Africa’s cities need to brace themselves for millions more people over the next few decades with the continent having one of the fastest urbanisation rates in the world.

This was one of the main messages at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) Africa Summit in Sandton Central, Johannesburg, last week, with delegates hearing that rapid urbanisation presented both challenges and opportunities.

Better urban planning and massive investment in infrastructure is needed to cater for the influx of people looking for job opportunities, higher salaries and urban lifestyles in Africa’s burgeoning cities.

Delivering the opening keynote address, Bennet Kpentey, Chief Executive and Managing Consultant at Ghanaian-based Sync Consult Management Consultants, highlighted the rapid pace of urbanisation in Africa.

“Cities in Africa with more than a million people increased from 52 in 2011 to 65 in 2016. This rate of urbanisation is on par with Europe and higher than India and North America,” says Kpentey.

“With 40% of the population living in cities, Africa is more urbanised than India (30%) and almost at par with China (45%). By 2030 Africa will have 760 million urban residents, increasing to 1.2 billion by 2050 according to the African Economic Outlook 2016 report,” he adds.

Kpentey says while Africa’s rapid urbanisation presented infrastructure challenges for its major cities, this was also a sign of a prospering continent.

“Africa has a young population with a growing labour force and is expected to have the world’s largest working-age population of 1.1 billion by 2034. Household consumption in Africa grew at a 4.2% compound annual rate between 2010 and 2015, while the McKinsey Global Institute forecasts Africa’s household consumption will reach US$ 1.4 trillion by 2020 and US$2 trillion by 2025. The African Development Bank predicts that by 2060, about 1.1 billion Africans will be in the middle-class. Most of these African’s will be residing in the continent’s cities.”

Kpentey says with Africa’s upward mobility, high urbanisation and continued economic growth, there was an increased number of mega infrastructure projects in Africa. However, he said the continent needed to accelerate infrastructure development through innovative means such as public-private-partnerships.

Speaking on the availability of land for urbanisation, Emeka Eleh, Principal Partner of Ubosi Eleh and Company in Nigeria, said massive urbanisation has seen people scrabbling for space in the country’s biggest city, Lagos.

This has resulted in a rise in slums as urban planners in the city struggle to develop infrastructure and plan ahead to deal with millions of people descending on Lagos.

“The challenge is that urbanisation in much of Africa takes a life of its own, with regulators not being pro-active enough by planning ahead. Urban areas are key to economic growth, and it is important for cities to be planned and managed to deal with rapid urbanisation. Not planning for urbanisation, will mean higher infrastructure development costs and other challenges,” he says.

“Lagos is Africa’s most populace city with between 18 to 20 million people and growing at about 3.2% annually. One of the initiatives that have come about as a result of the city’s urbanisation challenges is the development of new cities on the outskirts of Lagos on reclaimed land, such as Eko Atlantic City. In fact, the bulk of development in Lagos currently is taking place on reclaimed land, which is helping us deal with our urbanisation and land challenges,” adds Eleh.

In his keynote address at the RICS Africa Summit, Jacob Mamabolo, Gauteng MEC for Infrastructure, said as the economic powerhouse of Africa, Gauteng was attracting about 300 000 people annually from the rest of South Africa and other African countries. He said the rollout of infrastructure in the province was no easy task, given that Gauteng was the most populace province and continued to attract more people.

“We have prioritised infrastructure investment in Gauteng. In the last three years – between 2013 and 2016 – Gauteng’s infrastructure investment amounted to ZAR30 billion. This translates into an average annual growth rate in infrastructure spending of 20.7% – the fastest growth rate for any province in the country,” says Mamabolo.
“Over the next three years a further ZAR42 billion will be spent on infrastructure in Gauteng, while nationally almost a trillion rand will be invested in infrastructure. The benefits of prioritising infrastructure spending cannot be underestimated.”

Speaking at the summit, RICS President Amanda Clack, who is also Partner at EY and Head of Infrastructure (Advisory) for the UK and Ireland, said by investing in core infrastructure, governments were ensuring the economic future of a country and its cities.

“Infrastructure investment is vital to supporting rapid urbanisation and creating the world’s future cities. The world is facing an infrastructure funding gap of US$57 trillion until 2020.

Infrastructure investment has the power to drive social change, create jobs, support businesses, improve the environment and create a better world in which to live,” she says.

“Today, the global urban population is 54%. In 2050, the UN predicts that the global population will be nine billion, with 66% living in urban centres. That’s 6.3 billion people living in cities. With rapid urbanisation, cities are taking on greater importance and need to deliver infrastructure to accommodate growing populations and attract talent and investment,” says Clack.

She adds that RICS’ position in Sub Saharan Africa is that of an international body fitting into the jigsaw of local built environment associations.

“In the face of increased urbanisation and to meet growing infrastructure needs, the region must attract investment capital from across national and continental boundaries.”

Clack says, as a consequence, there was a greater worldwide demand for international standards and the professionals who can work to them.

“These help to create consistency and trust in markets.”

The key industry infrastructure investment summit hosted by the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), that will take place in Abuja on the 15 and 16 May 2017.

A number of high level participants from both government and the private sector are expected to attend, including the Presidents of Nigeria, Ghana and Uganda.

With several decades spent working across the continent, covering almost 50 countries and a network of local law firms in all but two African countries, Hogan Lovells has developed an intimate knowledge of the continent’s business environments.

AFC Live has been created to provide a platform to develop solutions that will fast track African and international capital towards infrastructure. Investments in energy and in transport can offer better commercial and social returns than most investments.

However, creating the right structure to make these projects commercially attractive requires skill as well as political will and a conducive regulatory environment – which Hogan Lovells has the knowledge and experience to help clients navigate.

Africa may be the world’s fastest growing continent, but access to basic infrastructure services remains a critical challenge across the continent, with studies showing that poor road, rail and port facilities add 30% to 40% to the cost of goods traded among African countries. An oft-quoted World Bank report suggest that Africa needs to spend $93bn annually until 2020 to bridge its infrastructure gap.

“We are thrilled to be the lead legal sponsor for this event because we believe in and want to support business on the continent. Infrastructure plays an incredibly important part in any country’s growth story and in Africa, it is vital,” says Andrew Skipper, Hogan Lovells Africa Practice Partner and Head.

