Новости за 02.06.2021

The Lesotho Highlands Development Authority (LHDA) has awarded Zutari Lesotho the professional services contract for the development of the master plan for feeder roads and bridges related to the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) Phase II. Work on the contract is valued at about M13-million and is slated to start this month.

One of global diversified natural resource company Glencore’s affiliates has signed a heads of agreement with Russia-based gas producer Novatek Gas and Power for the long-term supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Arctic LNG 2 project. The agreement establishes the key commercial terms for the long-term supply in excess of 500 000 t/y of LNG.

After a decrease to 64% in the fourth quarter of 2020, the business confidence level among small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) owners that their business will grow in the next 12 months increased to 65% in the first quarter of this year, SME specialist risk finance company Business Partners COO Mark Paper reports. In addition to this positive indicator, recent reports suggest that local SMEs are now prioritising the rebuilding of their operations to return to pre-Covid-19 levels.

Digital solutions provider Liquid Intelligent Technologies (LIT) has deployed 100 000 km of fibre infrastructure across most of Africa in a milestone that makes it the largest independent fibre network provider in emerging markets globally. Over the past two decades, the company which evolved from a satellite firm into the largest fibre network company across Africa has connected South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia, and has moved into East and West Africa.

International food producer Marquis Macadamias, formerly known as Global Macadamia before a rebrand exercise, has built a new curing and processing facility in the Alkmaar region of Mpumalanga. It is considered one of the largest macadamia processing facilities globally and, at a local level, it has the potential to provide a much-needed economic boost to the area by catalysing new opportunities for local businesses, the company states.

The Paper Manufacturers Association of South Africa (Pamsa) Masters of Engineering (MEng) bursary programme is now open for applications for the 2022/23 intake. Applications can be submitted via Pamsa’s website by June 30.

The Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa (IITPSA) has welcomed plans by the South African Revenue Service (Sars) to use big data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) to improve revenue collection and locate tax evaders. IITPSA board member Moira de Roche welcomed the move, stating that it “should have been done years ago”, considering that the more efficiently Sars collects tax that is due, “the better off we will be as a country”.

Price hotness is pervading the commodities market, CRU senior analyst Clare Hanna said on Tuesday, when she addressed the second and final day of the Junior Indaba. Speaking on ‘what’s hot and what’s not’, Hanna said almost all commodities were at the higher-than-15% level. (Also watch attached Creamer Media video.)

New-vehicle sales are continuing to outpace forecasts as the South African automotive industry recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic, says the National Automobile Dealers’ Association (NADA).  According to Naamsa | the Automotive Business Council, 38 337 new vehicles were sold in the domestic market during May. This is up 197.8% compared with the same month last year, while also representing 7.6% growth over April sales.

Tshwane Automotive Special Economic Zone (TASEZ) chairperson Lionel October says he is satisfied with the progress made on the construction of the roughly R8-billion project.  October visited the TASEZ site, located next to the Ford Ranger assembly plant in Silverton, with a team of officials from the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) and the Gauteng government.

On behalf of the German government, the German development bank KfW has initiated a programme of up to €200-million in size to support the establishment of green hydrogen projects in South Africa and it intends releasing a formal request for information (RFI) by the end of June. The funding, which is in the form of concessional loan finance, must be disbursed by December 2023 and KfW has appointed the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Meridian Economics to help it identify... Читать дальше...

Rand Water and Johannesburg Water are reviewing short to medium-term interventions to deal with the current challenges plaguing the Hursthill water system. The system supplies high lying areas that have historically been vulnerable to fluctuating bulk water supply during high demand seasons. Over the past years, the bulk supply system has also been under severe pressure owing to the increased water demand.

State-owned power utility Eskom has declared a dispute over wages with labour unions after the two sides failed to reach an agreement on pay increases, its spokesperson said on Wednesday. Eskom said it made a final offer of 1.5% increase in the basic salary, which unions rejected.

Two solar photovoltaic (PV) plants, with a combined capacity of 60 MW and located in Kael and Kahone, in Western Senegal, launched operations in May. The plants were financed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the European Investment Bank and French development finance institution Proparco, under the World Bank Group's Scaling Solar programme.

Botswana, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Guinea, Mozambique and Zimbabwe have registered as gateway countries with freight loyalty programme World Logistics Passport (WLP). This is expected to reduce supply chain costs and improve speed to market for exports and imports from these countries, WLP CEO Mike Bhaskaran said on June 2.

Original-equipment manufacturer Michelin has presented its two latest solutions to making transportation more efficient, while conserving resources, at the 2021 Movin’On global sustainable mobility summit. The first of the solutions, the Wisamo project, will help to decarbonise maritime shipping. It involves an automated, telescopic and inflatable wing system that can be fitted on merchant ships and pleasure craft.

Gift of the Givers will be drilling for water at Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital in Coronationville following water delivery disruptions in Johannesburg. In the last week, there have been water outages across the City of Johannesburg because of below optimum inflow of water into the system and a power failure at the Eikenhof substation. Residents, as well as several hospitals, have been affected.

Companies in South Africa should consider investing in alternative energy solutions to minimise business interruptions while managing the cost of electricity, especially given the country’s challenges with load-shedding, which negatively impacts on businesses, FNB Business Alternative Energy Solutions head Kyle Durham tells Engineering News. Durham says load-shedding, increasing energy costs and climate change are the three drivers behind South African businesses pursuit of cost-effective, renewable energy solutions.

The Competition Commission has prohibited private equity investment fund ECP Africa's proposed acquisition of Burger King South Africa and Grand Foods Meat Plant from Grand Parade Investments (GPI), stating that the merger would lead to a significant reduction in the shareholding of historically disadvantaged persons (HDPs) in the target firm, from more than 68% to 0%. Grand Foods Meat Plant primarily supplies Burger King South Africa with burger patties.

South Africa said a legal challenge to its award of a power supply contract worth an estimated R218-billion by DNG Energy was “without merit” and “self serving.” In his answering affidavit to DNG’s demand to be named as a preferred bidder in an emergency power round, the head of the country’s Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme Office said DNG’s bids were disqualified because they were inadequate.

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has announced the appointment of three additional preferred bidder projects under the 2 000-MW Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMIPPPP), following the completion of “value for money negotiations” with Norwegian renewables power producer Scatec. On March 18, Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe named eight preferred bidders following a bidding round that sought solutions that could supply dispatchable... Читать дальше...

Stage 2 load-shedding will continue to be implemented until Friday evening, State-owned power utility Eskom confirms. This is owing to further breakdowns of generating units at the Majuba and Arnot power stations and delays with returning units to service at the Arnot and Tutuka power stations.

Renewables projects are expected to account for 70% of a record $820-billion in new power generation investment in 2021, as global electricity deployments exceed those of oil and gas for the sixth year in a row. Nevertheless, a new International Energy Agency (IEA) report warns that energy investments, while recovering from the Covid-linked slump of 2020, continue to fall well short of a net-zero emissions pathway.

Mining investment firm Menar has officially launched its first-to-portfolio manganese mine, called East Manganese, based in Hotazel in the Northern Cape, which is expected to produce its first ore in July. Marleny Arnoldi visited the mine.