Infrastructure Brief

News and opinion on public works procurement

Water

  • Project Updates|
  • Water

    • European Development Bank Invests €340m in African Infrastructure

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    By Kenneth Mwangi

    The European Investment Bank (EIB) is approving €340 million for water and renewable energy in Africa. The loans are for the construction of sustainable infrastructure in Mali, Chad, Guinea, Malawi and Comoros.

    The European Investment Bank (EIB) funding was announced in the margins of an EU-Africa forum co-organised by the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) and the EIB. The bulk of the funding, €300 million, is for the electricity interconnection between Guinea and Mali. This project is part of the West African Power Pool (WAPP) of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

    Under the EIB-financed project, WAPP will construct a 225 kV double-circuit AC power line, approximately 714 km long, from Sanankoroba in Mali to Nzérékoré in Guinea (via Fomi in Guinea). The project also includes the installation of transformer stations in Siguiri, Fomi, Kankan, Kérouane, Beyla and N’Zérékoré (in Guinea) and Sanankoroba (in Mali).

    The electricity injected into Mali’s national grid is generated from the Souapiti hydroelectric plant, recently commissioned in Guinea. The 550 MW facility operates from a dam built on the Konkoure River by China International Water & Electric Corporation (CWE).

    According to the African Development Bank (AfDB), which is co-financing the electricity interconnection between Guinea and Mali, the aim of the project is to increase the availability of electricity in both countries and strengthen the establishment of the regional electricity market in West Africa, in line with the Master Plan adopted in 2012 by ECOWAS heads of state.

    The EIB is also providing funding for off-grid solar electrification in Chad and Comoros. The funding is for the off-grid provider InnoVent, which is expanding its services in Africa, particularly south of the Sahara. This solution is particularly deployed in Chad to accelerate access to electricity in rural or semi-urban areas.

    Part of the EIB’s funding is dedicated to the provision of drinking water in Malawi. According to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), 4 million people in this East African country do not have access to drinking water. Currently, the efforts of Malawian authorities and development finance institutions are also directed towards hygiene and sanitation. In Malawi, only 6% of the population has access to a sanitation facility. This leads to open defecation, which is a vector for diseases such as cholera.

  • Kenya News|
  • Water

    • Kenya Finances Solar Desalination Systems With Carbon Offsets

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    By Kevin Davids

    The German companies Boreal Light and Atmosfair will work with the Kenyan companies Water Kiosk Ltd and Bilal Sustainable Development Programme to develop 40 solar-powered water desalination systems in several counties in Kenya. The project will require an investment of 435 million Kenyan shillings (over $4 million).

    Several arid and semi-arid areas of Kenya will soon benefit from 1,000 m³ of drinking water per day. Four companies have just joined forces to build 40 solar-powered water desalination systems in several counties of the country. The counties are Wajir, Garissa, Marsabit, Mandera, Mombasa, Naivasha, Turkana, Machakos, Makueni, Kajiado, Narok, Kwale and Taita Taveta. These counties face a shortage of drinking water. Three towns in Tanzania will also benefit from the water desalination project. This is the case of Arusha, Tanga and Dodoma.

    The project will be carried out by the companies Boreal Light, Atmosfair, WaterKiosk and Bilal Sustainable Development Programme. These companies will finance the works to the tune of 435 million Kenyan shillings (over $4 million). “The desalination project in Kenya will be a game-changer in the deployment of sustainable technological solutions for the supply of water to disadvantaged communities in Kenya and the rest of the region. It is a viable but extremely expensive process,” says Hamed Beheshti, CEO of Boreal Light GmbH.

    Financing

    The desalination project will be mainly financed by Atmosfair, a German organisation that offers offsets for greenhouse gases emitted by planes, cruise ships, coaches and events. It will sell the carbon credits generated by the use of the systems. Boreal Light, a German company specialising in renewable energy solutions, will manufacture the water desalination systems. WaterKiosk, a Kenyan foundation committed to fighting water scarcity, will install and operate the desalination systems across Kenya while preparing the extension to Tanzania. Bilal Sustainable Development Programme, a Kenyan organisation in charge of sustainability and local development will oversee the entire project. It will also ensure that the social, legal and sustainability aspects of the project are respected.

    The 40 desalination systems to be built in the counties of Kenya will remove salt and other minerals from water to make it safe to drink and suitable for other uses. Solar-powered drinking water kiosks will be installed to supply the population. The project will also support more than 20 fish farms and the irrigation of 40.47 hectares of plantations. Ultimately, more than 100 permanent jobs will be created for kiosk operators.

