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J&G MD steps down after 34 years of service

BRAZZAVILLE 1997 J&G team members present former Republic of Congo president Pascal Lissouba with a model of the proposed Sounda dam

Photo by J&G

BUHEMBA GOLD MINE Tanzanian State-owned gold mine Buhemba was brought to production, despite the mine losing funding following the 9/11 tragedy in 2001

Photo by J&G

1st August 2014

By: David Oliveira

Creamer Media Staff Writer

  

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Engineering and environmental consultancy Jeffares & Green (J&G) MD Chris Robinson will retire in February 2015, following an eventful career with J&G spanning more than three decades.

“I started working for J&G as an associate – now known as an executive associate – in April 1981. I was appointed MD in March 1995,” he tells Engineering News.

He notes that bringing Tanzanian State-owned gold mine Buhemba to production, despite the mine losing funding in 2001, following the September 11 tragedy, was a highlight during his tenure.

“The overarching highlight of my time at J&G has been the people, both partners and staff members, with whom I have worked,” Robinson adds.

He notes that, owing to the cyclical nature of the consulting engineering sector, the problems he faced during his tenure as MD have always been different. “Sometimes the problems pertained to a skills or resource shortage and sometimes it was a work shortage.”

Robinson adds that the issues pertaining to the skills shortage have not been a major problem for J&G, as the company has more often than not been able to retain its staff.

“We have found that, given that we are a relatively small consulting engineering firm without the vast resources and hard-line business approach of international companies, we tend to operate with fewer personnel and are, therefore, reluctant to reduce staff, even when market conditions seem insurmountable.

“Our strength has always been the quality of our work and I know it sounds arrogant but it is not. We have always maintained the quality of our work and our staff, which has hurt us at times, but our core value of engineering integrity has always been non-negotiable,” Robinson asserts.

He points out that he has always had a top South African engineer in every discipline during his tenure, many of whom continue to consult to J&G and mentor young staff even after they have retired. “For instance, [there is] Corrie Meintjes, who retired as a partner in 2010, but headed the J&G team that designed the 249-m-long pedestrian bridge at the Metolong dam, in Lesotho.”

J&G Johannesburg branch manager and Gauteng regional manager Paul Olivier will replace Robinson.

“Never compromise on quality or integrity and maintain the family nature of J&G, which makes us unique, even though, on the face of it, this sometimes does not make commercial sense,” Robinson advises.

Future Plans
Although Robinson will retire soon, he still wants to be involved in the development of infrastructure projects in Africa. “I am not hanging up my hard hat just yet,” he says.

A project that is of particular interest to him is the Sounda Gorge dam project, on the Kouilou-Niari river, in the Republic of Congo, which is the first project outside South Africa in which Robinson was involved, but which had to be abandoned following the outbreak of civil war in 1997.

“In 1996, we had the first sod-turning at Sounda and we started construction on access roads. Following the outbreak of the civil war, a few people were shot at the construction site and all the equipment was burnt. It was not a happy situation,” he recounts.

Following the end of the war in 1999, Robinson helped put together the first infrastructure project in the Republic of Congo – the dredging of the Pointe Noire harbour.

“This project was a big kick-start to the Congolese economy and still gets me recognition in the Congo,” Robinson notes.

He explains that, should the Sounda dam project be restarted, the scope needs to change from a small-scale to larger-scale dam, which would generate 800 MW that would subsequently help to industrialise the area.

“For example, diversified miner Exxaro’s Mayoko iron-ore project is struggling and one of the issues is the availability of power. If the Sounda Gorge dam were there, it could power Mayoko and could be used for other industrial applications, such as smelting. It would be a major boost for the Congolese economy,” Robinson adds.

He illustrates that the Sounda gorge is an ideal site for a large-scale hydroelectric dam, owing to the steep sides of the gorge. The backwaters will go back about 160 km.

However, should the development of the Grand Inga hydroelectric dam, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which is expected to produce 44 000 MW of electricity, proceed, the Sounda Gorge dam will not be feasible, as the Grand Inga dam would be able to generate power for the whole of Africa.

The DRC government has announced that construction of the Inga 3 dam, the first phase of the larger Grand Inga project, will be launched in October 2015. However, the project has been delayed several times over the past 40 years.

Edited by Megan van Wyngaardt
Creamer Media Contributing Editor Online

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