Nigeria: Inauguration of power plant
New Nigerian government inaugurated a gas plant expected to boost power supply in the country, which is rich in oil but have a shortage of power. The gas turbine plant in is expected to boost the country's energy supply by 130 MW.
Nigeria currently produces just below 3,000 megawatts of electricity, less than half of last year's targeted figure of 6,000 and woefully inadequate for its 150 million‐strong population. In another project, Royal‐Dutch Shell is set to add 200 megawatts of electricity to the country’s national grid.
Egypt: Designing the World’s Largest Resort
Irvine, Calif.‐based firm Wimberley Allison Tong & Goo (WATG) has completed the master plan for the Sahl Hasheesh International Resort Community – Phase III, a large mixed‐use development on the Red Sea.
The 4,090‐hectare (10,105 acres) site in Hurghada, Egypt will feature civic centers, a new university, schools, business park, apartments and hotels. Designed for client Egyptian Resorts Company (ERC), the development is seeking to claim the title of world’s largest resort. According to ERC, the development will be a full‐fledged municipality, roughly two‐thirds the size of the island of Manhattan with a year‐round population.
Sahl Hasheesh is already home to 1,577 hotel rooms and 679 residential units, more than 4,000 hotel rooms and 2,500 residential units are expected to be added by the end of 2012 as well as a marina development, according to ERC.
The site is defined with circulation of open‐space corridors and landscape structure that tells the rich history of Egypt. The story behind the project incorporates the metaphor of a ‘Fertile Valley’ with the primary source of life being the Grand Canal, or river flowing through the Central Valley. The landscapes will range from oasis desert landscapes to informal agricultural use, from lush semi‐tropical to formal, geometric landscape experiences.
Mozambique: Opening of a new bridge
Mozambique and Tanzania opened a bridge that will allow the first road traffic between the countries, part of Maputo's drive to improve transport nationally. The two countries each paid half of the US$35 million to build the 2,360‐feet bridge.
Over the last year it opened a new bridge to Malawi and another over the Zambezi River, linking the northern and southern parts of the country for the first time. Major improvements are still needed ‐ the Mozambican road leading to the new bridge to Tanzania is a dirt trail that floods annually during the rainy season.
Tenders worth US$500 million, funded by a US aid scheme, will be launched later this year to upgrade 500 kilometers (310 miles) of Mozambique's major north‐south highway.
Sudan: Three Solar‐Power Projects for Darfur
Sudan signed a US41.5 billion deal with a private French company on Wednesday to build three solar power plants in the war‐torn Darfur region, a step forward in sustainable clean energy.
Solar power can help with water pumping for agriculture and food The project will target producing 2000 megawatts of electricity over the next 10 years using concentrated solar power to generate electricity across the country, a statement from the French Solar Euromed company said.
The construction of the three solar power plants in each of the three Darfur states will total to a production capacity of 250 megawatts. The initial projects would be finished by 2013/2014. Sudan relies on diesel engines or hydroelectric projects for most of its electricity. The system is unstable in much of the country and blackouts are common.
Uganda: Construction of the Mbarara By‐Pass
A 14‐kilometre by‐pass will be constructed in Mbarara to divert heavy and commercial vehicles from passing through the town.
The road will be built under the Mbarara‐Katuna road reconstruction programme, according to the Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) spokes person. It will be funded by the European Union.
The by‐pass will include a bridge, and will start from the Coca‐Cola plant on Masaka Road. It will pass through Rwebishuri, Nkokonjeru and join Kabale Road at Katatumba Resort, about five kilometres from the town centre.
The by‐pass falls under the Northern Corridor route which gives Uganda vital access to the sea and connects the country to the Great Lakes region and Southern Sudan. The projected is slated to begin in October.
Azerbaijan: Azerbaijan's Third Highway project
The World Bank (WB) has approved credit and loans of up to US$240 million for construction of Azerbaijan's Third Highway project.
A US$70 million international development association (IDA) credit and a US$170 million International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) loan, combine to finance the project that involves upgrading from two to four lanes a 100 km section of the M4 highway linking Baku with Shamakhi.
A statement from WB said the project will help provide better transport services in mountainous central and northern regions of Azerbaijan, which have potential for tourism and industrial production. The section of road is also part of the shortest route to the Georgian border and connects Baku with the major agricultural producers in the west of the country.
UK: Birmingham’s Historic Jewellery Quarter
A plan for a new US$2 million public square in Birmingham’s historic Jewellery Quarter have been submitted to the City Council. Designed by Capita Lovejoy – Capita Symonds’ land planning division – the ‘Golden Square’ development will be at the heart of the city’s Jewellery Quarter which is home to more than 1500 businesses, 200 listed buildings, and produces over 40% of all the jewellery manufactured in the UK every year.
Capita Lovejoy is leading a design team which includes architects Bryant Priest Newman; public artists David Patten and Jenny Peet; engineers Ramboll; lighting designers Light Bureau; and digital media consultants Substrakt.
The revamp is one of the first new projects in Birmingham City Council’s Big City Plan which will see the city centre transformed over the next few years. The Golden Square plans feature a concept whereby a series of exposed seams run like needles on a compass out towards the district’s traditional material sources and global trading partners such as the USA, Australia and South Africa. These highly reflective alignments shape the available space, manage the topography, and accommodate seating, lighting and fountains.
