Construction | Infrastructure

https://www.engineeringnews.co.za

Advertise on this page? Click Here to Learn More

Infrastructure News

Delay gas procurement until policy reflects big cost and emission shifts – study

By: Terence Creamer 20th June 2022 Before moving ahead with the procurement of gas-fired generation, South Africa should update both its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for electricity and its Gas Master Plan to reflect prevailing renewables and battery costs, as well as the country’s carbon constraints, a new Meridian Economics... →

Schneider targets more licence agreements to accelerate localisation in South Africa

By: Terence Creamer 20th June 2022 Energy management and automation multinational Schneider Electric is planning to partner with more South African manufacturers as part of a strategy geared towards accelerating the expansion of its domestic market presence, while increasing local content. Global CFO Hilary Maxson told Engineering... →

Schneider Electric CFO Hilary Maxson

Eskom has 32 GW of grid capacity, but not where most renewables investors want it

By: Terence Creamer 17th June 2022 Eskom acknowledges that transmission constraints remain an obstacle to the introduction of new renewables generation, but the utility also highlights that 32 GW of grid capacity is immediately available to those independent power producers (IPPs) willing to build projects outside of the country’s... →

Photo by Creamer Media
Eskom power lines

R40m earmarked to help curb, prevent electricity vandalism in Cape Town

By: Yvonne Silaule 14th June 2022 The City of Cape Town is investing R40-million to curb and prevent vandalism of electricity infrastructure in the province. The funds were set aside as part of the city's approved 2022/23 budget. In a media release on Monday, the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Councillor Beverley van... →

Aveng in advanced negotiations to dispose of Trident Steel

By: Donna Slater 13th June 2022 Infrastructure and contract mining group Aveng is in advanced-stage negotiations with a credible buyer for its Trident Steel business – a division of Aveng Africa – as a going concern. The disposal of Trident Steel is in line with Aveng’s 2018 strategy of disposing assets which are deemed... →

New report outlines strategy for ending load-shedding by early 2024, but delivery hinges on ‘substantial political will’

By: Terence Creamer 13th June 2022 A comprehensive strategy for drastically reducing, or even eliminating, the scourge of rotational power cuts in South Africa by early 2024 has been outlined in a new public-interest report published by Meridian Economics. The authors warn, however, that load-shedding is poised to rise to extreme... →

Nedbank CIB facilitates R10bn loan to realise Harmony’s renewable energy goal

By: Donna Slater 10th June 2022 Nedbank, acting through its corporate and investment banking (CIB) division, has coordinated and structured an innovative financing solution for Harmony Gold to enable the miner to refinance and upsize its key corporate debt facilities through a R10-billion package. JSE-listed Harmony formally... →

OpenSpace launches ‘Google Street View’ for construction projects

By: Irma Venter 10th June 2022 Stellenbosch-based Agile Business Technology (ABT) has partnered with US group OpenSpace to launch its 360° capture and artificial intelligence (AI) platform for construction projects in South Africa. By using the 360° images generated in OpenSpace to document an evolving jobsite, teams can... →

Jaco Barnard

S African coatings event well attended

By: Halima Frost 10th June 2022 This year’s Coatings for Africa 2022 conference, organised by global events organiser DMG Events, was held at the Sandton Convention Centre, in Gauteng, from May 4 to 6. The event was hosted by multinational coatings industry representatives The Coatings Group and supported by industry bodies... →

A man standing at a podium speaking on the topic of coatings and paint development at teh Coatings for Africa 2022 expo held in Sandton last month

HOT TOPIC The Coatings for Africa event was held in Sandton last month after a four year haitus

Route of Phase 1 of proposed Gautrain extension published

By: Irma Venter 10th June 2022 Gauteng Public Transport and Roads Infrastructure MEC Jacob Mamabolo has made public the preferred route for Phase 1 of the proposed expansion of the 80-km Gautrain system, in what is called the Gauteng Rapid Rail Integrated Network (GRRIN) project. This route has been published in the Gauteng... →

Ramaphosa outlines six steps to tackle electricity deficit in disrupted Budget Vote speech

By: Terence Creamer 9th June 2022 President Cyril Ramaphosa outlined six steps for addressing the country’s electricity shortfall in a Budget Vote speech that was delayed and disrupted by opposition Members of Parliament who objected to the address from proceeding in light of a criminal complaint having been lodged against... →

President Cyril Ramaphosa

Eskom completes 80% of boiler defect rectification work for Medupi and Kusile

By: Donna Slater 9th June 2022 State-owned power utility Eskom’s actions to rectify major boiler defects at its newly-built Medupi and Kusile power stations is improving the plants’ energy availability factor (EAF), in some cases almost doubling it from when the first boiler’s fires were lit. The major boiler defects relate... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Donna Slater
A turbine and generator unit at the Kusile power station