  • Tanzania News|
  • Water

    • Tanzania Officials Keen On Mara River Water Allocation Plan

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    By Kevin Davids

    Officials in Tanzania have said the ongoing process to set up water allocation plan for Mara River will consider priority needs of water with involvement of all key stakeholders getting high consideration.

    “The major aim is to involve stakeholders to make the water allocation plan sustainable, and in so doing allocation will consider priority needs,” Mr Diaz Ndomba from Mara Regional Administrative Secretary (RAS) office said recently during the latest stakeholders meeting held in Tarime to deliberate on the Mara River water allocation plan.

    The Assistant Acting Director for Water Department in the Ministry of Water, Ms Rosemary Rwebugisa said the Mara River water allocation plan will help them to establish the quality, quantity and priorities during water allocation.

    “Mara River is one of the six catchments of Lake Victoria, and to us the water allocation plan in Mara River is very essential,” the official said.

    She also said that the exercise must involve stakeholders in order to achieve the expected results.

    On his part, Mr Novatty Kessy from World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) at Tanzania’s Mara River Basin Office said sustainable conservation of Mara River is imperative for both Tanzania and Kenya.

    The Tanzania Mara River basin stakeholder’s workshop was made possible by WWF, which also implements various projects designed to promote conservation activities within the river basin.

    The Mara River starts in the Mau forests on the Kenyan side, and flows through the Masai Mara Game Reserves and Serengeti National Park before emptying into Lake Victoria in Tanzania.

    Apart from supporting wildlife conservation, Mara River is also a source of livelihood to around 1.1 million Tanzanians and Kenyans.

    However, the river is reportedly facing numerous environmental challenges due to increased human activities on both sides (Tanzania and Kenya).

    The challenges include deforestation and intensive farming activities, just to mention a few.

  • Africa|
  • Congo News|
  • Energy|
  • Water

    • DRC Moves To Revive Grand Inga Dam Project

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    By Kevin Davids

    The Democratic Republic of Congo is looking to breathe new life into the Grand Inga Dam project, which is said to be the world’s largest proposed hydroelectric scheme that could produce sufficient energy to power east, central and southern African countries.

    The project on the Congo River could have up to eight separate dams that would produce 43,500MW (4.35GW) of electricity – more than twice the power generation of Three Gorges Dam in China, and over a third of the total electricity currently produced in Africa.

    But since mooted ten years ago, it has faced delay over several issues such as contractors, timelines and funding sources for the $80 billion needed to finance the construction of the dams and the establishment of transmission lines.

    That will be the focus of discussions when leaders from concerned regions meet in a conference next month, which is organized by President Félix Tshisekedi of the DRC and is expected to be attended by delegates from Angola, Kenya, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda. The April 28 meeting in Kinshasa is backed by the African Union while Egyptian head Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and potential investors have been invited to help kick off the project.

    In addition to discussing the feasibility of the Inga Dam project, officials say the move by Tshisekedi is meant to garner regional political support for the mega power project that is seen as the ultimate solution for Africa’s power shortage and green energy.

    DRC hosts the largest concentration of hydropower potential in the world at the Inga Falls, about 150 km from the mouth of the Congo River. With this, the country could provide a significant portion – up to 40 percent – of Africa’s electricity demand but harnessing that potential has not been particularly easy.

    The country presently has two Inga projects that were completed in the 1970s and 1980s respectively. And in late 2018, authorities announced a deal for a Spanish-Chinese consortium to develop the Inga 3 project on the Congo River rapids, which is one of the world’s most powerful and centre to the country’s energy plans.

    But the joint venture idea was resisted last year. Spanish firm ACS withdrew from the possible consortium that included China’s Three Gorges Corp and could have seen $14 billion invested in the third dam with funding from the African Development Bank.“There has been an Inga 3 development agreement for a few years now. But we can go from Inga 1 to Inga 8,” DRC Minister of Water Resources and Energy, Eustache Muhanzi Mubembe, said.

    General Electric has been contracted to renovate the neglected Inga 1 and 2 dams and will be working on Inga 3 after signing an agreement worth $1 billion – the largest U.S. investment in Congo. But the deal with the American firm does not prevent other partners from being part of the project, according to Mubembe.

    “The development agreement remains open. We have had Chinese and Spanish contractors since 2016 on the Inga 3 development agreement. And there are Spanish contractors who have left the agreement. Nobody chased them away. The DRC would like to have everyone in it. Americans, Chinese, Indians, Egyptians…are all welcome,” the minister was quoted as saying by The East African.