“African-focused DFIs, Export Credit Agencies or foreign grant funds cannot entirely fund the continent’s infrastructure needs. International investors and commercial lenders need to adjust their thinking on a range of issues in order to encourage an appropriate view on acceptable risk allocation and investor returns in these sometimes complex markets,” adds Skipper.

By bringing financiers and investors together alongside project developers and fund managers, AFC Live aims to ensure that more capital, both African and international, can be deployed towards addressing the continent’s pressing infrastructure needs. Hogan Lovells are proud to be a longstanding partner to investors, sponsors, developers and governments on this journey.

Large scale datacentre investment opportunities are increasing in Sub-Saharan Africa as key commercial hubs benefit from the critical combination of high quality international backbone infrastructure subsea cable connectivity and mushrooming local demand for data, say investment leaders.

Michael Tobin, Telecity former Data Centre Operator Chief Executive Officer, who is a key speaker at the upcoming TMT Finance Africa 2017 event in London, said there is massive potential for datacentre investment in Sub-Saharan Africa and conditions in three markets especially standout.

“Clearly South Africa is the core environment,” says Tobin.

“We’re just starting to see the big boys go there: Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Netflix arrived last year, and you are seeing burgeoning volumes on the internet exchanges. Teraco, which is owned by Permira, is the standout asset by a million miles. It has the NAPAfrica infrastructure within it, so much of the traffic in all of the 53 countries in Africa goes through that.”

“Kenya is becoming increasingly interesting as the subsea cables coming into Mombasa drive more traffic through Nairobi. There is also significant traffic going up the east coast of Africa, through Tanzania and beyond. However, Lagos offers even more potential,” added Tobin. “As well as the massive demographic potential, it has the benefits of both subsea cables coming in, and acting as the central commercial hub for Nigeria, which are the two key drivers for datacentre location.”

“Whereas Kenya has Mombasa and Nairobi; Lagos is the only point you would need to put a site in Nigeria so I see tremendous investment opportunity.”

Tobin will make a keynote presentation on African datacentre investment and feature on the datacentre and cloud leadership panel at TMT Finance Africa 2017 in London on 24 May 2017.

The executive only event, which is in its eight year in London, gathers international telecom, media and tech investment leaders, investment bankers and advisers to assess the latest pan-African opportunities for investment.

Africa50, the pan-African infrastructure investment platform has today, 2 May 2017, announced the appointment of Koffi Klousseh as Director of Project Development.

“The appointment of Koffi Klousseh marks another important step in Africa50’s mission to facilitate infrastructure development in Africa,” says Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Africa50.

“His experience and expertise in infrastructure project development, combined with his strong leadership skills, will help Africa50 increase the pipeline of bankable projects ready to be financed.”

A citizen of Togo, Klousseh is a recognized expert in infrastructure development, with a solid track record in structuring and financing private, and public-private projects in Africa and other emerging markets.

Prior to joining Africa50, Klousseh served as Regional Lead for the World Bank Group’s Global Infrastructure Project Development Fund (IFC InfraVentures), where he contributed to creating and executing a pipeline of early stage transactions in the conventional and renewable power sectors. He was also a Principal Investment Officer in the Africa Infrastructure Department of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), leading a team of professionals in executing transactions in the power, water and transport sectors across East Africa.

Prior to joining IFC in 2010, Klousseh held several positions in the financial services industry, including Vice President at Helios Investment Partners, a London-based private equity firm.

Klousseh holds a Master of Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School and a Master of Finance from the George Washington University.

“I am pleased to join Africa50, which has the challenging but exciting mission of supporting the development and financing of infrastructure in Africa,” says Klousseh.

“I am convinced that this unique institution, with the sponsorship of governments and other public sector stakeholders such as the African Development Bank, will leverage private sector participation to deliver infrastructure projects more efficiently.”

“I am delighted to welcome Koffi, his in-depth knowledge of developing infrastructure projects from their earliest stages will be a great asset as we speed up infrastructure delivery in Africa,” adds Alain Ebobissé, Africa50 Chief Executive Officer

Many African businesses are grappling with the challenges posed by digitalisation as fears mount of the “rise of the machine” and its consequent impact on jobs and growth.

However, this myopic view of the future comes with a significant risk as it overlooks the real economic value that digitally driven industry initiatives will bring to growth, development, jobs and society at large. While research has generally been scarce on exactly what this means in rands and cents, the World Economic Forum launched the Digital Transformation Initiative (DTI) in 2015, in collaboration with Accenture, to maximize opportunities for businesses and society stemming from digital technologies.

Since then the DTI has assessed how digitalization in 13 major industries is transforming business and wider society. This work has brought us into direct contact with more than 1,000 executives, policy makers and experts, who have helped uncover some key themes for ensuring the value of digitalization is captured by both business and society.

Thanks to this initiative it is now possible to more adequately determine how these initiatives can make an extremely positive contribution over the next decade if harnessed early enough.

While embracing something new is always hard to do and a desire to stick to your knitting is only natural, key role players in Africa must realise they are on the cusp of a real game changer and by embracing digital change in a strategic fashion they can leapfrog many legacy problems they face.

It certainly won’t happen overnight but the first step is for business, labour and government to understand the potential and to work together on making changes that matter.

Many are too quick to focus on the negatives as a reason for not taking action – for instance, estimates of global job losses due to digitalization range from 2 million to as high as 2 billion by 2030.

Could it be they have never actually been able to quantify the benefits in their sector? If that is so, a white paper by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with Accenture, throws considerable light on the potential value for industry due to digital transformation. To date, the research has confirmed that digitalization has immense potential: we estimate it could deliver around $100 trillion in value to business and society over the next decade.

There is therefore little doubt DTI represents an immense opportunity for new value creation and lead in the new, often against a backdrop of a stagnating market, regulatory pressures, or changing consumer preferences.

What is urgently needed, however, is a new framework for public-private dialogue, as we are still at the early stages of discovery about the true benefits of DTI. It is no use paying lip service to these realities and far more discussion and input is required from all stakeholders as this journey unfolds.

Breaking down traditional barriers to entry and expansion will be key and our DTI research across the automotive, consumer, electricity and logistics sectors estimates the value of DTI in the region of $8.4 trillion; and value for society of approximately $12.7 trillion, between 2016 and 2025.

Zoning in on a specific industry of critical importance to Africa – electricity – optimizing the grid to manage real-time supply and demand is worth $191 billion for electricity companies, while the value this could deliver to society is three times as much ($623 billion). This is derived from cost savings for customers (offering an incentive to postpone consumption during peak hours), lower fuel emissions and jobs created.