At least 50% of Lanseria smart city’s housing will need to be subsidised

By: Darren Parker 9th June 2022 At least 50% of the housing planned for the Lanseria smart city initiative will need to be subsidised or cross subsidised to maximise inclusion, Gauteng Department of Economic Development deputy DG Jak Koseff said at the African Smart City Summit, in Midrand, on June 8. He said the development of... →

Lanseria smart city plans

Here’s one idea for ending load-shedding within two years

By: Terence Creamer 9th June 2022 As Eskom consults a range of experts to assess potential solutions for resolving the load-shedding crisis, independent energy analyst Clyde Mallinson has a proposal that he believes will end rotational power cuts in two years without creating stranded assets or increasing tariffs. The proposed... →

Independent energy analyst Clyde Mallinson

De Lille welcomes European Investment Bank cash injection into Biovac

By: Sane Dhlamini 8th June 2022 Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Patricia de Lille has welcomed the European Investment Bank’s (EIB’s) injection of €175-million to South Africa’s specialist human vaccine manufacturer Biovac. The pledge is in close cooperation with the European Union’s (EU’s) injection of €175-million... →

Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Patricia de Lille

Refurbished Saldanha Bay harbour development to benefit local economy, communities – De Lille

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 7th June 2022 “Today marks a historic day as we bring the major refurbishment programme to the 13 Proclaimed Fishing Harbours (PFHs) in the Western Cape to the value of over [R500-million] to culmination,” Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia de Lille said in a statement on June 7. De Lille and... →

No final decision yet for Eskom’s Thyspunt licence application, says NNR

By: Donna Slater 7th June 2022 A final decision into Eskom’s nuclear installation site licence (NISL) for its proposed Thyspunt nuclear power station cannot be made, owing to “information gaps and outdated data” relating to the application under consideration by the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR). Eskom submitted the... →

New coal ‘inconsistent’ with spirit of $8.5bn climate partnership, US Treasury warns

By: Terence Creamer 7th June 2022 Any public steps by South Africa that were suggestive of new coal having a place in the country’s future energy mix would be inconsistent with the intentions of the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JET-P) signed at COP26 in November, US Treasury climate counselor John Morton has cautioned. The... →

KZN government aims to maintain good quality infrastructure

By: Yvonne Silaule 6th June 2022 The KwaZulu-Natal government is committed to maintaining infrastructure and ensuring that people living in rural areas and suburbs receive the same standard of service delivery. Premier Sihle Zikalala made the announcement in uMbhumbhulu, on June 6, as part of the launch of a R187-million... →

Nersa registers 16 more distributed projects to add 211 MW

By: Terence Creamer 6th June 2022 The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has approved the registration of a further 16 distributed generation projects with a combined capacity of 211 MW and a collective investment value of R3.65-bilion. The approvals were made during a regulator executive committee meeting on June... →

Lamola proposes whole of society approach to combat crime, inequality in South Africa

By: Schalk Burger 6th June 2022 Through the compact between business, labour, civil society and government, South Africa is able to, and must, respond with collective hands to confront the challenges it faces, Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola said on June 3. "It is the responsibility of all of us, in... →

Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola

National rail policy to support local industry, manufacturing

By: Schalk Burger 3rd June 2022 The National Rail Policy White Paper has a deliberate bias towards local manufacturing to ensure industrialisation and the local production of steel, railway lines, rolling stock and supplies, and the State and private sector operators should procure all supplies from South African manufacturers,... →

Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula

Tech company commissioned to run upgrades in UAE

3rd June 2022 Global technology company ABB has installed ABB Ability System 800xA, called the market-leading distributed control system (DCS) automation platform, to upgrade three grinding units at Star Super Cement in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), →

Cancelled Sanral contracts to be readvertised, awards expected by end of September

By: Irma Venter 3rd June 2022 The board of the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) has instructed Sanral management to readvertise and award the R17.47-billion in tenders the board cancelled last month, citing “material irregularities”, within the next four months, Speaking at a media conference in Centurion... →

Company performs complex breakdown repair on rotor

3rd June 2022 Electro-mechanical services and repairs company Marthinusen & Coutts (M&C) recently performed comprehensive repairs to the rotor of an aging 30 MW generator which had failed during operation at JSE-listed forest group Sappi’s Saiccor pulp mill in Umkomaas, KwaZulu-Natal. →

MECHANICAL REBUILD Generator rotor undergoing dimensional checks in M&C mechanical rebuild

Coca-Cola Beverages Africa opens new $100m Ethiopia bottling plant

By: Schalk Burger 2nd June 2022 Beverages multinational Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) says its new $100-million bottling plant at Sebeta, in Ethiopia, will unlock export opportunities, increase local production and ease foreign exchange constraints. The company also added 500 employees to its workforce in the country. →

