The Civil Engineering Contractor June 2018 | Page 10

SOUTHERN AFRICA
102MW wind farm for SA
WEST AFRICA
Lafarge Africa shares sink

INFRASTRUCTURE AFRICA

SOUTHERN AFRICA

SOUTH AFRICA

102MW wind farm for SA

Spain-based Elawan Energy has signed a power purchase agreement ( PPA ) to build a 102MW wind farm in South Africa with an investment of EUR145-million . The PPA is part of the fourth round of the South African Power Plan tender and will entail Elawan undertaking the project along with its local associates . The Copperton wind farm will be situated in the Northern Cape and its estimated annual production will be 360GWh per annum .
Amazing Albany
The Copperton wind farm will be situated in the Northern Cape and its estimated annual production will be 360GWh per annum . ( Image is illustrative .)
During its 20-year term , the company expects to generate revenue of more than EUR400-million . Works are scheduled to begin in the second half of this year , with the wind farm expected to become operational by 2020 , with an estimated annual production of 360GWh per annum . Source : www . power-technology . com

WEST AFRICA

NIGERIA

Lafarge Africa shares sink

On the back of a NGN33-billion ( USD105- million ) write-down on operations in South Africa and Nigeria , Lafarge Africa was pushed to a wider loss in 2017 than the previous year , sending its shares sharply lower . The one-off impairment charge left the African division of Franco-Swiss group Lafarge Holcim with a pre-tax loss of NGN34.03-billion , it revealed , just months after making its first capital increase in a decade . Its chief financial officer , Bruno Bayet , said that , after a year of restructuring , he expected 2018 to bring growth . “ The operations in Nigeria are still very robust and we have maintained strong performance ,” he told Reuters . Lafarge Africa ’ s sales rose 36 % last year , he said . Nigeria ' s cement industry has been hit by slow demand arising from weak economic growth in Africa ’ s most populous nation , which recently emerged from a recession and a currency crisis that made dollar loans more expensive .
IOL
After a year of restructuring , 2018 is expected to bring growth to Lafarge Africa .
In South Africa , many construction firms are struggling , partly owing to a slow roll-out of a government infrastructure investment package , fuelling competition . To cut debt , Lafarge Africa raised NGN132- billion ( USD420-million ) through a rights issue in November . Analysts had forecast profit before tax of NGN13.6-billion for 2017 , according to a consensus forecast . Bayet said NGN12.5-billion of the impairment was for a road project leading to its cement plant in the south-eastern Nigerian city of Calabar , which had taken too long to construct . The rest covered restructuring costs associated with merging its Nigerian operations , and its loss-making assets in South Africa , where the firm had changed its management team . He said core profit doubled to NGN58- billion in 2017 . Source : Reuters
8 - CEC June 2018