Nothing could be more important in Africa today than making a difference to broader society. The dialogue I mentioned above needs to take numerous realities into account if the benefits are to be realised. For instance, in many instances, digital initiatives are projected to deliver high value to business and society. This means that no intervention is likely needed to realize those benefits – industry has a clear incentive to act of its own accord. For example, omni-channel retail is likely to deliver such huge benefits to industry (estimated at $1.4 trillion) and to society (from a $5 trillion reduction in costs and productivity improvement, amounting to 300 billion hours saved), that there would appear to be little need for policy/regulatory intervention.

However, in logistics the value to society of shared warehousing is equivalent to approximately 500 times the value to industry. In the automotive industry, the value to society of automotive partners agreeing on usage-based insurance to help reduce road deaths, insurance premiums and crash costs is worth approximately 200 times the value to industry. This is where multi-stakeholder collaboration is needed and, potentially, new incentives required to change the direction of the market.

The bottom line is DTI needs to be used to augment and fast track growth, development and education in Africa, but this will require significant buy-in from all stakeholders. That journey needs to start today.

William Mzimba, Accenture South Africa CEO and Accenture sub-Saharan Africa Chairman

While business expectations of digital investment are higher than ever, few companies are able to translate their investments into enhanced financial performance and new business growth.

This is according to Accenture’s Digital High Performance research, an analysis of more than 1 200 companies, which reveals that only a few companies worldwide are able to leverage their investments in digital capabilities to substantially improve their performance.

Joost de Haas Accenture Strategy Managing Director says there is immense pressure on businesses to remain ahead of the digital curve.

“Companies in South Africa and around the globe need to adapt and apply digital capabilities to increase gains from their current business and create the investment capacity necessary to build sustainable futures.”

Despite the fact that 78% of companies in South Africa understand the need to digitally innovate, with many of the larger companies expecting to generate 29% of total revenue from digital technologies, products and services in the next three years, only 5% are excelling in applying digital technologies and capabilities,” says de Haas.

Notably, only six percent of companies analysed globally can be classified as Digital High Performers—that are truly reaping the benefits of their investments in digital. The percentage of Digital High Performers drops to a mere three percent closer to home, with more than 70 percent of South African companies lagging behind in their level of digitalisation as well as their ability to realise superior financial returns on their digital investments. Globally, this is only marginally better at 60 perc

De Haas says South African Digital High Performers and Digital Leaders, companies that have prioritised digital but are still awaiting the rewards enjoy, on average, higher revenue growth of 32 percent compared to other companies

“Our findings indicate that another two percent of South African companies fall into the Digital Leaders category and while they may demonstrate leadership in digital capabilities and services, Digital Leaders have yet to realise and unlock the trapped value from these investments. Their inability to do this is often due to the preservation of their existing core business at the expense of truly expanding into digitally contestable markets.”

De Haas says to truly capitalise on digital, companies need to demonstrate a “digital first” mind-set and effectively execute on delivering across all areas of their organisations with a relentless focus on value.

“Investors favour Digital High Performers for their “digital first” approach to all aspects of their businesses, as well as their ability to take action and follow through—a strategy that positions them optimally for future growth and business performance.”

When comparing non-Digital High Performers globally to those in South Africa, local companies’ digital maturity is well below that of their global peers and they underperform in areas such as executing on digital growth strategy, using digital technology to unlock new revenue streams, deploying digital tools to engage and anticipate customer needs and fostering a culture fit for the digital agenda.

De Haas says in South Africa, specifically, there seems to be an even greater case to act fast on the digital agenda.

“When comparing the Digital High Performers versus non-Digital High Performers, a significant ‘digital premium’ is evident. It appears that in the local market, there is an even greater premium for companies that successfully move on the digital agenda while the market is still maturing.”

This is especially notable in the areas of Plan, Make and Sell, where there is a bigger maturity gap compared to what we see globally, indicating that Digital High Performers in South Africa can distinguish themselves even more so in the market through leveraging digital.

The Plan element refers to the ability of companies to effectively plan and execute on their digital strategies. Digital High Performers have a clearly articulated digital strategy versus only 57 percent of the others locally. Over and above, only 39 percent of South African companies are investing comprehensively in digital technologies as part of their overall business strategy.

De Haas says the Make aspect talks to the designing and making digital products and services. “While many South African companies are developing and launching digital services, few are fundamentally changing the way they design and make them. Approaches remain traditional, with a limited number of companies embracing immersive, creative and innovative approaches, such as Design Thinking, to reimagine services or leverage agile and rapid sprint cycles to deliver new services to market faster.

“Digital High Performers, on the other hand, excel in this area with nearly all embracing innovative, customer-led approaches to designing, building and launching new products and services, compared to only 34 percent of local non-Digital High Performers.”

From a Sell perspective, Digital High Performers show a greater mastery of digital marketing, sales and customer service, and deliver superior customer experiences compared to their less digitised counterparts.

Digital has created new possibilities for interacting and engaging with customers, enabling personalisation at scale, but in South Africa very few are taking advantage of these capabilities. For example, only two out of every 10 local companies utilising location-based services to customise offers for their customers. Another area of concern is digital customer service, with less than four out 10 South African companies enabling digital service, feedback or complaints.

The Manage, which refers to building digital culture and operations, is all about embracing “digital on the inside”, actively working towards a digital culture and supporting their people through continuous skills development to better equip them to compete in the digital age.

In South Africa, Digital High Performers are making significant investments in developing their talent for the future versus only 30% companies within the others. In addition, less than a third of companies are leveraging digital tools and services to support and foster innovation and employee development. In comparison, Digital High Performers have invested significantly in new tools and technologies to support productivity and employee effectiveness.

De Haas says shifting the culture and becoming digital on the inside” is one of the most difficult challenges companies face today.

It is, however, imperative as business leaders to focus on developing an organisation that is agile and fit for the future amid the constant threat of disruption.”

Accenture has identified seven no-regret capabilities that companies can start to build immediately to accelerate their digital transformation, irrespective of their maturity or the industries they operate in. They include sensing and interpreting disruption; designing a delightful customer experience; organising for speed; experimenting to develop and launch new ideas faster; fully understanding and leveraging data; building and maintaining a high digital quotient team; and partnering and investing for all non-core activities.

