC conference 2014

Tony Elumelu responding to journalist at the Wapic event in Lagos

Power Nigeria Event held at Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos

Cross View of participants at the Power Nigeria conference and exhibitions

Minister of Power, Chinedu Nebo cutting tape at the opening ceremony of Power Nigeria conference and exhibition

Power minister Chinedu Nebo ď&#x20AC;&#x201A;anked by staff of Skipperseil group and other exhibitors during the event.

One of the participants reacting to issues at the conference

Exhibitors at the registeration desk during the event

Power minister responding to journalists at the Power Nigeria conference in Lagos

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Volume 1 No 4

MATERIALS WATCH 1.00

CEMENT 1,750.00

1,700.00

35,000.00

34,000.00

35,000.00

3,500.00

3,800.00

3,000.00

2,000.00

2,500.00

1.01

Portland cement per 50kg bag

bag

1.02

Diito, per tonne jumbo bag

tonne

1.03

Colored cement - white 40kg bag

bag

1.04

Colored cement - red 25kg bag

bag

1.05

Colored cement - green 25kg bag

bag

2,300.00

2.00

2,800.00

1,750.00 35,000.00 3,000.00

2,000.00

2,500.00

BLOCKS

2.01

Sandcrete - block 225x225x450mm (9”x9”x 18”)

160.00

2.02

Sandcrete - block 225x150x450mm (9”x6”x 18”)

140.00

150.00

3.00

1,750.00

170.00

160.00 140.00

CLAY PRODUCTS (Prices includes VAT &delivery cost) Sun Breakers

3.01

Double Curved Type ‘79 - 160x100x320mm

120.00

3.02

Double Straight Octagonal 01 - 160x100x320mm

156.00

3.03

Single Rectangular Type ‘99 - 195x100x195mm

136.00

1 36.00

136.00

3.04

Fledor Type ‘83 - 225x100x225mm

125.00

3.05

Shamrock Type ‘80 - 225x100x225mm

125.00

3.06

Fledor Type ‘94 - 250x100x250mm

142.00

Hollow Clay Pots Floor & Ceilings 3.07

Velox Type - 130x355x250mm

261.00

3.08

Velox Type - 165x355x250mm

285.00

3.09

Velox Type - 200x335x250mm

327.00

3.10

Classic Type - 165x400x250mm

304.00

3.11

Classic Type - 200x400x250mm

327.00

327.00 304.00

261.00 285.00 327.00

304.00

327.00

327.00 215.00

3.12

Classic Top - 100x400x250mm

215.00

3.13

Velox Beam Unit - 115x140x250mm

117.00

3.14

Clay Facings For External Finishing x 66 Pcs

Carton

1,775.00

3.15

Wall Facings x 11 - 60x15x250mm

269.00

3.16

Corner Units - 60x125x250mm Partitioning Clay Wares (Set of 3 pieces)

207.00

153.00

3.17

Size 50

- 200x50x330mm

153.00

3.18

Size 75

- 125x75x250mm

136.00

3.19

Size 100

- 200x100x330mm

239.00

3.20

Size 150

- 200x150x330mm

291.00

3.21

Size 200

- 200x225x330mm

376.00

136.00 239.00 291.00 376.00

Load Bearing Clayware 3.22

Size 150

- 200x150x330mm

336.00

3.23

Size 225

- 200x225x330mm

456.00

4.00

QUARRY PRODUCTS (Ex-quarry price, VAT & cost of delivery) Granite

4.01

Hard Core

4” - 8”

4.02

Stone Base

2” - 0

Tonne

2,000.00

Tonne

2,000.00

4.03

Aggregate

1” - 7/8”

Tonne

2,300.00

4.04

Aggregate

7/8” - 5/8” (3/4”)

Tonne

2,300.00

4.05

Aggregate

5/8” - 3/8” (½” )

Tonne

2,300.00

4.06

Dust

3/8” - 1/4”

