Algeria: US$28 Million Power Project for Algeria
ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has won a contract worth US$28 million to provide power and automation solutions for one of Algeria’s biggest water projects in the Sahara region.
One of the Algerian government's key projects is the Réseau de Collecte, which aims to deliver 50,000 cubic meters of water per day to Tamanrasset (rising to 150,000 cubic meters per day by 2030) from a large aquifer near the town of In Salah, almost 750 kilometres away.
Each of the project's two phases will comprise a groundwater capture field of 24 wells, a water collection system, reservoir tanks, pumping stations and a 750 km pipeline. ABB is responsible for the design, engineering, supply and commissioning of the electrical, control and instrumentation systems, and will provide a 220 kilovolt (kV) substation.
ABB will also supply key equipment such as power transformers, auxiliary transformers, switchgear, diesel generator sets and related products to ensure an efficient and reliable power supply. ABB’s Extended Automation System 800xA and instrumentation will monitor and control the initiative.
Ghana : Refurbishing Power Transmission Network
ABB, a power and automation technology group has won an order worth over US$13 million from the Volta River Authority in Ghana to supply equipment to improve the management and control of the country’s national power transmission network.
Working with Ghana's electrical transmission provider, Ghana Grid Company, ABB will supply, deliver, install and commission a new SCADA/EMS (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition/Energy Management System) and communications system. This includes advanced functions for network analysis and optimization, automatic generation control, energy interchange scheduling and transaction monitoring.
The project is a key component of the 330 kilovolt Coastal Transmission Backbone initiative, a program financed by the World Bank to improve the reliability of power supplies by encouraging efficient power trading between the coastal countries of West Africa.
Morocco: Alstom Get Power Projects
Alstom has announced that the company has won its first wind energy development contract in the North‐African country of Morocco. The project is a 100 MW wind farm to be built in Akhfenir, Morocco.
It is to be commissioned in 2011, and will feature 61 Alstom ECO 74 wind turbines, which will result in more than 100 MW of installed power generating capacity. The consumers of the produced electricity will be private industrial customers in the country, mostly through the Energipro scheme.
Alstom will be responsible for delivering, installing and operating the wind farm during the first five years of the wind farm's operation. Alstom has been present in Morocco for some time now, mostly through thermal power projects, but also through renewable energy projects. So far, Morocco has mostly invested in hydropower, of which Alstom has contributed to about 800 MW of capacity.
Libya: African railway corridor
The Progress of the Libyan railway construction on track
Russian Railways, which in April 2008 won a contract to construct the 550 kilometre high-speed rail line on the Sirt - Benghazi route, is reporting progresses. The rail will connect Tunisia and Egypt along the Libyan coast.
Around 14,000m of track the have been laid, and 110 track switches have been delivered, of which 51 have been installed. Construction of the standard gauge line is expected to take four years, ending in 2012. Costs are estimated to US$3 billion, with the work to be undertaken by Russian specialists working with local companies.
Train speed on the 550 kilometre line will at first, using diesel locomotives, be up to 160 km/h, and in the second stage, after track electrification, up to 250 km/h.
Nigeria: US$180 for an International Stadium
The Kogi State government has so far spent the sum of US$180 million on the on-going construction of the International Stadium in Lokoja, the state capital.
A construction firm, Tee Engineering Company (Nigeria) Limited, from China, has been contracted to carry out the project. The project will be completed by November this year, as it is already done up to 70 percent. All the structures, except the drainage and the roofing, have been completed.
Part of the new structures introduced to the stadium include artificial grass, computerised score board and modern floodlight.
Hong Kong: Construction of a Cargo Terminal
Gammon Construction Limited, a market‐leading contractor in Hong Kong in which Balfour Beatty has a 50 percent shareholding, has been awarded by Cathay Pacific Services Ltd, US$531 million air cargo terminal construction contract, in joint venture with Hip Hing Construction Co Ltd.
The new terminal, which is approximately 280,000m2, is scheduled for completion in 2013. Balfour Beatty has been a major player in the development of Chek Lap Kok Airport’s infrastructure having been responsible, as part of a joint venture, for the construction of an £800 million terminal building completed in 1998, and the completion in 2004 of the £40 million East Hall expansion structures and departure hall reconfiguration contract, both for the Hong Kong Airport Authority.