De Haas says South Africa companies need to consciously and deliberately lead in the new by taking steps to renew and transform their core businesses while growing into new businesses and perhaps even new industries.

“In doing this, organisations will secure their future and ensure their ability to compete and achieve superior business outcomes. This will require a higher degree of decisiveness and the courage to act now.”

The Internet Society and the African Union Commission unveiled a new set of Internet Infrastructure Security Guidelines for Africa during the African Internet Summit, taking place in Nairobi 30 May-2 June. The guidelines will help Africa create a more secure Internet infrastructure and are set to change the way African Union States approach cyber security preparedness.

The guidelines – the first of their kind in Africa – were developed by a multi-stakeholder group of African and global internet infrastructure security experts, and are the first step towards building a more secure Internet in Africa. They will help AU member states strengthen the security of their local Internet infrastructure through actions at a regional, national, ISP/operator and organizational level.

Africa’s cyber security environment faces a unique combination of challenges, including a lack of awareness of the risks involved in using technology. Kenya was ranked the 69^th most vulnerable country (out of 127) in the 2015 Deloitte Global Threat Index. Some of the main reasons are: low awareness, underinvestment, talent shortage and overload of data.

Deloitte further estimates that Kenya lost $171 million to cybercrime in 2016.

“Africa has achieved major strides in developing its Internet Infrastructure in the past decade. However, the Internet won’t provide the aspired benefits unless we can trust it. We have seen from recent experiences that Africa is not immune from cyber-attacks and other security threats. These guidelines, developed in collaboration with the African Union Commission, will help African countries put in place the necessary measures to increase the security of their Internet infrastructure,” explains Dawit Bekele, Internet Society Africa Regional Bureau Director. 

This document is launched at a time when the world feels the real and urgent need to build and reinforce structures aimed at tackling the growing cyber threat to the global digital economy. Governments, companies, network operators, universities and organizations across African Union member states are encouraged to take action to implement the Internet Infrastructure Security Guidelines.

“This is another timely milestone achievement given the new security challenges in cyberspace,” says Moctar Yeday, African Union Information Society Division Head. 

“The Commission of the African Union will continue its partnership with the Internet Society on a second set of guidelines addressing personal data protection in Africa,” he adds.

According to ITU ICT Facts and Figures 2016, it is estimated that 25.1% of Africans are now online and despite lower Internet access rates vs. other regions in the world, there has been a sustained double-digit growth in Internet penetration over the past 10 years. This is due in large part to an increase of mobile Internet and in more affordable smart phones in the market and Africa’s young, technology-savvy population. However, to continue to improve access and connect the unconnected, people need to trust the Internet.

Symantec, a global leader in cyber security, observed 24 million malware incidents targeting Africa in 2016. As some malware incidents probably go unobserved, the real number of incidents may be much higher. In a 2013 report from Symantec, cybercrime was increasing at a faster rate in Africa than any other region. 

As Internet penetration grows in Africa and more business takes place online, implementing security measures against malware incidents to protect Internet users becomes increasingly important.

Offering actions that are tailored to the African cyber security environment and solutions for an ever changing online landscape, the recommendations in the document launched today can play a key role in helping Africa respond to the kind of Internet attacks that recently paralyzed critical public and government services.

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Efacec won the international public tender, promoted by the public company Eletricidade e Águas da Guiné-Bissau (EAGB), for the construction of essential infrastructure to double the current installed electrical capacity of Bissau.

The contract, worth €10 million, includes the construction of two substations and a 6.2 km long line to link the new thermal power station, which will be built in Bor, to the capital of Guinea-Bissau.

The infrastructure to be built by Efacec is a key step in the Bissau electrification architecture. In addition to doubling the current capacity of the capital, it will make it possible to provide electricity to broader group of population, raising living standards and making a significant contribution to the socio-economic development of this African country.

The two substations, with 30 by 10 kV capacity, to be built in Bor and Bra regions, and the energy evacuation system, with a 63 kV capacity, are a precondition for the execution of the second module from Bissau’s electrical project that includes the construction of a power plant with a 100 megawatts capacity at Bor.

Efacec is a Portuguese company with a strong international presence that produces products for power transmission and distribution.

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 power experts attending POWER-GEN and DistribuTECH Africa this week predict that Africa could share infrastructure, knowledge and skills to take affordable, reliable and cleaner power across the continent.

Speaking at the opening at the Sandton Convention Centre today, high-level pan-African power stakeholders said transformation was taking place, but that the pace of change was still too slow.

They urged closer collaboration and innovation to take power to the 600 million people in Africa who still had no access to electricity, as well as to support industrialisation across the continent.

The South African Minister of Public Enterprises, Lynne Brown, said that in satellite photos, Europe, North America and other regions were lit up like Christmas trees, while Africa remained the dark continent.

She called on stakeholders at POWER-GEN & DistribuTECH Africa to network and share information to lay the groundwork for a future in which Africa’s infrastructure deficit was overcome and an inclusive continental electricity sector.  

“When our grandchildren look at satellite images, they should see an Africa that has truly emerged from the darkness: an electrified and industrialised Africa, with infrastructure and skills,” says Brown.

“Africa has a momentous task ahead in the spirit of progress, innovation partnership and integrated and continued advancement of our industry. One day, Africa could unite for a single super-grid that could be the envy of the world,” says Zethembe Khoza, Eskom new Interim Chairman.

“In Africa there is a need to balance affordability with reliability and environmental sustainability. We need to think big and act fast. At Eskom, we are currently undertaking the largest build programme in Africa. Our aspiration is to pursue a more diverse energy mix, with the objective of reducing the utility’s relative emissions and subsequently to reduce its absolute emissions.”

George Njenga, GE Power South Africa Regional Executive for Steam Power Systems in Sub-Sahara Africa, called for more creative financing and risk sharing to drive further investment in pan-African power infrastructure. New technologies and innovation is generation and distribution could also serve to speed up efforts to make power more affordable and accessible to everyone, he said.

He noted that the past year had been characterised by international developments that had impacted Africa’s power sector.

“We must create a strong ecosystem, where government and private sector are working together to address competitiveness, drive ethical and transparent business practices, to reduce risk and ultimately lower the cost of doing business,” says Njenga. 

“The disruptions we see in the world today can only be expected to increase. Our challenge is to be proactive, to take courage, and be innovative to bring more power, faster and more sustainably to Africa,” says Njenga.