Association News
Funding Hydropower in Africa
Funding and financing hydropower projects in Africa will be a special focus during the annual Hydropower Africa in Johannesburg in August 17‐20, 2010 which will be opened by the South African Energy minister Elizabeth Dipuo Peters.
Some of the world’s top hydropower experts will discuss the future of hydropower electricity generation in Africa during what is the only hydropower conference and exhibition on the continent where all the major stakeholders gather.
“There is an enormous demand for information on the finance and funding of hydropower projects in Africa” says Nicolaas Loretz, Hydropower Africa project director, “especially given that the potential for hydro generation is great and that only 10Percent of the continent’s potential has been realised. This is the ideal platform to give impetus to project implementation for small and large hydro projects”.
Nicolaas Loretz continues: “We therefore have a special focus on investment opportunities with specialists from the World Bank and the African Development Bank and case studies from Zambia and Mozambique as part of our programme.”
“We are delighted that Minister Dipuo Peters will share her vision with us,” says Loretz, “particularly to hear her views regarding the promotion of sustainable development, regional integration, water and energy security, and poverty eradication in Africa.”
During a visit to Korea recently, the minister said South Africa can produce more than 43,000 megawatts of electricity but wants to increase this by using renewable energy sources like wind, solar and hydropower. More information about this event can be accessed at www.esiafrica. com/hpa.
South African Bureau of Standards (SABS)
Paving producers which hold the SABS (South African Bureau of Standards) mark for concrete block pavers (CBP), SANS 1058, have 12 months in which to comply with a revised standard, SANS 1058 2010, officially published by SABS in March.
The revised standard was drafted jointly by SABS and the CMA (Concrete Manufacturers Association), and replaces the old compression‐based standard with three new performance measurement techniques, tensile splitting, and abrasion testing and water absorption.
According to Hamish Laing, CMA director, SANS 1058 2010 will be good for property owners and developers as it provides them with the means of comparing the performance of the various pavers on the market with far more accuracy.
The CMA investigated all forms of abrasion resistance, testing systems around the world, and in the end opted for the Australian/New Zealand model which proved to be best suited to in situ performance conditions. Laing says the water absorption test also forms part of SANS 1058 2010 because CBPs with low absorption rates tend to offer better durability.
EVENTS
4th Mandatory Continuous Professional Development Program (MCPD)
Date: June 13‐19, 2010
Venue: Kaduna, Enugu and Ibadan
Contact: Builder Aliyo A. Ova fniob, fmp
Tel.: 2724395/2713174
Email: aaova2004@yahoo.com
Specialization has become a parameter for measuring competence in every profession. With awareness and increasing demand for builders in the construction industry, it has become imperative to have continuous education on some core practice areas in order to enhance efficiency, effectiveness and service delivery to the clients.
The Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria (CORBON) is inviting all registered members, corporate, fellows, graduates and associates. This is an event that will help the CORBON register builders to gain the practicing license and be able to meet other industry regulations.
2010 Biennial Conference
Date: June 23‐25, 2010
Venue: Freetown, Sierra Leone
Contact The Secretary General, Sierra Leone Institution of Engineers (SLIE)
Email: slie1990@yahoo.co.uk
The Sierra Leone Institution of Engineers has announced that its 2010 biennial conference under the theme Financing Infrastructural Development in Sierra Leone.
The conference is aimed at addressing the conference theme through the presentation of papers from the following perspectives:
- Mobilising domestic financial resources for infrastructure development
- Utilising foreign direct investment and private inflows in infrastructure development
- Local capacity building and institutional strengthening for infrastructure development
- Public‐private partnership in infrastructure financing.
- Financing infrastructure development: Regional perspectives.
The SLIE is inviting interested parties to present a paper on one of the sub themes listed above. Please note that papers will be presented during the Conference using Power Point presentation. A maximum presentation time will be 20 minutes followed by general discussions. This may vary depending on the number of papers received for a given session.
NEW PRODUCTS
Bell’s new D‐series
Articulated dump Bell will have showcased its renewed D‐series range at the Bauma. New functions include a CAN‐BUS based vehicle control system, which takes charge of a range of basic functions for the operator ‐ the automatic application of the park break when the truck is in neutral is one example.
This also ties in with an inclinometer which together only release the park brake when an adequate engine torque has been reached. This prevents the truck rolling‐back when pulling away on hills.
Specific products on display will include the narrow version of the 25 ton B25D and a hooklift variant. This special machine is now available as a production version of the B25D and B30D, making it less expensive than a one‐off machine.
The company will also be showing its thoughts for next year, when Stage IIIB engine emission laws come into force, with a display showing how it will use selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology with the engines it sources from Mercedes Benz to overcome this technical hurdle.
Website: www.bellequipment.com
DX700LC
Doosan will introduce a new range‐topping tracked excavator in the shape of the 71.5 tonne DX700LC. The machine offers 33.3 tonnes of digging force at the bucket and a maximum dig depth of 7.77 m. The maximum dump height is 8.18 m.
Power comes from a 345 kW six‐cylinder Isuzu engine, which is cooled by the Doosan Cooling Fan Control (DCFC) system that matches fan speed to the cooling requirement. The hydraulic system has four modes ‐ standard, economy, power and lifting ‐ to suit different applications, while the boom and dipper cylinders are cushioned to provide smooth operation at the end of the stroke.
Web: www.doosanlift.com