    AfDB will be funding the redesign of the Inga 3 dam, Tshisekedi said in a recent State of the Nation address. That would raise the output from the initial 4,800 megawatts to reach 11,000 megawatts or more, and Inga could make DRC “the heart of the world’s clean energy production system,” the President added.

    With AfDB’s permission, the DRC is now inviting bidders while officials are in talks with the regional bank for an agreed date to commence construction. Confirmation is expected in the next few days, Mubembe said.

    A major and recurrent barrier to implementing the hydropower project after many years of conception was the political instability in the DRC. With relative stability now in the country after President Tshisekedi came into power last year, the DRC is moving fast to revive the mega-project that could also help save its endangered forest resources.

  • Africa|
  • Energy|
  • Tenders|
  • Water

    • Angola, Namibia To Launch Tender For Baynes Dam Construction

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    By Kevin Davids

    The governments of Angola and Namibia have signed bilateral agreements for the construction of a cross border Baynes hydroelectric dam. Angolan Minister of Energy and Water H.E. João Baptista Borges made the announcement and said the agreement will enable the launch of a public tender for the selection of a construction firm for the project, in line with the proposed timeline.

    “If we stick to the schedule of the agreement, we can comply with the deadlines, because there is a great interest in this bi-national project,” said Minister João Baptista Borges.

    Construction of the Baynes hydroelectric dam falls within Angola’s Energy 2025 Vision, which centers on creating increased capacity and distribution capabilities, supported by new renewables and private sector investment in new power generation projects. The planned hydroelectric dam will be located on the Cunene River on the border between Angola and Namibia.

    Construction is scheduled to begin in 2021 and a completion date scheduled for 2025. It is estimated to cost US $1.2bn; feasibility studies for the project was already carried out. According to the agreement, of the 600 MW to be produced by the plant, 300 MW will be directed to Angola and Namibia, respectively.

    Namibia has enormous potential for solar energy production. The country is the driest on the African continent, with 300 days of sunshine per year. The country is aiming for 70% of its installed electricity capacity to come from renewable sources by 2030. Angola on the other hand has only 14MW of non-hydro clean energy generation capacity, all of it off-grid. The country renewable energy plan is targeting 800MW of capacity, including wind and biomass.

  • Energy|
  • Featured|
  • Project Updates|
  • Water

    • Uganda Increases Threshold For Electricity Export

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    By Peter Orengo

    Uganda’s electricity export receipts increased by 13 per cent in the period ending January 2020, according to data from Bank of Uganda.

    Uganda exports its electricity to Kenya, Tanzania and parts of eastern DR Congo.

    According to a Bank of Uganda report released early this month, in the period between January 2019 and January 2020, Uganda exported about 320,372 megawatts of electricity, which earned the country Shs$46m (Shs170b).

    This was an improvement in the same period the previous year in which 228,808 megawatts worth $40m (Shs148b) were exported.

    Ms Pamela Nalwanga Byoruganda, the Uganda Electricity Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) public relations officer, at the weekend told Daily Monitor the increase in export earnings and volumes had been occasioned by “an increase in on the availability of generated power.

    Uganda’s current installed electricity capacity stands at 1,252.4 megawatts. However consumption stands at slightly above 650 megawatts during peak hours, which creates a surplus of half of what is generated.
    At least by the end of 2020, Uganda’s generation capacity is expected to grow to 1,681 megawatts.

    As of April 2019, national generation capacity was 1,177 megawatts.
    Much of the surplus is exported to Kenya, Tanzania, South Sudan and DR Congo through UETCL.

    UETCL is in charge of bulk electricity supplies for both the local and export markets.

    In October last year, Kenya indicated it had increased its power imports from Uganda due to a reduction in tariffs from Shs787.3 to Shs501 per unit. Kenya’s Energy Cabinet Secretary Charles Keter said at the time the sharp growth in electricity imports from Uganda had been informed by a tariff reduction of about 50 per cent.

    The Muhoroni generator which largely supplies the region is Shs1,252.6 per unit compared to Uganda’s which was Shs787.3 per unit before June and is now Shs501 per unit,” he said.

    Mr Keter also revealed that the tariff is expected to reduce further to Shs357.8 at the end of October, adding that this, being hydro power: “Gives us [Kenya] a lot of stability in the region even as demand continues to rise.”

    Step in the right direction

    According to Mr Ramathan Ggoobi, a Makerere University Business School lecturer and an economist, the increase in electricity exports is good, “although some Ugandans would not want to see the country export electricity when they don’t see enough transmitted to them.”

    Mr Ggoobi also notes that the export sector is still weak, therefore, if there is anything that brings in some dollars, it must be supported, highlighting that most of the electricity is a result of long-term agreements that Uganda signed with its neighbours. However, he notes, UETCL must strategically use the resources earned to make electricity cheaper.