New technologies and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) could spur development and progress in the power sector, said Leon Viljoen, Managing Director of ABB Southern Africa.

“Automation took power sector productivity from a baseline of 50% to 65%. Then centralisation and ERP systems took us to 80% in most power plants. We believe that productivity can be increased from 80% to closer to 95% by collaboration in an IIoT environment.”

He adds that big data analysis also stood to reduce costs, improve profitability and availability in power plants.

“The amount of data generated by power plants is overwhelming, but in many cases very little of it is harnessed; it is isolated from subject matter experts and best practices are not always utilised.”

Speakers emphasized the importance of innovation in financing and operations, the need to embrace new digital technologies and the importance of reducing carbon emissions in power production in Africa.

POWER-GEN & DistribuTECH Africa 2017 will run until 20 July 2017.

The event addresses key power generation, distribution trends, challenges and opportunities across Africa

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The President of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, laid the foundation stone of the Lom Pangar Dam power plant in the département of Lom-et-Djerem in eastern Cameroon.

The visit to Lom Pangar included top government officials, ministers of Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Louis Paul Motaze; Water and Energy, Atangana Kouna Basile; Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries, Taiga; and the Minister of Special Duties and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Electricity Development Corporation (EDC), Victor Mengot. The event was also attended by the Managing Director of EDC, Theodore Nsangou, local authorities and community leaders as well as senior AfDB staff.

The Minister of Water and Energy warmly welcomed the new 30 megawatts plant, noting that 10 million Cameroonians do not have access to electricity – a population that needs the support of the Cameroonian State and donor funds.

“The Eastern Region of Cameroon is keen to have projects related to all the High 5 priorities, because that is the region that has suffered the most from population movements from neighbouring countries,” the Minister of Economy added, further highlighting “the importance of this dam for Cameroon.” He said that the new plant will enable the “electrification of 150 villages.”

In Cameroon on a three-day official visit, the AfDB President welcomed “this wonderful project that will enable 10,000 additional households to access electricity in the Eastern Region. “With the construction of this electricity plant, we are entering the implementation phase, the real phase, that will connect schools, hospitals and SMEs and support Cameroon’s economy,” Adesina added.

“The AfDB is committing US$135 million to Cameroon’s energy projects, enabling 500,000 households to access electricity in Cameroon in 2017,” he said.

“This commitment will continue, because I can assure you that the Bank will become involved in every key and energy project in Cameroon.”

The Lom Pangar power plant project is co-financed by the French Agency for Development (CFAF 39.353 billion), AfDB (CFAF 34.792 billion), the World Bank (CFAF 64.820 billion), the Development Bank of the Central African States (CFAF 20 billion) and the European Investment Bank (CFAF 19.679 billion).

Construction of the Lom Pangar power plant forms part of the AfDB portfolio in Cameroon. It is a key project within the strategy to develop the hydro-electric potential of the river Sanaga, which includes construction of a reservoir dam designed to fully supply the Song Loulou power plant (335 MW) in  times of low flow and to increase production at the Edea power plant (224 MW).

The plant will increase the availability of electricity for households in the départements of Lom Pangar, Bertoua-Batouri and Abong-Mbang and respond to growing electricity demand in the country.

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Gauteng Province, situated in South Africa kick-started the second Gauteng Infrastructure Investment Conference (GIIC), today 27 July 2017 at the Gallagher Convention Centre, Midrand. 

David Makhura, Gauteng Premier and  Ebrahim Patel, South African Minister of Economic Development provided the keynote address to potential investors, fund and investment managers, private equity firms, development funding institutions, banks, town planners, engineers, academics and ICT specialists.

The two-day conference themed, Driving investment for inclusive growth and sustainability, looks at how the Gauteng government and the private sector can invest in the growth of Gauteng, through the facilitation of trade and strategic infrastructure investment.

This year’s infrastructure investment meeting focused on three key business portfolios –  trade and investment promotion, strategic economic infrastructure and business enablement.

In addition, the GIIC discussed investment opportunities in the following areas in New Post-Apartheid Cities, Energy, ICT, Broadband connectivity, Aerotropolis, Water and Sanitation and Inner City Regeneration.

The conference is a key step towards strengthening partnerships and collaboration between government and the private sector in the quest to build Gauteng as a globally competitive city region and a preferred destination for investment and tourism.

“The GIIC is a platform that has been created to engage our stakeholders regarding investment and infrastructure initiatives in the Gauteng City Region. The biennial conference is aimed at realising our goal of industrialising the Gauteng City Region; attracting investors into the Gauteng economy whilst at the same time addressing the current economic climate,” explained Makhura.

“We plan to address how, through an aggressive infrastructure-led programme that is directed towards building economic and social infrastructure, together we can lead the economy out of the current economic slump.”

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The International Monetary Fund, after a visit to the country in June, warned South Africa that its economy “is extremely vulnerable to external shocks and funding shortfalls.” 

The Fund added that current political and domestic factors could exacerbate the situation, “especially if accompanied by further downgrades of local currency sovereign credit ratings to below investment grade.” 

The Fund also said political uncertainty and instability would affect investor and business confidence. Hostile divisions within the ruling African National Congress (ANC), motivated by the contest to replace President Jacob Zuma have raised investor fears that government policy to promote socio-economic development and revive economic growth would be neglected.

Against this backdrop, the impact of Africa’s current economic status and future growth potential on infrastructure development will be deliberated during the 6th annual Infrastructure Africa Business Forum (IABF) at the Sandton Convention Centre on the 21^st and 22^nd of August. This event will be attended by prominent government officials, infrastructure experts and business professionals from across the continent. These participants will collaborate and discuss ways to advance infrastructure in the face of current socio-economic and political challenges – not only in the South Africa but within the whole of Africa.

Infrastructure Africa will address a myriad of issues raised by national governments, regional businesses and infrastructure players as they seek new opportunities of growth and address obstacles in the African infrastructure space. The event is the biggest regional event dedicated to the topic of infrastructure and focused on regional integration of infrastructure projects and opportunities.

The following themes will be addressed:

• Transboundary Infrastructure Projects

Integrating infrastructure is critical to deepening regional integration and developing transboundary infrastructure projects, allowing for better economies of scale and the development of cross-border public goods industries. Road and rail transport corridors, airports and seaports link countries physically, politically and economically, and also provide global market access. Transport infrastructure is often linked to other regional infrastructure projects in energy, communications, water and sanitation.

