Tanzania to connect electricity to Kenya and Zambia
Tanzania is set to finish two major projects that will connect electricity to Kenya and Zambia by 2019, this is according to the ministry of Energy and Minerals.
The Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, Dr. Juliana Pallangyo confirmed the news during a Southern Africa Power Pool (SAPP) executive committee meeting and said that Tanzania was missing a chance to trade power with otherSouthern Africa Development Community (SADC) member countries due to not being interconnected.
Kenya leads region in construction projects
Kenya leads the East African region in terms of mega construction projects. The country has 20 ongoing large projects followed by Ethiopia at 12. East Africa holds 20 per cent of all construction projects in Africa and 15 per cent in dollar value at $57.5 billion (Sh 5.8 trillion) in 2015, which is a slight fall from $60.7 billion (Sh6.2 trillion) in 2014. Basic infrastructure projects, transport and energy, are top on the Kenyan development agenda, with transport taking the lion's share of 51 per cent and energy at 30 per cent. The figures were released yesterday by consultancy firm Deloitte East Africa in a report titled Africa Construction Trends 2015. Kenya's standard railway project (SGR) is the fourth most expensive project in the region, gobbling up $3.8 billion (Sh386 billion at current rates), with Tanzania's port at Bagamoyo coming top at a cost of $11 billion (Sh1.119 trillion). The report also indicates Kenya is experiencing growth in the retail sector, where hotel space, modern office parks, entertainment and lifestyle facilities are experiencing a boom due to expansion of towns and cities and a growing middle class.East African projects are predominantly financed by International Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), followed by funding from the governments.
AfDB willing to arrange Kenya oil pipeline financing
Resolving the pipeline route is vital in helping oil firms involved in Uganda and Kenya make a final investment decision on developing oil fields.The African Development Bank (AfDB) is ready to act as a lead arranger for financing of Kenya's planned oil pipeline to move crude from fields in the far north county of Turkana, a senior official of the bank said on Friday.Kenya and Uganda have been haggling over which route to choose for an oil export pipeline that Kenya wants to run through its territory rather than neighbouring Tanzania, where an alternate project backed by oil major Total, looks set to get the green light. Officials from both countries have been crisscrossing the region, visiting facilities along the proposed routes, and holding meetings with executives of oil firms in order to reach a final decision.Whatever comes out of this conversation, one thing is for sure - Kenya will build a pipeline, said Gabriel Negatu, the Nairobi-based regional director of the AfDB.He said South Sudan would probably link up with Kenya, just based on proximity, as both countries look to pipe its oil out to the world through the proposed port of Lamu, which formed part of a broader infrastructure development plan known as the Lamu Port Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor.
Potholes in Kenya May Soon Be A Thing Of The Past
They say necessity is the mother of invention, and if we needed a reminder of it then we got one. The combined efforts of Avery East Africa Ltd (AEA) and Velocity, a UK based emergency road repair and preventative maintenance company, we finally have a solution to those craters we call potholes that have been destroying all our vehicles and ruining pedestrians mornings when it rains. The new paving tech that is to be commissioned will see the reduction in the number of potholes and the ease of their repair.
The technology, named Velocity Road Patching, was launched on Tuesday and is the first of its kind in Kenya, and the region, but the 2nd in Africa after its successful application in South Africa. If South African roads are anything to go by, we may have hit the infrastructure jackpot with this one.