Solar-battery hybrids worth R16bn only projects to cross ‘emergency procurement’ finishing line

By: Terence Creamer 2nd June 2022 The South Africa government and Eskom have signed agreements with three of the 11 projects named as preferred bidders in March 2021 under the much-delayed Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP). The 20-year power purchase agreements (PPAs) and associated... →

Scatec CEO Terje Pilskog

Saice launches jobs portal after pandemic impacts civil engineering market

By: Donna Slater 2nd June 2022 The South African Institute of Civil Engineering (Saice) launched an online platform for employment- and mentorship-seeking members, called Saice Connect, on June 1. The portal is aimed at assisting corporates with recruiting personnel for vacant positions and with finding Saice members... →

Kusile Unit 4 enters commercial operation, two more units to go

By: Terence Creamer 1st June 2022 Eskom has announced that Kusile Unit 4, in eMalahleni, Mpumalanga, has entered into commercial operation, adding some 800 MW of much-needed generation capacity to South Africa’s load-shedding-prone electricity system. The unit is the fourth of six units to enter commercial operation at the... →

Photo by Supplied
The Kusile power station project

Feasibility study of Namibia’s gigawatt-scale green hydrogen project to start this year

By: Terence Creamer 1st June 2022 The preferred bidder for a gigawatt-scale green hydrogen-to-ammonia project near the coastal town of Lüderitz, in Namibia, is aiming to conclude an implementation agreement with government by August, opening the way for a full-scale feasibility study to enable the implementation of the... →

Photo by Supplied
Artist impression of the Hyphen electrolyser facilities proposed for development near Lüderitz, in Namibia

Zutari associate appointed South African chair for global technical institute

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 31st May 2022 The International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE) has appointed engineering consultant company Zutari associate Professor Pierre van der Spuy as its new national group chairperson for South Africa. “Having South African representation on a global technical committee is... →

Zutari associate Professor Pierre van der Spuy

Aecom to consult on Uganda-DRC Power Interconnection Line project

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 31st May 2022 Infrastructure consulting firm Aecom has been awarded a contract to provide consulting services for the Uganda-Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Power Interconnection Line project. This work was awarded by the Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Program Coordination Unit on behalf of the... →

Joseph Salim

Contracts for ‘emergency’ power procurement programme to be signed on June 2

By: Terence Creamer 31st May 2022 Power purchase agreements arising from the much-delayed Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme will be signed on June 2, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy revealed on Tuesday. The DMRE did not indicate whether all 11 projects would be signed, saying only... →

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe.

NPC and Operation Vulindlela to work together on reform agenda

By: Terence Creamer 31st May 2022 The National Planning Commission (NPC) and Operation Vulindlela have announced that they intend working together to support the implementation of the structural reforms identified as a constraint to higher levels of growth and job creation. The two entities met on May 26, where Operation... →

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana says efforts will be redoubled to ensure that the reforms facing implementation challenges access the support they need to progress

CDC, Orion Engineered Carbons celebrate sod turning festival at Coega SEZ

By: Darren Parker 30th May 2022 The Coega Development Corporation (CDC) has jointly hosted a sod-turning ceremony with new global investor Orion Engineered Carbons (OEC) to demonstrate the success of the CDC’s 9 003 ha Coega special economic zone (SEZ) in the Eastern Cape as a preferred investment destination in Africa. OEC... →

OEC CE Corning Painter

Key infrastructure projects hit by delays

By: Bloomberg 30th May 2022 Almost a quarter of South Africa’s R340-billion worth of strategic infrastructure projects have been delayed or put on hold, according to Standard Bank Group. The government in Africa’s most-industrialised economy has officially announced 62 energy, water, sanitation and other projects, known as... →

Power sector’s gas demand ‘insufficient’ to act as anchor in South Africa

By: Terence Creamer 27th May 2022 There is insufficient demand for gas in the power sector to “anchor” demand for the fuel in the broader South African energy sector, as gas will have only a limited peaking support role in a system transitioning from coal to renewables, analysis by Meridian Economics shows. Presented by... →

LNG storage

About

Engineering News is a product of Creamer Media.
www.creamermedia.co.za

Other Creamer Media Products include:
Mining Weekly
Research Channel Africa
Polity

Newsletters

Sign up for our FREE daily email newsletter

Receive daily sector news alerts

More

Subscriptions

We offer a variety of subscriptions to our Magazine, Website, PDF Reports and our photo library.

Subscriptions are available via the Creamer Media Store.

View store

Advertise

Advertising on Engineering News is an effective way to build and consolidate a company's profile among clients and prospective clients. Email advertising@creamermedia.co.za

View options

Subscribe