• Developments, challenges & opportunities for infrastructure development in Africa

Every productive economy has strong infrastructure networks. Infrastructure connects cities and countries together, is the backbone of transport systems, healthcare systems, technology and schools. In Sub-Saharan Africa, poor infrastructure cuts national economic growth by two percentage points every year and reduces productivity by as much as 40 per cent. The continent has made strides, but there are always new opportunities for seizing when it comes to developing infrastructure to set the stage for economic expansion of Africa’s countries.

• Mobilising financial resources & revenue sustainability

 In an increasingly volatile global political context, mobilising financial resources for infrastructure projects has become more complex and challenging. Africans are innovative and entrepreneurial and with the political will and accountability from its governments, and with sound public-private-partnerships that are in the interests of the people, Africa can look inward to finance its own growth to find African solutions to Africa’s problems. These solutions need to ensure revenue sustainability and long-term income generation plans.   

• Employment opportunities, job creation & youth development: Maximising African content in African infrastructure projects

Youth are Africa’s greatest asset. Africa’s population is 1.2 billion and is projected to more than double by 2050, when it will make up one-fourth of the world’s population. Africa will remain the world’s youngest region, with the median age of the population under 25 years old. If properly harnessed, this growing working age population could drive Africa’s economic transformation. Political and private sector leadership must focus on providing long-term opportunities for growth by building infrastructure that will support the growth of industries and job creation for future generations.

• Transport regulations should promote the use of railway infrastructure to enhance the growth of local business

The development and maintenance of efficient and competitive transport systems ensures an integrated infrastructure network that can then serve as a catalyst for social and economic development; will promote safe and secure transport sectors; improve rural access, infrastructure and mobility; improve public transport systems, and increase the contribution of the transport sector to job creation in Africa. Transport regulations in Africa should look at promoting the use of railway infrastructure to support local and regional businesses, rather than using the road network, which slows down the continent’s productivity and keeps the costs of doing business and moving goods very high.

• Project bankability – Proper project preparation and due diligence

Many an infrastructure project has failed for lack of proper planning and preparation in the early stages of a project. Structuring a project as a bankable project requires detailed consideration on the technical, legal and economic aspects of the project. Every bank and financial institution has its own set of criteria through which it assesses the bankability of a project. However, the basic requirement is that a project should have a stable and visible cash flow throughout the entire financing period of the project.

• Transformational technology & innovation in Africa

African governments are increasingly seeing infrastructure development as a job creation opportunity and the last 10 years has seen a marked change in the number of infrastructure projects in Africa reaching financial close, and several of these have been in transformational technologies. However, Africa still has much to do to leapfrog its innovation and development into a world where technological advancements and innovation are becoming increasingly important for being a global business player. Africa has the potential to leap frog by utilising the technological advances of other advances of other countries investing in Africa’s infrastructure.

• De-Risking transboundary infrastructure projects

Infrastructure investments require long-term policy planning, with strategic policy frameworks that exceed political cycles, have broad political consensus and are able to endure beyond the next elections. This is particularly true for projects that take place across and between national borders.  Co-ordinating the priority-setting of regional projects has been especially difficult, given the significant differences across countries and sectors in governance and regulatory environments, the varying levels of private-sector involvement, the intensity of economic activity, the conditions of peace and stability, as well as the demand for, and acceptance of, these projects.

• Potential investments in South Sudan

South Sudan is an emerging market that is being built from scratch. The road network, housing, business sector, healthcare, schools and other infrastructure need urgent attention. A lot has been done since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005 and Juba, for instance, has been transformed from a virtual ghost town into a commercial hub. But the nation and potential investors still need to be patient as the government and other stakeholders put the necessary infrastructure and systems in place.

• China Inc in African infrastructure: Implications and opportunities for the continent and its infrastructure players

China has become a primary financier of infrastructure projects in Africa and a strategic trading partner for Africa as Europe’s growth has slowed. However, this has raised a variety of concerns among international financial institutions, non-governmental organisations, and Western governments, especially with regard to the impact of Chinese financing on debt creation, good governance, and environmental protection

Africa’s potential for development is huge and the IABF will play a crucial role in unlocking the potential for business development within infrastructure development across the continent as well as exploring valued trade partnerships with key investors such as those emerging from China.

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Access to the Internet is often seen as the last hurdle in bridging the ever-present digital divide.

While technology itself has become ubiquitous and increasingly affordable, Internet access remains out of reach for an estimated four billion people worldwide, including some 22 million in South Africa alone.

There are a number of reasons for this, including lack of infrastructure as well as the high cost of the data itself, but the net result is detrimental to the economy in a number of ways. The Internet for All initiative, a partnership between government and private sector aimed at addressing this very issue, was launched recently in South Africa after its global announcement at the World Economic Forum in 2015.

Ensuring the success of the Internet for All venture is crucial, as it will help to stimulate our stagnant economy and return South Africa to a cycle of growth. While naysayers tout a lack of infrastructure as an insurmountable hurdle to the goal of connecting all South Africans by 2020, the reality is that the country is actually well prepared to meet this achievement. Over the past few years, significant investment has gone into the deployment of infrastructure across the board, including internationally through the landing of numerous undersea cables, as well as the development of national, regional and urban fibre networks.

While the basic backbone for access is in place however, a number of challenges remain when it comes to delivering the Internet for All.

Key among these challenges is the economic model that has to underpin this initiative. 

The vast majority of the more than 22 million unconnected people live in the informal and often sub-economic levels, and therefore cannot afford either the device for connectivity or the cost of the data and related services.

A fee subsidisation model has to be developed to target these underserviced areas and new deployment models must be created.

For example, a shared service model that does not rely on individual ownership of devices can be a successful starting point. This will not only allow broader access across shared devices such as Internet cafés and public hot spots, but can also empower many entrepreneurs, as they will be able to offer such shared public access services models. These models, coupled with subsidised data rates, were successfully deployed in the early days of the cellular networks, and allowed millions of users to benefit from mobile phone technology. Today, technology allows for many different ways of cross–subsidising data charges, including digital advertising and e-commerce over the Internet, which are just two ways of changing the concept of user payment to service provider payment. Innovations such as these are key steps in ensuring affordable access for all South Africans. 

