Consulting engineering firms Iliso consulting, Lategan Bouwer Engineers and TRicon Consulting Engineers have entered into a long-term partnership to form the first African-owned multidisciplinary consulting engineering powerhouse, Nako Group.
The Nako Group, which was officially launched last month, will pursue contracts across Africa to deliver a range of specialised engineering services.
Nako Group executive chairperson Felix Fongoqa tells Engineering News that the partnership is an opportunity for the three companies to enhance their service offering by combining their portfolio of specialist services.
The group provides consulting services, which include specialist services regarding heavy- industrial and mining structures to fire and alternative-energy services, and other services such as traffic engineering, transport planning, environmental management and water use licensing services.
“A combination of full-time offices and strategic partnerships with citizen-owned firms in our countries of operation puts us in a prime position to provide sustainable engineering solutions for African conditions, using African expertise. With our empowering partnership model, we ensure that the benefits of the African Renaissance and growth are localised to Africa and that no profits flow out of the continent,” Fongoqa states.
Some of Nako Group’s core strengths include an adaptable contracting model that facilitates traditional and complex contract models, such as the engineering, procurement and construction management model.
Further, Nako Group has expertise in contracting in various conditions,including the International Federation of Consulting Engineers contracts and new engineering contracts. The company can also undertake projects that range from small community-based projects to large complex landmark projects.
Fongoqa stresses that Nako Group’s philosophy is based on the principles of mutual benefit, respect and accountability, adding that, in all its countries of operation, Nako Group has a long-term investment strategy to ensure it develops the local expertise.
“There is a growing realisation that a company like ours embraces the concept of true empowerment of citizens and contributes positively to the development of skilled and experienced engineering professionals,” he says.
Economic growth is associated with large-scale project-delivery capability, he notes, and states that Nako’s value proposition to the public sector across the continent is its ability to deliver those large-scale multidisciplinary projects.
Further, the private sector can play a significant role in providing training and mentorship for young professionals working in the public sector. Nako Group has embarked on a programme of sharing its in-house training materials with some public-sector clients.
Nako Group’s immediate target growth areas include mining, industrial, energy, water and transportation. The company has full time operations in Uganda and Zambia, as well as strategic partnerships that entail working on projects in Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.
Fongoqa believes that the economic growth in Africa is an ideal opportunity for the continent to develop its own skilled resource base, particularly in the field of engineering.
“We want to be at the forefront of developing that resource base and be associated with the successful execution of large-scale multidisciplinary projects. The legacy we are building is that Africans can deliver on large-scale complex multidisciplinary and landmark sustainable projects. We want those projects to stand proud as testament to that legacy,” he concludes.