Courtesy of Paresa SpA Refinery upgrade in Algiers, Algeria, is set for completion by year-end under a $908-million contract, awarded in 2010 to Paris-based Technip. Africa is poised to expand its crude refining capacity by an additional 1.6 million barrels per day when refinery projects underway in four countries are completed and operating. Despite competition from cheap fuel imports, viability questions related to small regional refinery projects and unreliable crude-oil supply, Algeria, Nigeria, South Africa and Uganda are proceeding with plans to increase their crude refining capacities to wean themselves off reliance on imports.Algeria’s state-owned oil firm Sonatrach Petroleum has
Courtesy Lafarge Cement maker Lafarge says that poor construction practices, not cement quality, are to blame for structural collapses in Nigeria. Related Links: Cement Firms Lafarge and Holcim Face Hurdles in Planned $60-Billion Merger Quick Succession at Mexican Cement Giant Cemex After Sudden Death of CEO Nigeria cement manufacturers and other stakeholders have expressed mixed reactions to a move by the country's standards regulatory agency to dictate cement production and use.The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has directed all cement makers to ensure that, before their product is released to the market, packaging material contains detailed information on the quality
Related Links: South Africa's Sasol Moves on New Petrochemical Project in Louisiana Gas-Fired Projects Are Gaining Momentum Egypt’s Carbon Holdings Ltd. has signed a $600-million agreement with Abu Dhabi-based Drake & Scull International (DSI) for the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of utilities and off-site facilities at the $6-billion Tahrir Petrochemical Project, 40 kilometers south of the city of Suez, at the head of the Suez Canal.DSI joins several other companies that already have secured contracts with Carbon Holdings for the construction of the petrochemicals complex, expected to break ground in 2015 following a financial close by the end of
By the end of June, Nigerians will know what caused the June 2 collapse of a four-story building that killed four construction workers in the city of Onitsha, 482 kilometers from the capital, Abuja.The Anglican Church of Nigeria was constructing the building. The church's Niger diocese and the government of Anambra state have set up parallel teams to probe the collapse. Construction experts have blamed several factors, including contractor incompetence and non-compliance to project specifications and standards. The building is suspected to have been initially approved for just two stories. Unconfirmed reports also suggest that, before the collapse, too little
Related Links: Report: Global Market for Geothermal Heats Up Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam Prompts Safety Concerns Djibouti and Ethiopia are developing new geothermal power capacities that are intended to enable them meet increasing demand for electricity and enhance their sustainable-energy portfolio.The World Bank has provided details about its contractor prequalification procedure for the drilling of four full-size geothermal production wells in Djibouti, while Icelandic powerplant builder Reykjavik Geothermal says it hopes to commence its $2-billion Corbetti Geothermal Power Project in Ethiopia in July.The World Bank, one of the financiers of the $31-million Djibouti Geothermal Power Project, which is being developed
Related Links: New Study Says Infrastructure Already Feels Climate Change's Impact Wind Developers Active Across African Continent The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved the creation of a fund to support the continent’s “transition to green growth.” The African Climate Change Fund (ACCF) will scale up to a multi-donor trust fund, which will be hosted and managed by the bank.Speaking to the bank’s directors at a meeting in the Tunisian capital, Tunis, Alex Rugamba, director of the bank’s energy, environment and climate-change department, said the fund “will help facilitate countries’ access to the financing they need to protect their economies
Related Links: Nigeria Infrastructure Boom Spurred by $1.1-Billion Chinese Investment China Railway Construction Corp. has, through its subsidiary China Civil Engineering Group Co. Ltd., signed an agreement with Nigeria’s transport ministry to build a 1,385-kilometer-long, single-track high-speed railway line with an estimated $13.1 billion price tag.The project is expected to connect 10 Nigerian states with the capital of Lagos, but its exact route has not been disclosed because of concerns of sabotage by rebels, particularly in the oil-rich Niger delta.Also unclear is when construction will start and the mix of workers that will build the line.With at least 22 stations
Photos Courtesy of Uganda Ministry of Energy Sinohydro Corp., which in December launched civil works on the 600-MW project, said it urgently needs skilled personnel to ensure construction is completed by 2018. Related Links: Ugandan Government Removes Chinese Firm From Large Hydro Project China Daily: Power Giants Work on Local Touch The main contractor for the $2-billion Karuma hydropower project in Uganda says the project is facing an acute shortage of suitable electrical engineers and skilled labor to operate the machines.China’s Sinohydro Corp., which in December launched civil works on the 600-MW project, said it urgently needs the skilled personnel
Photo courtesy Wikipedia Commons Ethiopian Cargo, a subsidiary of Ethiopian Airlines, will manage the new cargo terminal being built at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport in Ethiopia. Related Links: Around the World With Caterpillar Chief Doug Oberhelman Ethiopia Aims to Host Africa's Tallest Building Despite recent declines in air cargo activity throughout Africa and forecasts predicting only minimal increases, major airports across the region are launching terminal projects in anticipation of rebounding global economic activity. Developments in Ethiopia, Nigeria, Uganda, Angola and Ghana are among those now moving into construction.In January, Ethiopian Airlines announced it had signed a $148-million turnkey
Strike disruptions on a water project in South Africa, contracted to global infrastructure development firm Aveng Group, will push back the job's completion for yet another three months. Previously, the project was delayed for a year.Aveng Group subsidiary Grinaker LTA has said the labor disruptions related to worker pensions and benefits at the Mokolo Crocodile Water Augmentation Project contributed to a $9-million drop in company profits for the six months that ended last December.The project, which is being implemented by South Africa-owned Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority, entails the phased construction of two main bulk raw-water transfer systems as well as associated