In addition to innovative fee structures that benefit the user, reducing the cost of infrastructure is another crucial step. In the early days of mobile networks, each provider had to have their own towers, a model that is simply not cost effective. However, infrastructure costs have reduced and technology has advanced to allow multiple service providers to deliver services over a common set of infrastructure.

This in turn reduces the overall infrastructure spend that providers will have to incur if they work together.

Open access infrastructure offers full market reach for multiple services providers, however what is still needed is the availability of the relevant frequency spectrum in geographically dispersed and sparsely populated areas, as this will allow for long-range low-density signal coverage.

Open access networks also help to reduce the cost of data, since high data charges are typically driven by the high cost of transporting data. Through large data aggregation and data transport in ultra-high volumes, cost reduction can be achieved. By aggregating data services, providers will be able to reduce data costs substantially.

Internet access in today’s world is no longer a luxury, but a necessity for equal education, improved business efficiency, better governance, enhanced communication, better healthcare and service delivery and simply the ability to keep pace with growth and change in the world.

Internet access for everyone will create a platform to lift a large portion of the population out of poverty status, to address service delivery shortcomings as well as to address the education gaps that still exist in our society.

In addition, it has become an essential enabler for innovation, opening up opportunities for everyone.

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The annual Infrastructure Africa Business Forum, today, 1 August 2017, announced  confirmed speakers and panel members who will be providing deep insights for this year’s gathering.

• Moeletsi Mbeki, Executive Chair, Endemol Shine Africa
• Princess Gloria Akobundu, CEO, The Presidency / NEPAD Nigeria
• Admassu Tadesse, President, Trade and Development Bank
• Kumesh Naidoo, Programme Manager, Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA)
• Robert Futter, Project Finance Director, Cresco Finance
• Bonaventura Aguissi, Executive Director, Organisation for African Development (OAD)
• Bizwell Mutale, CEO, MKP South Africa
• Bhekithemba Dlamini, Project Manager, Swazi Rail
• Amb Jean Kamau, High Commissioner, Kenyan High Commission, South Africa
• Lerato Mataboge, CEO, Trade Invest Africa
• Takeshi Kozu, Project Formulation Advisor, JICA
• Dr John Tambi, Presidential Infrastructure Champion Initiative (PICI) Coordinator, NEPAD Agency
• Kobus van der Wath, Chief Executive, The Beijing Axis
• Jose Miranda, Regional Director, Aurecon

The Infrastructure Africa Business Forum 2017 theme is  Access to Infrastructure project opportunities –  exploring the strategic growth opportunities that the continent offers and the challenges that need to be addressed to realise these opportunities.

In addition, the event offers a great opportunity to link with CEOs , business leaders, potential customers, partners and suppliers to grow your business footprint in Africa.

For more information log on: www.infrastructure-africa.com

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A.P. Moller Holding has together with PKA, PensionDanmark and Lægernes Pension launched a new infrastructure fund with a focus on Africa.

The fund has received commitments of $550 million from anchor investors.

The new fund will focus on investments in infrastructure in Africa to support sustainable economic growth in the region while delivering an attractive return to its investors.

The fund will be managed by A.P. Moller Capital, which is an affiliate of A.P. Moller Holding, and consists of a team lead by four partners, Kim Fejfer, Lars Reno Jakobsen, Jens Thomassen and Joe Nicklaus Nielsen.

The partners all have extensive industrial and investment experience combined with a substantial network in Africa.

“We are very pleased with the significant support from the Danish pension funds and A.P. Moller Holding. Together, we will build and operate infrastructure business in Africa to support sustainable development and improvements in living standards across the continent. We will combine the best from industry in terms of project management and operational capabilities with the best from private equity in terms of agility and focus,” says Kim Fejfer, Moller Capital Managing Partner and A.P. Chief Executive Officer.

“A.P. Moller Holding was established to build value creating businesses that have a positive impact on society. Africa, with a working-age population likely to reach more than one billion people in the next decades, has a pressing requirement for more investments in infrastructure. In this respect, we are delighted to have established a new promising company in our portfolio with a strong team, who hold the right capabilities and experience to manage infrastructure investments in emerging markets,” says Robert Mærsk Uggla, A.P. Moller Holding Chief Executive Officer.

The fund has a duration of 10 years and has an initial target of 10 to 15 investments in total.

Peter Damgaard Jensen, CEO at PKA: “PKA has for many years invested in infrastructure both in Denmark and abroad. We have positive experiences investing in Africa and we have for a long time wanted to invest more on the continent. With this new fund we will be making infrastructure investments in Africa and get the opportunity to provide a good return to the pension savers and at the same time make a positive difference in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals”.

“We are delighted to be among the seed investors in Africa Infrastructure Fund I. We see this as a unique opportunity to invest in a region with high economic growth and attractive investment opportunities alongside a partner, A. P. Moller Capital, that has extensive investment experience combined with a strong network and a promising pipeline of potential investment projects. The fund is a good example of how private capital can be mobilized on large scale to implement the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals,” says Torben Möger Pedersen, PensionDanmark Chief Executive Officer.

“Lægernes Pension are delighted to invest in the development of sustainable infrastructure in Africa together with similar-minded Danish pension funds. The team has many years of experience and a proven track record in the region and we expect them to provide attractive investment opportunities going forward,” says Chresten Dengsøe, Lægernes Pension Chief Executive Officer.

Following first commitments, the fund will be open for additional institutional investors for the next 12 months. The ambition is to raise $1 billion in commitments.

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Intra-African trade sits at around 11% and if Africa could boost its regional integration levels, it would boost its economic growth plans.

There is power in numbers and collaboration on infrastructure projects between African nations would be to the benefit of Africa as a whole, whilst also bringing down the costs of doing business.

The 6th annual Infrastructure Africa Business Forum will present African leaders and infrastructure stakeholders with an opportunity to unpack the enormous growth potential by addressing Africa’s regional projects and plans.

The way forward will be examined in light of Agenda 2063’s goals for Africa’s infrastructure growth and development. 

Agenda 2063, which represents the AU’s vision for unity, self-determination, progress and collective prosperity, is a shared framework for inclusive growth and sustainable development to be achieved by 2063.

The idea was birthed and agreed upon by the African leaders in 2013 during the 50^th Anniversary of the Organization of African Unity, and was ratified in 2015. It is the African Union’s plan for the socio-economic transformation of the continent over the next 50 years and includes the AU’s infrastructure plan to expedite Africa’s build programmes.

