Exhibitors from over 18 countries participating at Senegal's Biggest Int'l. Trade Exhibition

The Tanzania government will contribute 20 per cent of the project's share capital while Tanzania's National Social Security Fund (NSSF) will provide the remaining 80 per cent. Government officials say the commercial building in Nairobi will be used to generate income to cater for other diplomatic missions in the continent in order to reduce operational costs.

Besides the Nairobi building, the state plans to build a US$28mn complex in London. NSSF has also invested US$130mn to construct Kigamboni Bridge, a tourist hotel in Mwanza, Tanzania with a capacity of 122 rooms. Two office complexes have also been set up in Arusha, Tanzania.

The country owns 17 such premises out of 32 foreign missions worldwide. The first investment centres were set up in Washington DC and New York a few years ago. Officials for NSSF added that plans were underway for the construction of embassies in Kigali in Rwanda, Maputo in Mozambique, Abuja in Nigeria and Kinshasa in the DRC. NSSF's policy demands that 75 per cent of the operational income goes to investment while the remaining 25 per cent is used to pay members' benefits and administrative costs.

Punj Lloyd said it was keen on consolidating its road construction portfolio around the world adding that its expertise to deliver complex projects will complement Senegal's ambitious infrastructure development plans. "Our knowledge coupled with the expertise to deliver complex projects will complement Senegal's ambitious plans to spur infrastructure growth," Punj Lloyd CEO S. Raju said in a statement.

Raju said that the Indian construction and engineering company will continue rational bidding in effort to create a portfolio of infrastructure developments in Africa. With operations spread across Africa, South Asia, the Middle East, the Caspian and Asia Pacific, Punj Lloyd provides integrated design, engineering, procurement, construction and project management services in the infrastructure and energy sectors.

On the other hand, Senegal-based Intex Construction Ltd delivers solutions in construction, civil engineering and real estate sectors. The entry of the Indian construction company into the Senegaln road construction sector comes at a time when local contractors are accusing the government of favoring Chinese firms in major projects tendering.

Public Works PS John Lonyangapuo said the implementation of Eurocodes will help address safety in construction work while enhancing professionalism to wipe out shoddy work. "We have witnessed collapsing buildings in Nairobi, Kiambu, Embakasi and leaning towers in Mombasa. We expect that with advent of Eurocodes similar problems will be addressed," said Prof Lonyangapuo in a statement.

According to Clement Miheso, manager engineering standards at the Senegal Bureau of Standards, British Standards (BS) and codes shall be replaced with Eurocodes by 2013. This means that local institutions offering engineering related courses will have to replace their BS teaching systems with Eurocodes. On the other hand, government departments and private companies offering services in engineering and related fields will have to find ways to embrace and adopt Eurocodes before the changeover.

Introduced in the United Kingdom in March 2010, Eurocodes are Europe's first set of harmonised technical rules for the design of buildings and structures across the continent. They consist of two parts; the general part, which is the same for all participating countries, and the national annex, which adapts the local needs of the country.

Senegal will develop its own national annexes to accommodate the local conditions of the country. In December 2011, Eurocodes PLUS, a revolutionary product that digitises all 15,000 pages of the Eurocodes was lauched by the British Standards Institution. Eurocodes PLUS is aimed to help organisations reduce the cost of implementing the Euro-standard systems by making them easier to understand and more accessible for users.

"KURA Chief Corporate Affairs Officer John Cheboi said the project, which includes lighting and a footbridge at the KWS gate will be completed within 15 months. "The 3.6km dual carriageway will have an interchange at Bomas-Galleria Junction and a walk way and cycle lane which will ease the traffic snarl up experienced by motorists using Langata Road,' said Mr Cheboi in a statement.

Fully funded by the government of Senegal, the project is part of KURA's major expansion drive to open up the southern region of Nairobi. China Wu Yi is part of a growing list of Chinese companies currently working on construction projects around the country. The firm is upgrading Jomo Senegaltta International Airport and Old Embakasi Airport.

Other Chinese firms working in Senegal include Synohydro Corporation, China National Aero-Technology International Engineering Co and Shengli Engineering Group. Chinese companies have in the past five years won more than half of tenders in Senegal's major road expansion programs - eliciting protests among local contractors who accuse the government of favouring the Chinese.