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Cape Town readies battery storage, ‘dispatchable IPP’ procurement programmes

By: Terence Creamer 12th August 2022 The City of Cape Town, which is in the process of procuring up to 200 MW of renewable energy from independent power producers (IPPs), expects to initiate a utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) programme in 2023. It is also working on the design of a so-called ‘dispatchable IPP... →

Cape Town CBD

South Africa government, business agree new push for growth pact

By: Bloomberg 12th August 2022 South Africa’s government, labour unions and business representatives agreed to form working groups that will aim to find agreement on a plan for reviving the nation’s ailing economy. Representatives of the Nation Economic Development and Labour Council on Thursday night made the decision to... →

Labat Africa once again partners with CSIR to accelerate cannabis projects

By: Marleny Arnoldi 12th August 2022 JSE-listed venture capital company Labat Africa has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to fast-track implementation of various cannabis-related projects. The CSIR has carried out extensive work in the areas of industrial hemp and... →

Omnia’s Gobalsamy wins award

By: Darren Parker 12th August 2022 Diversified chemicals company Omnia Group CEO Seelan Gobalsamy has been announced as the winner of the CEO Today Africa Awards 2022. This is the second year in a row that Gobalsamy has received the accolade. The award, hosted by CEO Today Magazine, celebrates CEOs who excel in leadership and... →

Omnia Group CEO Seelan Gobalsamy

Resilient achieves solid interim performance

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 12th August 2022 JSE-listed retail-focused real estate investment trust (Reit) Resilient has declared a dividend of 234.05c apiece for the six months ended June 30, an increase of 3.5% compared with the dividend of 226.11c apiece declared for the six months to June 30, 2021. Resilient distributed about... →

Kwikspace delivers temporary offices within a week of order being placed

By: Donna Slater 12th August 2022 Prefabricated, modular buildings manufacturer Kwikspace has met a tight project deadline by delivering ten rental units to engineering project and product development firm EPCM Holdings within a week of the order being placed. EPCM required temporary office space for its personnel at the Port of... →

A photo of some of the rental units provided to EPCM by Kwikspace

Stewarts & Lloyds hands over R330 000 to women and children's charities

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 12th August 2022 Steel, pipe, roofing, fencing, hardware and irrigation and pumps products supplier Stewarts & Lloyds on August 11 handed over R330 000 it had raised through its Break the Cycle campaign to three women and children’s charities, at an event at the company’s head office in Johannesburg. The amount... →

An image of Ovakado's Vicky Dockray, standing posing with charity organisation representatives

Vicky Dockray (fourth from left) stands with representatives of the charity organisations

Fishing communities welcome enviro dept’s Karpowership decision

By: Donna Slater 12th August 2022 Civil society and environmental organisation The Green Connection reports that fishers in the Saldanha Bay, Coega and Richards Bay region were vindicated in their fight to protect their livelihoods against potential environmental damage if ship-borne power stations of Turkey-based powership... →

NRF highlights women in science advancements

By: Tasneem Bulbulia 12th August 2022 Independent statutory body the National Research Foundation (NRF) says that, in support of one of its mandates – that of fast-tracking gender transformation and equity in academia – it has achieved several milestones in providing support for women postgraduates and researchers. “Not only have we... →

Dr Fulufhelo Nelwamondo

Hospital-level care can be delivered at home, says Discovery Health

By: Schalk Burger 12th August 2022 Hospital-level care can be delivered safely and meticulously in the comfort of a patient’s home, and many events requiring hospital-level care can be managed as effectively in the home setting as in a hospital when enabled by cutting-edge remote monitoring technology, says Discovery Health CEO Dr... →

Defaults raise Southern Africa hydro project cost to $5bn

By: Bloomberg 12th August 2022 Sovereign defaults by both Zambia and Zimbabwe have escalated the Batoka Gorge hydro-electric project cost, with the estimated price climbing 23% to almost $5-billion. The plan, which is being developed by General Electric and Power Construction Corporation of China, needs credit support, the... →

Ethiopia completes third phase of filling giant Nile dam

By: Reuters 12th August 2022 Ethiopia has completed the third phase of filling the reservoir for its huge dam on the Blue Nile river, the government said on Friday, a process that continues to irk the country's downstream neighbours Egypt and Sudan. Addis Ababa says the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), a $4-billion... →