Is this an elusive objective?

“The story of Africa’s development is an exciting one, with enormous untapped potential still to be accessed and realised, especially in the infrastructure space,” stresses Liz Hart,  Infrastructure Africa Managing Director. 

The African Union’s Agenda 2063 presents a framework for a future integrated Africa that is prosperous, peaceful and productive and where all its citizens are in a position to develop their potential. The plan is to promote sustainable and long-term stewardship of Africa’s heritage and resources, placing Africa in a position to drive its own development, while accelerating socio-economic growth and technological transformation, with the resultant eradication of poverty and gender discrimination.

 “Infrastructure is the key to Africa’s socio-economic transformation and faster growth, but requires the collaboration of experts and policy makers, which is what the Infrastructure Africa conference is all about,” said Hart.

Agenda 2063’s infrastructure goals for Africa include well-developed ICT and digital economies, as well as world-class transport infrastructures such as high-speed railway networks and roads, supported by efficient sea and air transport.

A Pan-African High Speed Train Network will connect all the major cities of the continent, with adjacent highways and pipelines for gas, oil, water, as well as ICT Broadband cables and other infrastructure. This will be a catalyst for manufacturing, skills development, technology, research and development, investments and tourism.

The planned world-class infrastructures will promote Africa’s socio-economic growth and sustainable development and will see intra-African trade growing from less than 12% in 2013 to approaching 50% by 2045.

By 2063, Africa’s share of global trade will rise from 2% to 12%, making Africa an important player on the international stage. 

However, achieving these goals requires collaboration by relevant stakeholders such as those represented at the Infrastructure Africa Business Forum on the 21 and 22 August 2017. 

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The South Africa Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies said the development of infrastructure is an essential and absolutely fundamental catalyst for regional integration for increased inter-regional trade and for industrialisation in Africa. Minister Davies was speaking during the opening the two-day Infrastructure Africa Business Forum that started in Sandton on 21 August 2017. 

“As the government of South Africa we categorically stated that the development of infrastructure is an essential and absolutely fundamental catalyst for regional integration for increased inter-regional trade and for industrialisation in Africa. Therefore, infrastructure develop lies in the very heart of our efforts to promote high levels inclusive growth and development throughout the continent,” said Davies.

Minister Davies added there was a huge deficit in the infrastructure that is necessary to support high levels of inter-regional trade that connects African countries to one another.

“As a continent Africa has an infrastructure deficit estimated at $93 billion per annum for the next 20 years. Colonialism has created infrastructure that was only geared towards the continent fulfilling its role as mere producer and exporter of primary commodities that were taken to other people’s economies. There is a huge amount of catch-up that we need to undergo as a continent in order to achieve regional integration,” said Minister Davies.

He explained that in addition to the infrastructure deficit, Africa was losing over 40% of its competitiveness as a continent due to the absence of infrastructure or inefficiency of established infrastructure.

“The critical role of infrastructure development in achieving integration, growth and development in Africa can never be overemphasised. Through Infrastructure development we can provide roads, rail, ports, energy transmission lines and ICT connectivity that are all necessary to facilitate economic development.  Also, infrastructure can be an important counter-cyclical tool because by infrastructure development we can to generate economic activity even if some of the other forms of economic activities are suffering from the negative waves. Thirdly, we can use infrastructure development to support the industrialisation that we aspire to as individual countries and as regions in the continent,” added Minister Davies.

He stated that regional integration has three legs, namely free trade areas, infrastructure development and cooperation which are essential in promoting industrial development across the continent.

“We need to partner to build the required infrastructure and the real capability that will assist all of us build our countries. Adequate, effective, affordable and well-maintained infrastructure is an essential tool for Africa’s growth and development.  We as South Africa are committed to doing everything possible to unlock the opportunities as we address the infrastructure deficit in the continent because we recognise the important role that infrastructure can play in the industrialisation of the African continent,” stressed Minister Davies.

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The African Real Estate and Infrastructure Summit comes to Gauteng in October 2017 to gather leading built environment and property professionals, architects, project developers, investors, town planners and city and municipal managers from all over the continent to focus on Developing Future African Cities.

“Over the next 20 years, growth in Africa’s urban population will increase the demand for more infrastructure, including transport, housing, hospitals, schools, retail, industrial and fundamental facilities,” says Benjamin Jones, Event Manager of African Real Estate and Infrastructure Summit.

“To meet this ongoing demand, public and private sector stakeholders will need to adapt their strategies to develop and fund projects that will need to meet the specific demands and challenges of African cities.”

Dates and location

African Real Estate and Infrastructure Summit: 25 to 26 October 2017
Location: Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa

Websites: http://www.african-real-estate-summit.com/ 

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The Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons, representing the Government of Equatorial Guinea, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Government of Burkina Faso to supply the West African country with LNG and build critical infrastructure to import, store and transport gas.

The initial three-year agreement compels both sides to negotiate and sign an LNG sales and purchase agreement (SPA) and a terminal use agreement (TUA) that will be the basis for their first LNG exchange.

The MoU also calls for Equatorial Guinea to explore and produce oil and gas in Burkina Faso.

“We are very pleased to strike this agreement and be given the opportunity to supply our African brothers in Burkina Faso with crucial gas resources,” says Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, Equatorial Guinea Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons.

“This collaboration with Burkina Faso, part of our LNG 2 Africa initiative, highlights the important responsibility of African countries to cooperate in the energy sector and build the necessary infrastructure to strengthen our economies.”

As part of the agreement, both sides will commission a technical study for the construction of regasification and LNG storage terminals and will exchange knowledge and data. They will also work to build regasification and storage terminals in Burkina Faso and transport infrastructure, either by pipeline or LNG carrier.

Equatorial Guinea is one of Africa’s biggest LNG producers, exporting 3.4 million tonnes per annum of LNG to destinations worldwide. It is committed to significantly expanding its export capacity through the 2.2 million tonnes per annum Fortuna FLNG project, which is on track to reach final investment decision by the end of the year. When it goes online in 2020, Fortuna will be Africa’s first deepwater FLNG project.

In May, Equatorial Guinea entered into a binding agreement with the OneLNG joint venture to explore the liquefaction and commercialization of natural gas in offshore blocks O and I. Bringing online new LNG volumes will enable Equatorial Guinea to sell gas to higher priced markets in Africa and beyond while retaining a share in profits for onward marketing.

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