  • Africa|
  • Public Spaces|
  • Uganda News|
  • Water

    • Jinja Opens Spill Gates To Control Rising Water Levels

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    By Peter Orengo

    Authorities in Jinja have opened spill gates to control rising water levels at Kiira and Nalubale dams.

    The exercise, which commenced on February 28, involves releasing water from the lake.

    The operations manager for Eskom Uganda Ltd (EUL), Mr Peter Tentena, on Sunday said the directorate of water resources and management in the Ministry of Water and Environment permitted them to spill the water at the dams.

    Mr Tentena said they started the exercise at Nalubaale dam (old dam) but they were further authorised to do the same at Kiira dam.

    “The main objective is to control water levels which has been rising. We shall spill the water for about seven days as we study the impact on the lake and people,” he said.

    Mr Tentena said their target is to release 256 cubic metres of water per second.

    “Since we started the exercise, we have been releasing 156 cubic metres of water. Average flow is about 256 cubic metres per second,” he said.

    Data from EUL indicates that each of the three spill way gates at Kiira dam is able to release 500 cubic metres per second at maximum.

    Mr Tentena said the increasing water levels is usually driven by rainfall received in the lake.

    The managing director of EUL, Ms Thozama Gangi, said the spill gates were designed to control flooding.

    “Currently, there is no threat to the plant. When water levels are increasing, we can open them so that we make sure operations continue because we don’t want water to go above the dam,” she said. Ms Thozama said the same incident happened 50 years ago.

    The acting board chairperson of Uganda Electricity Generation Company Ltd, Dr Peter Kimbowa, said the process will not affect residents and other activities.

    “There are ways to treat that overflow without causing any problem to the generation system, generation output, environment, and the eco-system,” he said.

    According to the press statement from EUL, water levels in the lake have been rising since October 2019.

  • Energy|
  • Featured|
  • Uganda News|
  • Water

    • Security Concerns Forces Uganda To Adjust Construction Plans For Isimba Dam

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    By Peter Orengo

    Security fears have forced Uganda to adjust construction plans of the Isimba hydropower Dam which was commissioned on March 21, 2019.

    The project is expected to generate 183MW of electricity when completed.

    Isimba hydropower dam was meant to link Kayunga and Kamuli districts, but construction stalled leading to the speaker of parliament Rebecca Kadaga to raise concern.

    The speaker alleged that the Shs 24 billion allocated for the bridge was swindled by top government officials.

    But now, government says after evaluation, they noted that a bridge atop the dam poses security and terrorism concerns, the reason the construction was altered to downstream.

    Xia Nenghai, the project manager of China International Water and Electrical Company Ltd, the contractor said it is indeed true the bridge was altered for security reasons. He says government raised reports of security concern at a time when the bridge was already complete.

    He says although this was not a fault on their part, they will have to bear the cost of the new bridge. Nenghai says, unfortunately, they are supposed to use part of the $567 million to construct the bridge. According to Nenghai, other factors such as maintenance of the dam would also require the bridge to be closed.

    Meanwhile, a statement from the minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Mary Kitutu addressed to parliament indicates that based on the technical committee engagements, government directed the contractor to construct a separate public access bridge with two lanes as specified in the contract since the construction of the lsimba dam had advanced.

    She says further consideration was given to security and terrorism concerns, avoidance of interference with dam operation and maintenance activities as well as traffic blockage during removal of the trash and water hyacinth.

    The committee was composed of representatives from Uganda Electricity Generation Company Limited, solicitor general, Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) and ministry of Energy and Mineral Development.

    Kitutu says that this led to the shifting of the bridge downstream were a better and more secure bridge is being established. She also says the contractor had constructed a single lane on the bridge atop the dam which was not feasible.

    “ln the approved design, the lsimba public access bridge consists of two sections joined at Koova island. The section on the left river channel is 433 meters, while the section on the right river channel is 457 meters. The road section on Koova island is 301 meters,” Kitutu says in a statement.

    Kitutu also says that efforts are being undertaken to ensure that the contractor has sufficient cash flow to continue and complete construction by 31st December 2020 as per the provisions of the contract.

  • Public Spaces|
  • Tanzania News|
  • Water

    • Heavy Rain Leave A Trail Of Destruction On Tanzania Roads

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    By Peter Orengo

    Roads in Tanzania will need a major facelifts after heavy rainfall damaged major networks in the country.

    As with its other East African neighbours such as Kenya and Uganda, Tanzania has suffered heavily from flooding.