UK and Israeli groups combine to offer weapons detecting radar to British Army

By: Rebecca Campbell 12th August 2022 UK-based aerospace, defence and security group Babcock International has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and IAI subsidiary ELTA Systems, to jointly bid for the UK Ministry of Defence’s (MOD’s) SERPENS programme for the British Army. SERPENS is... →

UK atomic agency selects engineering consortium to help deliver nuclear fusion project

By: Rebecca Campbell 12th August 2022 The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), which is that country’s agency for the development of nuclear fusion power, has selected a consortium, led by design, engineering and project management consultancy Atkins (part of Canada’s multinational SNC-Lavalin group) as prime contractor, to be its... →

Photo by UKAEA
An artist’s cutaway impression of the STEP facility, showing the spherical torus

Electricity tariffs under the spotlight

By: Creamer Media Reporter 12th August 2022 Creamer Media's Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Engineering News Editor Terence Creamer about the consultations that are under way regarding Eskom's next revenue application; the National Energy Regulator of South Africa having to deliberate on the Retail Tariff Plan submitted by Eskom; and the ongoing... →

Electricity tariffs under the spotlight

South Africa gets another unsolicited bid for a Telkom deal

By: Bloomberg 12th August 2022 The South African government received an unsolicited bid for its 40.5% stake in Telkom, following an announcement that MTN Group is planning to acquire part of the carrier. Investment firm Toto Consortium made an offer valued at $433-million for the stake in the nation’s third-largest... →

Stillwater repositioned for delivery through commodity cycle

By: Martin Creamer 12th August 2022 Prevailing macro-environment challenges and changing palladium market conditions have prompted a strategic revision of Sibanye-Stillwater’s United States platinum group metal (PGM) operations, which in June suffered a one-in-200-year flood at Stillwater, in the Montana region. These challenges... →

Sibanye-Stillwater US presentation covered by Mining Weekly’s Martin Creamer. Video: Nicholas Boyd.

No offer received from rain – Telkom

By: Natasha Odendaal 12th August 2022 Telecommunications group Telkom on Friday denied that it received any offer or proposal from network operator rain surrounding a proposed merger. Several media outlets reported on Thursday that rain proposed a merger with Telkom. →

Magazine round up | 12 August 2022

12th August 2022 A video round up of this week’s magazine, highlighting our cover story, features and Business Leader. →

Magazine round up | 12 August 2022

Enpower granted licence to trade electricity

By: Donna Slater 11th August 2022 The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has granted Enpower Trading a licence to trade energy. This is the first issuing of such a licence in over a decade and brings to a total three licensed energy traders in the country. Enpower will now be able to help accelerate private... →

Home Affairs to advertise first 2 000 jobs for young graduates

By: Schalk Burger 11th August 2022 The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) will advertise 2 000 positions for unemployed young graduates, as part of a larger plan to hire 10 000 young graduates over three years, to help with the digitisation of civic paper records. The first cohort will start work on November 1, Home Affairs Minister... →

Solidarity insists Eskom needs more skilled experts

By: Marleny Arnoldi 11th August 2022 Trade union Solidarity insists that power utility Eskom needs more personnel with critical skills, including for project management, maintenance and returning generation units to service at power stations. Solidarity says this comes as a senior executive with Eskom has denied that there is a... →

Manufacturing output down 3.5% y/y in June

By: Donna Slater 11th August 2022 Manufacturing production in South Africa decreased by 3.5% year-on-year in June, primarily brought down by the motor vehicles, parts and accessories, and other transport equipment sector, which declined by 17% and subtracted 1.8 percentage points from the overall tally. The food and beverages... →

Metal recyclers say proposed metal export ban will negatively impact price of scrap metal

By: Schalk Burger 11th August 2022 Industry organisation the Metal Recyclers' Association of South Africa (MRA) says the six-month ban on the export of metal proposed by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), would detrimentally affect the price of all South African scrap metal, and, in turn, negatively impact... →

Denel announces fresh turnaround strategy

By: Marleny Arnoldi 11th August 2022 State-owned defence company Denel has announced it will institutionalise and implement a new turnaround plan to effect a self-sustaining business. The plan is particularly focused on streamlining the company, growing its order pipeline and accessing new revenue streams. →

Denel's Badger infantry combat vehicle

Cape Town to add two new MyCiTi depots in R340m project

By: Irma Venter 11th August 2022 The City of Cape Town will this month start construction of two new MyCiTi bus depots. The R340-million project forms part of the roll-out of the MyCiTi service to Mitchells Plain, Khayelitsha, Claremont and Wynberg. →

