Новости за 16.07.2021

Recurring vandalism of Cape Town electricity infrastructure could be the work of syndicates, Eskom believes. The vandalism of Eskom kiosks in Eerste River has left customers without electricity supply for the second time in less than a month, the power utility said in a statement.

South Africa has the raw materials, knowledge and ambition to become a significant global player in the green hydrogen space, says Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) acting chief director for special economic zones (SEZs) Thami Klassen. He says the Industrial Development Corporation has been given the mandate to actively forge partnerships with the private sector to fund opportunities across the green hydrogen value chain.

The global Covid-19 pandemic has contributed to the need for the retail banking sector to more quickly transform to a customer-centric service that is digitised, personal and convenient. Data, application programming interfaces (APIs) and automation could be leveraged to satisfy these expectations and invigorate the sector, says management consultancy multinational Kearney partner Hentus Honiball.

Following the looting, violence and vandalism following the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma, law firm Webber Wentzel says businesses experiencing disruption may be able to invoke force majeure clauses in contracts, or the law of supervening impossibility, depending on the circumstances. The unrest, concentrated in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng, has led to numerous businesses losing stock, having stock otherwise destroyed or soiled and having infrastructure destroyed as a result of the unrest.

Insurance agency African Trade Insurance (ATI) Agency has provided the 60 MW Salima solar photovoltaic (PV) plant, in Malawi, with a revolving liquidity guarantee that can be drawn following any payment delays by the national offtaker, namely the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom). ATI provided the $4.4-million liquidity guarantee under its regional liquidity support facility (RLSF) against the risk of delayed payment by Malawi power utility Escom.

Automotive manufacturer BMW Group has launched a quantum computing challenge in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to crowd-source innovation. The challenge encourages entrants to come up with innovative quantum algorithms and test their solutions on real quantum computing technologies.

Business for South Africa (B4SA) has welcomed the announcement by acting Health Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi that more than one-million people in the 35- to 49-year-old age group have registered for vaccination in the first 24 hours of being eligible to do so. While unrest is impacting on the vaccination programme in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal at the moment, with many vaccination sites having been temporarily closed and some damaged, the vaccination campaign is continuing unimpacted in other provinces.

Commercial office and industrial warehousing developer Heartwood Properties is launching a new hybrid office development, called Sunvlei. The new office block will be situated in the Paardevlei precinct of Somerset West, just outside Cape Town, close to the Strand Beach and the Paardevlei Nature Reserve.

Beaches near Umhlanga have been closed, following a chemical spill in Durban. The spill appears to have originated from a chemical warehouse fire in Umhlanga that was caused during unrest that gripped KwaZulu-Natal this week. Other sources are being investigated.

Telecommunications group Telkom is counting the costs of the mass riots, destruction of property and looting across KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng over the past week as it starts the recovery of its affected operations. The company said in a statement on July 16 that it is on course with the recovery of the impacted operations; however, the financial impact of the destruction to property and disruption of Telkom operations, suppliers and business partners is still being collated.

Development finance institution the World Bank has partnered with the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI) and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) to drive opportunities in the large-scale demand-side energy efficiency market in South Africa. This is being done through a request for consultant’s expression of interest (EoI) to assist with an energy service company (Esco) market development in South Africa technical assistance, which was launched by the World Bank on June 30.

The first electric truck from Chinese auto maker JAC Motors has started operations in South Africa. This arrival of the electric N-series truck marks the start of JAC Motors South Africa's (JMSA’s) local electric vehicle (EV) programme, says public relations manager Braam Faul.

Agri SA president Pierre Vercueil says the mass looting and general civil unrest prevailing in South Africa has affected the agricultural sector, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal. “Solutions can not take not take weeks, but must be implemented as soon as possible, because we have perishable products, and the export of our products are under threat.

Construction body the Construction Alliance South Africa (Casa) has condemned the acts of violence, damage to property and looting that has been taking place in some parts of the country, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. “It is very sad for us as a construction industry to see properties going up in flames. Some of these properties are massive commercial buildings that are going to take many months to rebuild and get them to their full operational status.

Europe-based global major aerospace group Airbus and Canada-based sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) development consortium SAF+ have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with major actors in the Canadian aerospace industry. The MoU covers the development and production of SAF in North America. The conclusion of the MoU signifies the start of the creation of a Canadian SAF ecosystem. It also links Airbus with leading Canadian participants across the entire aviation value chain. Airbus will be investing in the joint endeavour in kind... Читать дальше...

It is up to venture capital (VC) fund managers to “push the boundaries” with funders to bring across examples of businesses that are outside-the-norm and to challenge funders to consider investing in these, enterprise and supplier development company Edge Growth Ventures investment principal Vuyiswa Nzimande said this week. Investment managers and funders often shy away from these businesses, such as those found in townships and rural areas, because it is often treated as a separate form of investment... Читать дальше...

In this opinion article, South African National Roads Agency head of engineering Louw Kannemeyer argues that smart transport, cities and infrastructure are intertwined in road construction.

JSE-listed consumer goods group Massmart said rioters gained access to and made off with merchandise in 18 Cambridge, ten Game, eight Builders Warehouse , three Cash & Carry and two Makro stores. Two of the company's distribution centres have also been directly impacted and four facilities in total have suffered significant damage as a result of arson.

South Africa’s logistics sector will “undoubtedly” see the closure of some logistics businesses owing to the unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of Gauteng, says South African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF) chairperson and Savino Del Bene South Africa director Dr Juanita Maree. “Some businesses, especially small businesses working from load to load, might have already closed their doors.”

Creamer Media's Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Engineering News Editor Terence Creamer about some of the emerging opportunities for the production of green hydrogen and green hydrogen derivatives in South Africa and the funding support that is available for hydrogen-linked projects.

There has been an incremental improvement in the operations of State-owned logistics company Transnet, following disruptions caused by days of unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. As a result of the unrest, port operator Transnet Port Terminals had issued force majeure notices with regard to the Durban Container Terminal Pier 1 and 2, the Durban Roll-on/Roll-off (Roro) and Multipurpose Terminals, Richards Bay Multipurpose Terminal and Dry Bulk Terminals and Maydon Wharf Bulk Terminal.

A video round up of this week’s magazine, highlighting our cover story, features and Business Leader.

As the marine ecosystem plays an critical role in mitigating climate change, through absorbing carbon dioxide (CO2), cooling the environment and sustaining delicate marine wildlife, it is becoming increasingly important to mitigate a mounting problem – the leakage of plastic waste into Oceans and seas. To illustrate the gravity of the situation in South Africa, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) environmental behaviour change practitioner and WWF Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative manager... Читать дальше...