Tonne

1,000.00

4.07

Lumps

1,900.00

1 ,900.00

1,900.00

4.08

Gravel Washed Gravel

Tonne

2,650.00

2,750.00

2,800.00

2,750.00

4.09

Unwashed Gravel

Tonne

2,300.00

2,400.00

2,300.00

4.10 4.11

Sand Sharp Sand Soft Sand

Tonne Tonne

3,800.00 1,890.00

3,750.00 1,950.00

4.12

Filling Laterite Fillings

Tonne

1,100.00

1,200.00

1,100.00

4.13

Broken Blocks

Tonne

1,200.00

1,300.00

1,200.00

Tonne

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3,750.00 1,750.00

2,300.00

3,750.00 1,800.00

Volume 1 No 4

MATERIALS WATCH 5.00 5.01

ROOFING Corrugated Iron - (Prices includes VAT) Roofing Sheet (20 pieces)

Bundle

8,500.00

FIBRE - CEMENT PRODUCTS (Prices excludes VAT) Nigerite Roofing Materials 5.02

Nigerite Kolor 7 (1.8m) 6ft

Sheet

3,311.00

5.03

Nigerite Kolor 7 (2.4m) 8ft

Sheet

4,022.00

5.04

Nigerite Kolor 7 Ridge (Lower/Upper)

Pairs

1,249.00

5.05

Crete Tile French & Mission

Pairs

176.00

5.06

Crete Ridge Tile

Pairs

237.00

5.07

Crete Edge Tile

Pairs

310.00

5.08

Hip starter

Pairs

272.00

5.09

Decorceil - Ceiling Tiles - (610x10x5mm) - Grey

box of 16 tiles

5,675.00

box of 16 tiles

8,993.00

1,011.00

5.10

Accoustile - Ceiling Tiles - (610x10x5mm) - White

5.11

Flat sheet 4’x4’ (1.22m x1.22m x 3mm)

Sheet

5.12

Flat sheet 4’x4’ (1.22m x1.22m x 6mm)

Sheet

2,564.00

1,249.00

1,011.00

1,249.00

272.00

1,011.00

2,564.00

2,564.00 446.00

5.13 Litespan

(2pcs corrugated wing ridged)

Pairs

446.00

5.14 Litespan

(1.8m x 3.5mm thickness)

Pairs

764.00

1,635.00

5.15 SLW - sheet

(1800 x 1050 x 4mm) 6ft

5.16 SLW - 2

(2400 x1050 x4mm) 8ft

5.17 SLW - 2

(2 piece corrugated wing ridged) (1500 x 1097 x 4.5mm) 5ft

Sheet

5.18 Super - 7 5.19 Fascia board

Sheet

1,635.00

N/A

Sheet

2,178.00

N/A

2,178.00

Pairs

1,200.00

N/A

1,200.00

N/A

2,140.00

(om 25 x 2m 44 x 8mm)

3,343.00

Long Span Aluminium Roofing Sheets (Prices includes VAT) 5.20

Queen baked (coloured)

5.21 5.22 5.23

- 0.45mm

meter/run

1,216.00

Ditto

- 0.05mm

meter/run

1,362.00

Ditto

- 0.55mm p/m2

1,491.00

Stucco mill (white)

5.24 Stucco mill (white) 5.25 6.00

Ditto

meter/run

1,491.00

- 0.45mm

meter/run

1,051.00

- 0.05mm p/m run

meter/run

1,118.00

meter/run

1,229.00

- 0.55mm p/m run

1,051.00

WOODWORK (Open Market Prices) Sawn Hardwood (Mahogany)