    The Tanzanian Government has provided a budget worth close to US$11 million to tackle damage to roads caused by the recent flooding in various parts of the country. However, some believe more funds will be required to repair the damage.

    Heavy rain started in late 2019 and a number of towns became inaccessible due to flooding. The road from Kahama to Mwanza has been affected, so that drivers now have to take a different route involving a long detour.

    A 148km section of the Kahama-Mwananga Highway has suffered extensive damage from the flooding. Climate change has delivered a different weather pattern for most of Africa.

  • Congo News|
  • Featured|
  • Water

    • Inga Dam In DRC Could Be Africa’s Answer To Electricity Crisis

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    By Peter Orengo

    Most African nations are faced with an electricity crisis where by national supply has recorded deficits in recent years.

    Focus is now shifting to the Inga Dam, a massive water reservoir in the Democratic Republic of Congo, that could power most of the continent’s hydro-electricity supply.

    Power Africa, an initiative of the United States government, aims to create 60 million connections for first-time users and generate 30,000 megawatts (MW) by 2030.

    Since its launch in 2013, the initiative has enabled some 15 million new connections providing first-time electricity access to 68 million homes and businesses.

    The problem, however, remains huge with close to 600 million people not having access to electricity. Lack of electricity or chronic under-supply of secure and affordable electricity is a barrier to growth, job creation and poverty reduction. This is a problem.

    Should the Grand Inga Dam in the Democratic Republic of Congo be complete, it would meet the 30,000 MW target at one go, and much sooner.

    The dam is designed to exploit up to 40,000 MW of electricity from the Congo River. This would be more than enough to cater for the current deficit.

    This, however, is unlikely. At the moment, the development of the dam is experiencing a tumble of different opinions. While the current plan was to develop generating 11,050 MW under Inga Dam III project, DRC President Félix Tshisekedi has expressed a preference for a smaller 4,800 MW plant.

    It is true that feasibility studies for the smaller plant were financed by the African Development Bank in 2013, but concern has been expressed about the smaller plant. This has created confusion about the overall status of Inga III and not least the Grand Inga Dam.

    To put the Inga dam aside for a moment, Africa as a whole has a huge potential for hydropower power generation estimated at 350 GW, more than ten times the Power Africa target.

    But tapping this power is not viable. There are a couple of practical challenges cited by researchers. The increasing public opposition to hydropower is one of the challenges, particularly due to the environmental and social impact of large and mega-dams.

    Hydropower dams may require flooding large land areas, potentially displacing communities and reducing temporarily the flow of water available for other uses downstream, such as agriculture.

    The other challenge is the adverse impact of climate change and rainfall variability on hydropower generation. Several African countries are already experiencing severe power disruption as a result of low water levels in lakes and reservoirs — Kenya for example, before the current rains.

    Technology may step in. Renewable sources of energy ate now viable as their cost has drastically fallen. Their potential could not only complement the hydropower already in use but far surpasses it making doubtful whether the Inga dam is worth looking up to.

    Solar energy, for instance, has potential for 1000 GW, more than 30 times the Power Africa target of 30 GW. It is also well distributed across Africa. However, so far, less than 1 GW is being utilised, this is including planned installations.

    In 2018 in Rwanda, solar power installation was 12 MW and growing. It is one of the countries including Ethiopia, Morocco and Kenya that have been attracting large investments in renewable energy.

    Wind energy with potential for 110 GW is less well distributed. In East Africa, the best wind quality can be found in the horn of Africa and along the Great Rift Valley in Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania.

    The potential for solar energy has been receiving a lot of attention and promises much.

    According to one World Economic Forum (WEF) analysis, distributed renewable energy in Africa – which includes mini-grids and solar infrastructure for households, businesses, and productive purposes like irrigation – already directly employs as many workers as traditional power utilities.

    Another of its analysis explains that for every job created directly by a private firm delivering electricity to rural communities via decentralized renewables, five “productive use” jobs (based on the application of a distributed renewable-energy product or service) may be created in the communities being electrified.

    Some of these jobs are in solar-powered milling, dairy processing, or cold chain storage facilities. Gains have been made that African governments should accelerate.

    The two major emerging economies, China and India, are leading in the global renewable energy transition, particularly in wind and solar development which presents an opportunity on how it can be accelerated through south-south cooperation and trade.

    The cooperation, observes one researcher, should bring higher availability and affordability of equipment as well as accumulated experience in renewable energy policy and business in the context of developing energy markets.

    In the meantime, Rwanda’s Ministry of Infrastructure is mobilising $1.5 billion to connect all 3.8 million households to electricity by 2024. So far, 1.4 million households have been connected.