Mozambique says Brazil firm signs agreement on $3bn dam

August 5, 2008

Mozambique's government said on Monday a Brazilian firm had signed a memorandum of understanding to invest $3,2-billion in a new dam that would provide energy to southern Africa.

Mozambique's Planning and Development Minister Aiuba Quereneia said private engineering and construction firm Camargo Correia would build and possibly operate the dam in northern Mozambique's Tete province. But the company still needed to find funding for the project, he said.

"We would want the building of the dam to begin at least by July next year as part of our strategy to secure Mozambique and the region´s energy needs," he said, adding he expected a final contract to be signed shortly.

The dam would have production capacity of 1 500 MW of electricity, about 1 000 MW of which will be exported to countries in southern Africa, including South Africa, the continent's biggest economy.

It will lie 60 km from Mozambique's major dam, the Cahora Bassa Hydroelectric (HCB) plant, which produces 2 075 MW of electricity and sells most of it to South Africa and Zimbabwe.

The government has invited foreign investors to build hydropower projects in 100 locations with a total estimated hydroelectric potential of up to 14 000 MW.

Mozambique hopes the new plant will be finished in 2013.

$47m package approved for big Malawi water programme

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a $47,5-million financial package for the implementation of the second phase of Malawi's multimillion-dollar national water development programme.

The continenal lender says that the package includes a $24,658-million loan and a $17,387-million grant from its African Development Fund and another grant of €3,520-million from its Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative Trust Fund.

"The AfDB has made available the funds to complement the Malawi government's efforts to achieve sustainable development and poverty reduction," says the bank.

It says the funds will finance three components of the national water development programme, which include rural water supply and sanitation, water resource management, capacity building and programme management.

"For the rural areas, this translates into improved water supply and sanitation for 4,45-million people . . . the bank financing will serve 1,21-million of these people."

The national water development programme is aimed at improving water supply services in all areas of Malawi, but the AfDB will focus on four districts, namely Malanje, Zomba and Machinga in the southern region of the Southern African country, and Lilongwe, in the central region.

The other component of the programme, the urban water supply project, involves the rehabilitation and extension of water supply systems in the major cities of Blantyre and Lilongwe and in other urban centres.

In Blantyre, funds are being pumped into projects to increase the pumping and treatment capacity and to expand off-peak water storage and distribution.

In Lilongwe, the programme is focused on the construction of a substitute pipeline, the procurement of customer meters and network expansion.

The World Bank is the lead financier for the second phase of the national water development programme, with the other financiers being the European Union and the government of the Netherlands.

The programme has a duration of five year project that is meant to ensure that a total of 500,000 people have new or improved water supply services, 4,040 connections are rehabilitated, 1,700 new community water points are established, 3,700 new water connections are installed, and about 2, 25-million people have improved sanitation.

Through the programme, Malawi aims at having over 80% coverage for improved water supply and sanitation by 2015.

Malawi has already implemented the first phase of the national water development programme at a cost of $850-million, which was sourced from the World Bank and other financiers.

Grinaker-LTA to complete building works of Heineken's SA brewery by June '09

The construction of international brewer Heineken’s first South African brewery would be accelerated, building contractor Grinaker-LTA said on Thursday.

The company, which formed part of the JSE-listed Aveng group, has been awarded the R549-million contract to build the brewery South East of Johannesburg.

Grinaker-LTA contracts director Richard Amm said in a media statement that it was working on a “fast-track construction programme” and that the new brewery would be completed by June next year.

Amm said that Grinaker-LTA’s building and civil engineering business units were undertaking the project in a 50:50 joint venture.

“The programme is very tight as process contractors are required to be given access to each building and sections of each building on sectional completion dates,” he stated.

The brewery would comprise production buildings and cool cellars, as well as a bottling and distribution warehouse for Heineken SupplyCo, the brewing and distribution company for beer brand Amstel.

Amm noted that Grinaker-LTA would be using local labour wherever possible, and a community liaison officer would be employed to help source workers from the surrounding areas.

SA to assume SADC chair

August 10 2008

SA President Thabo Mbeki will assume the chair of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) next weekend, the department of foreign affairs said on Sunday.

The department said SA will assume the chairmanship when it hosts the ordinary SADC Heads of State and Government Summit in Sandton, Gauteng next Saturday and Sunday.

The aim of the summit is to strengthen regional political and economic integration and development.

The summit will discuss political developments in the region, food security and the financing and construction of the new SADC headquarters.

Next Sunday, SADC will launch the Free Trade Area (FTA) of the Community.

The FTA will formalise the elimination of trade tariffs amongst SADC members, and enhance regional economic integration and the growth of bigger regional markets.

Preceding the summit, a SADC Council of Ministers meeting will take place on Thursday and Friday.

Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma will lead the South African delegation.

African economies collectively world’s fifth largest

6 August 2008

The aggregate of the combined economies of the 53 countries in Africa collectively represented the fifth largest economy of the world, Ernst & Young Ethiopia managing partner Zemedeneh Negatu told a surprised Africa Investor Summit in Johannesburg on Wednesday.

Negatu added that, excluding Africa’s ten largest economies, the combined gross domestic products of the remaining countries collectively still represented the tenth largest economy in the world.

He told the initial public offering (IPO) summit that the challenge currently was to ensure that Africa obtained its fair share of positive global comment and sought ways of increasing growth through stock market listings.

“In the nine years or so I have been working in Africa, I have never been more bullish than I am right now,” said Negatu.

Speaking on the same podium, Johannesburg Stock Exchange GM Noah Greenhill said that each jurisdiction in Africa could either go it alone, or opt for collaboration, which held out far greater benefit for Africa as a whole.

“I think that Africa is the land of opportunity at this moment in time. If we stand together, we can go forward and conquer,” Greenhill said.

Africa Investor vice chairperson Hubert Danso, the organiser of the IPO summit, said that record volumes of private capital were flowing into Africa.

He said that investors were being attracted by the strongest African growth in decades as well as the potential for higher yields than could be obtained in developed markets.

Addressing the state of Africa’s equity markets, Danso said there was a need to adopt a new way of approaching opportunities collectively with the stock exchanges and the investment banking community working together innovatively.

While the market capitalisation of African stock markets had reached a record $870-billion earlier this year, African stock exchanges needed to do far more to position themselves for greater liquidity and growth through the facilitation of IPOs.