What's in the Pipeline? Energy and Infrastructure in Africa - June 2020

Zambia has declared distribution and transmission lines of Copperbelt Energy Corp. (CEC) as “common carrier”, a move the company described as expropriation.

CEC said the order from Zambian Minister of Energy Mathew Nkhuwa, titled Statutory Instrument No. 57 of 2020 (SI 57) was given shortly before the end of the company’s power supply agreement (PSA) with Konkola Copper Mines (KCM).

Because of this move, CEC is “on the brink of defaulting” on its loans, with the government’s move having taken away its commercial and property rights, it said.

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Nigerian off grid impact investor All On and global solar developer Renewvia Energy Corporation have partnered to develop and operate solar mini grids that will bring clean energy and boost economic development in the Niger Delta.

As part of the agreement, All On has made a commitment of $1.2 million. The first two mini grids have been built and are already operating in the villages of Akipelai and Oloibiri. The mini grid in Oloibiri will also power the new Oloibiri Health for Life Medical Center and Knowledge Management Institute, one of the hub health facilities funded by the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria under the flagship Oloibiri Health Program. The mini grid will support the program by providing reliable, consistent power, at a reasonable cost, to enable frontline healthcare workers to provide affordable, accessible and quality assured health care to Ogbia communities.

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VAYA Africa, a Mauritius-registered Transportation as a Service (TaaS) company, has launched an electric vehicle service in Zimbabwe as part of the company’s rollout strategy across Africa.

“We are excited to launch the ‘VAYA Electric’ vehicle today as we start our journey of deploying innovative ways of harnessing clean, renewable energy to provide safe and convenient transportation services to the public on the African continent,” said Dorothy Zimuto, the CEO of Vaya Mobility.

In a company statement, Zimuto said VAYA Africa planned to roll out the VAYA Electric vehicle in West and East Africa soon, saying the vehicles would include a range of multi-purpose vehicles.

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The African Development Fund (ADF) has approved a US $4.5m loan with a grant component to finance the Sahofika hydropower project in Madagascar, which will generate affordable, clean energy benefitting some 8 million people.

The Sahofika project is located on the Onive River, 100km southeast of the capital Antananarivo. It entails the construction of a 205MW hydroelectric power plant on a Build-Own-Operate-Transfer basis and includes the construction and rehabilitation of 110km of access roads and construction of a 75km, 220 kV transmission line. Once commissioned, the Sahofika project is expected to contribute to the avoidance of 900,000 tons of CO2 equivalent annually.

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Building Energy’s management, in partnership with Inspired Evolution’s Evolution II Fund, has successfully closed a buy-out of Building Energy’s Africa and Middle East business to launch the newly branded integrated IPP, Red Rocket.

The new joint venture will see the re-capitalisation and positioning of Red Rocket to become one of Africa’s leading emerging renewable energy independent power producers (IPPs).

Evolution II holds a majority shareholding in the reconfigured IPP platform and is advised by Inspired Evolution, an Africa-focused investment advisory firm that specialises in clean energy infrastructure and resource efficiency investments.

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African corporate and investment bank RMB has announced that a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Mozambique is expected to receive $15 billion of financing commitments at a signing scheduled for June 2020.

This announcement goes against the current challenges in the financial markets and a severe pullback in investment in the oil and gas sector in sub-Saharan Africa because of coronavirus.

The Mozambique LNG project will be led by multinational French oil and gas company Total SA and is expected to generate upwards of $40 billion in revenue for the government over its lifespan. 

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On Tuesday June 2, Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari approved the provision of security measures in safeguarding telecommunications infrastructure across the country.

The statement was disclosed by the minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Mallam Isa Ali Pantami, stating that the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Defence Headquarters (DHQ), Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Department of State Security Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), have been notified of the President’s directive and are working towards the reinforcement of these directives.

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South Africa is seeking investments from multilateral lenders, commercial banks and pension funds in what a senior ruling party official said will be a $20.5 billion infrastructure program. The program will focus on “network industries such as rail and ports, energy, broadband connectivity, water, sanitation and human settlements,” Paul Mashatile, the treasurer-general of the African National Congress, said in a speech to London’s Chatham House on Wednesday.

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The African Union Commission (AUC) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) held a virtual high-level dialogue  to discuss Africa’s needs in responding to the COVID-19 crisis and the role of the energy transition in the post-pandemic recovery.

The dialogue brought together a number of ministers and high-level participants from Africa, Europe, the GCC and the European Union, as well as Vice Presidents of the World Bank and African Development Bank (AfDB), the UNDP Administrator, the Director-General of IRENA as well as representatives of the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI), and Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL).

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Africa50, the pan-African infrastructure investment platform, has announced its COVID-19 relief support initiative, which aims to support the continent’s fight against the pandemic.

Under this initiative, Africa50 is providing US$800,000 to help contain the spread of the virus and minimise its impact. Given the likely long-term effects of the pandemic, Africa50’s COVID-19 Relief Support Initiative will have three phases.

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