South Africa : Durban Proposed to Get Africa's Tallest Building

A private company has proposed constructing the tallest building in Africa and in the Southern Hemisphere, the eThekwini Municipality said.   Municipal spokesperson Tozi Mthethwa said the concept of the Durban Iconic Tower was presented to the economic development and planning committee on Wednesday.   She said no final decision had been made yet as the project was still just a proposal.   "A consultation process with affected communities and stakeholders is.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 11th March 2016

Kiwi Company Wins Contract to Underpin East Africa Solar Revolution

Auckland, 10 March 2016 - Promapp, the Auckland-headquartered provider of business process management software, has announced a new contract win with UK-headquartered BBOXX to supply its market leading software in support of the rollout of solar power throughout Africa.   BBOXX offers an on-grid experience in an off-grid world powered through a unique financing model to sell solar systems to the mass market on a monthly payment plan. While its finance and engineering operations.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 11th March 2016

East African countries to get $140m fund to finance power production projects

A fund was launched to finance power production projects using thermal energy underground in countries of East Africa with a capital of $140m, according to the Africa-EU Commissioner for Energy and Infrastructure Elham Ibrahim.   Ibrahim explained that the fund’s capital consists of contributions from member countries, including some EU countries, worth $30m. Germany’s contributions are worth $20m, and England’s £47m.   She added that the fund.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 11th March 2016

Kenya signs $408 million loan with Japan for 140 MW geothermal plant

6 billion yen ($408 million) loan agreement to go towards building a 140 megawatt (MW) geothermal power plant that is expected to be operational within the next two years, the two governments said. Read more at: http://www.standardmedia.The plant, know as Olkaria V, will be built by Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen), which has said it expects to begin construction in July, with the plant arriving on the grid by the end of 2018. The plant is part of KenGen's plans to add.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 10th March 2016

OVERVIEW OF UGANDA’S 60,000 BARREL REFINERY PROJECT

 The refinery project is the child of the National Oil and Gas Policy (2008) for Uganda (objective 4) which seeks to promote valuable utilisation of the country’s oil and gas resources through in-country refining of crude oil.   The project is guided by the a Refinery Development Programme (RDP) formulated by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development and is in line with the East African Regional Refineries Development Strategy, adopted by the EAC Partner States.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 10th March 2016

Zuma Pledges to Help Nigeria in Electricity Generation

South African President, Jacob Zuma has pledged that his government willingness to help Nigeria in the generation of electricity even as he declared that it can also assist in the exploration of solid minerals.   Zuma, who made the pledge while addressing to a joint session of the Nigerian National Assembly in company of President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday, said there is potential for greater business to business engagements between the two countries.   According to.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 10th March 2016

East Africa : PV diesel hybrid system for industry

Together with the PV diesel system expert OneShore Energy GmbH, BayWa r.e., a renewable energy subsidiary of BayWa AG, is implementing a joint photovoltaic diesel hybrid system for an industrial customer in East Africa.   OneShore Energy (link is external) will provide the software solution to optimise the integration of the solar energy system with a diesel based power plant. At the same time, BayWa r.e. (link is external) will supply the components for the PV system. The.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 10th March 2016

South African Government to Continue Investment in Energy Sector

Pretoria — Government says it will keep the development of the energy sector high on its priority list as this is key to easing constraints to economic growth.   The Economic Sectors, Employment and Infrastructure Development cluster, chaired by Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti, on Tuesday, briefed media to give an update on the implementation of the Nine Point Plan.   The plan, which was announced by President Jacob Zuma in the 2015 State.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 10th March 2016

Rwanda to Decentralize National Grain Strategic Reserve

The Ministry of Agriculture has embarked on a move to decentralise the national grain strategic reserve down to the sector level.   The move is expected to enhance food security readiness in case of famine.   Emmanuel Kayiranga, the chairperson of post-harvest handling and storage taskforce at the ministry, said the initiative will not only ensure Rwandans are food secure but also will promote structured grain trade.   "Our farmers used to sell their produce.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 10th March 2016

AfDB : Prime Focus on Energy in Africa's Development Agenda

Energy is the central theme of the African Development Bank's 2016 Annual Meetings as well as its 2015 Annual Report. The theme, "Energy and Climate Change", underscores the importance the Bank attaches to energy, which the AfDB President, Akinwumi Adesina, describes as "the lifeblood of any society and the passport to economic transformation."   Thus, energy is at the top of the Bank's High 5 priorities - Light up and power Africa, Feed Africa,.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 10th March 2016

Mining Co. To Supply Lithium-Ion Battery in Tanzania

Kibaran Resources Limited fresh from a 2.0 million US dollar capital raising has sent a sample of graphite from its Epanko project in Tanzania to test as a premium product for use in lithium-ion batteries.   The new bulk sample of 200 tonnes of Epanko graphite ore will be processed to produce 20 tonnes of flake graphite concentrate and will provide production cost and product pricing benchmarks.   Previous tests had established Epanko graphite as suitable for use in the.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 10th March 2016

Tanzania: Vietnamese President Visit to Further Cement Ties Between Countries

Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang arrived in Dar es Salaam on Tuesday. He is visiting Tanzania to further cement ties between the two countries. The reciprocal visit follows former President Jakaya Kikwete's tour of the Southeast Asia nation in October 2014.   Our Staff Writer Chaby Barasa who covered Mr Kikwete's two-day tour in Hanoi, reports... When Mr Truong meets his Tanzanian counterpart Dr John Magufuli (Mr Kikwete's successor) and the local business community in Dar.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 10th March 2016