6.01

Mahogany

- size 50 x 150 x 3600mm long

Length

1,300.00

2,000.00

1,600.00

1,050.00

6.02

Mahogany

- size 50 x 100 x 3600mm long

Length

900.00

1,300.00

1,100.00

850.00

6.03

Mahogany

- size 50 x 75 x 3600mm long

Length

700.00

1,700.00

800.00

6.04

Mahogany

- size 50 x 100 x 4200mm long

Length

1,050.00

2,350.00

950.00

900.00

6.05

Mahogany

- size 25 x 300 x 3600mm long

Length

1,300.00

2,000.00

1,150.00

1,100.00

700.00

Opepe 6.06

Opepe

- size 50 x 150 x 3600mm long

Length

950.00

1650.00

6.07

Opepe

- size 50 x 100 x 3600mm long

Length

700.00

450.00

800.00

850.00

6.08

Opepe

- size 50 x 75 x 3600mm long

Length

650.00

350.00

750.00

6.09

Opepe

- size 50 x 100 x 4200mm long

Length

900.00

1,000.00

1,150.00

6.10

Afara

- size 50 x 150 x 3600mm long

Length

800.00

750.00

1,400.00

950.00

6.11

Afara

- size 50 x 100 x 3600mm long

Length

600.00

300.00

900.00

800.00

6.12

Afara

- size 50 x 75 x 3600mm long

Length

450.00

250.00

700.00

6.13

Afara

- size 50 x 50 x 3600mm long

Length

320.00

200.00

350.00

Softwood

Plywood 6.14

White Plywood - size 18.75 x 1200 x 2400mm long

Sheet

6.15

White Plywood - size 12.50 x 1200 x 2400mm long

Sheet

2,600.00

6.16

White Plywood - size 6.25 x 1200 x 2400mm long

6.17

White Plywood - size 3.125 x 1200 x 2400mm long

7.00

NAILS

7.01

Nails

- size 1/1.5”

Bag

6,500.00

7,000.00

8,500.00

7.02

Ditto

- size 2 / 2.5”

Bag

4,800.00

4,000.00

4,800.00

7,500.00

7.03

Ditto

- size 3”

Bag

4,500.00

3,600.00

7.04

Ditto

- size 4”

Bag

4,500.00

3,600.00

4,300.00

7,500.00

7.05

Ditto

- size 5”

Bag

7,000.00

4,000.00

5,500.00

7,500.00

7.06

Asbestos Roofing Nails

- 75mm

Carton

600.00

3,000.00

650.00

600.00

7.07

Asbestos Roofing Nails

- 100mm

Carton

750.00

800.00

850.00

Sheet Sheet

infrastructural information, Re-defined www.infrastructurequarterly.com

3,500.00

3,300.00

3,250.00

1,950.00

2,800.00

2,400.00

2,300.00

1,450.00

1,600.00

900.00

1,400.00

950.00

4,300.00

950.00

7,500.00

Volume 1 No 4

MATERIALS WATCH

infrastructural information, Re-defined www.infrastructurequarterly.com

Volume 1 No 4

MATERIALS WATCH

BETON SANTRALLERİ www.semix.biz - semix@semix.biz

ADVERTISERS INDEX COMPANY

PAGE

WEBSITE

Coleman Techincal Industrial Limited

www.colemancables.com

Lafarge

Wichtech Industries Limited SCOA Motors

www.lafarge.com.ng www.wichtechgroup.com

P57

www.scoaplc.com

Almix

P11

www.almixasia.com.sg

Al-Ramanite Nigeria Limited SMT Nigeria

P50

www.alramanite.com

P16 & 44

www.smtnigeria.com/www.atcnigeria.com

Semix P69 American Society of Safety Engineers (A.S.S.E) P57

www.semix.biz

Vermeer

P72

www.westafco.net

Vurmak Transynics Energy Limited

P26

www.vurmak.com.tr

P21

www.transynicsenergy.com

Federation of Construction Industry (FOCI)

P41

www.focinigeria.com/www.nilefoci.com.ng

Sandvik Building Construction & Mining Mart 2015

P71 P47

www.construction.sandvik.com www.foci.com.ng

infrastructural information, Re-defined www.infrastructurequarterly.com

www.nilefoci.com

Volume 1 No 4