Germany: The Max Planck Institute for Brain Research
The Max Planck Institute for Brain Research is located on the Riedberg Campus in Frankfurt am Main. The design for this state‐of‐the‐art research complex consists of two elongated and compact buildings, with long axes running approximately north to south, and short axes at an angle, aligned with the slant of the plot. It was done by Henn Architekten.
A central open "foyer" links up the two buildings. Bridges, galleries and floating boxes serve as communal space for meetings, exchanges and impromptu discussions among scientists and staff. The four‐storey research building is separated into an office area and a highly equipped laboratory zone with flexible and divisible space for research. The two upper floors house the four departments. The ground floor houses the administrative offices, the central scientific facilities and the laboratories of the independent research groups.
Association news
The South African Road Federation
The South African Road Federation (SARF) president, Mutshutshu Nxumalo, observes it is essential that an unbiased assessment should be conducted by experienced and competent transport engineers and economists. He was speaking in support of a proposal to have a comprehensive feasibility study carried out before the rail link is constructed. An independent broad economic study conducted four years ago by Andrew Marsay, transport economics adviser, of Arup SA (Pty) Ltd, held that additional freight capacity on the Durban/Johannesburg corridor could be created far more cheaply in a road as opposed to rail mode.
He observed that for the same capital outlay of US$2 billion the dedicated freight highway option could create up to four times more new freight transport capacity than if the same amount were spent on the rail mode. Moreover, he said that relieving the existing N3 highway of heavy goods vehicles would create considerable new capacity for passenger and smaller goods vehicle traffic, not to mention the improved safety margins which would accrue from such a development.
EVENTS
The 45th Annual General Meeting
Date: May 3‐6, 2010
Venue: Multi Indoor Sports Hall, Bauchi and Zaranda Hotel, Bauchi, Nigeria.
Contacts:
www.nis.org.ng
The 45th Annual General Meeting and Conference of Nigerian Institution of Surveyors is slated to be held on May 3‐6, 2010. The theme of the conference is Spatial Enabled Government Services.
Hydropower Africa 2010
Date: August 16-20, 2010
Venue: Emperors Palace, Johannesburg
Contact: Mario Haddon
Tel.: +27 21 700 3547
Email: mario.haddon@spintelligent.com
Website: www.spintelligent.com/emailIsrael Phiri, one of Africa’s most influential hydro leaders, will be addressing hydropower specialists and major stakeholders in the industry at Hydropower Africa 2010 on August 17, this year at Emperors Palace in Johannesburg.
Phiri, a Board Member of the International Hydropower Association and a thought leader in ensuring that new projects are built with private sector participation at Zambia’s Ministry of Energy and Water Development, will present on innovative funding solutions and partnerships of the Kafue Gorge Lower project in Zambia.
Other industry leaders to be present are the CEO of ZESA, the Chairman of UEGCL, the Chief Power Engineer of the African Development Bank in South Africa, the World Bank’s Water and Hydropower Advisor for the African Region, the Senior Manager for Hydro Generation at Tanesco and the Project Manager for Inga III at SNEL.
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3268EX Scissor Lift
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Volvo’s New Series
Volvo will launch four new machines in its compact excavator range in the shape of the EC15C, EC17C, EC18C and EC20C, replacing the existing EC15B in XR, XT and XTV variants and the EC20B in XT and XTV variants. The new machines cover the 1.5 to 2.0 ton weight classes. The launch will take place at the Bauma trade fair in Munich, Germany this year.
The new C-Series compact excavators, which will be rolled out across Volvo’s European, North American and International markets from April, are powered by a 12.3 kW (16.8 hp) diesel engine. They include hydraulic hoses routed in the boom as well as rear protection. The entry level excavator in the new range is the EC15C. With a maximum operating weight of 1,540 kg, this is a machine that is lightweight and easy to transport, even by a light vehicle. It can access even the smallest job sites, yet has a maximum digging depth of between 2.1-2.3 m.