Artist's impression of one of the proposed new depots

Nersa reiterates that it has not approved Sasol’s 96% gas hike

By: Terence Creamer 11th August 2022 The National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) says it has not approved an increase in the maximum price of pipeline gas to R133/GJ and insists that it “would not approve any increase which doubles its previously approved maximum gas price” of R68.39/GJ. It also insists that only Sasol... →

ICD Property gets approval for 183 m high-rise tower in New Zealand

By: Schalk Burger 11th August 2022 Commercial and residential property developer ICD Property has received approval to build a 183-m-tall, 55 level residential high-rise tower in central Auckland, New Zealand, which will reshape the city’s skyline and play a key part in the redevelopment and revival of the Federal St precinct. The... →

Giant US corporation to use small modular nuclear reactors to power one of its plants

By: Rebecca Campbell 11th August 2022 US-based global multinational materials science company Dow, most famous for its chemical production (concentrated in subsidiary Dow Chemicals), has announced that it had signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with US small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) company X-energy. Under that LoI, Dow and X-energy... →

Virgin Orbit signs agreement with South Korean group for space launch services in that land

By: Rebecca Campbell 11th August 2022 US small satellite launch services company Virgin Orbit has signed an agreement with Republic of (South) Korea investment company J-Space. Under the agreement, the two companies will assess candidate sites for spaceports in the East Asian country. The aim is to be able to provide small satellite... →

City of Cape Town develops a standard procedure for temporary wastewater packaged plants

By: Creamer Media Reporter 11th August 2022 The City of Cape Town is implementing a standard operating procedure (SOP) for temporary wastewater packaged plants for areas draining into the Potsdam, Zandvliet and Macassar wastewater treatment works (WWTWs). The aim of the standard procedure is to facilitate sustainable development in areas... →

Gqerberha Boardwalk Mall set to open final phase on September 22

By: Marleny Arnoldi 11th August 2022 The final construction phase of the new Gqeberha Boardwalk Mall is nearing completion and is poised to open on September 22. This follows the opening of the mall’s first phase in March, which involved the upgrading and reconfiguration of the existing stores and cinema of the prior Boardwalk... →

Italtile to post higher earnings despite tough market conditions

By: Schalk Burger 11th August 2022 JSE-listed ceramic tile and bathroom accessories retailer Italtile expects to report a marginal decline in turnover for the financial year ended June 30. In a trading update to shareholders on August 11, it said revenue was still satisfactory, given the very high comparable base of the preceding... →

Sappi announces first sustainability-linked financing facility

By: Schalk Burger 11th August 2022 JSE-listed woodfibre products and solutions multinational Sappi says its €515-million international revolving credit facility is its first financing facility with sustainability-linked key performance indicators (KPIs) and benefits from the group’s newly developed Sustainable Financing Framework.... →

Utilities that can provide services will thrive in a disrupted energy sector

By: Schalk Burger 11th August 2022 Municipal utilities and distributors will have to "provide more than one product" and will have to develop new services and business models to effectively serve the market, such as by reselling and wheeling power between producers and consumers. These are some of the views presented during the... →

Construction of Africa’s first biophilic building under way in Cape Town

By: Marleny Arnoldi 11th August 2022 Estate agent Dogon Group has confirmed that demolition is under way ahead of the start of construction of Africa’s first-ever biophilic development, in Cape Town. The Fynbos building, as it will be called, will comprise 24 storeys of mixed-use space, including Cape Town’s first-ever urban... →

The Fynbos' illustrated exterior, in Cape Town

MTN Group posts double-digit first-half growth

By: Natasha Odendaal 11th August 2022 JSE-listed telecommunications giant MTN has delivered double-digit growth during the first six months of 2022. In the six months ended June 30, the group’s earnings before tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) before one-off items expanded 13.7%, while the Ebitda margin increased 0.5... →

A photo of Bloomberg's head office entrance

Environmental, social and governance elevating to safety-equalling status, mining webinar hears

By: Martin Creamer 11th August 2022 The shift from linear to circular value chains has the potential to impact all aspects of mining and requires a rethink, Anglo American Platinum sustainable impact head Stephen Bullock has told a Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM) webinar. In a presentation on the... →

Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy webinar covered by Mining Weekly’s Martin Creamer. Video: Darlene Creamer.

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