Infrastructure development in Africa, particularly power generation, presents significant work opportunities for the consulting engineering industry, as reaching the projected growth rates in Africa depends on large infrastructure development, says natural resources and development solutions company SRK Consulting South African chairperson Roger Dixon.

“There is a desperate need for electric power in South Africa, particularly in low-income households. Without adequate electric power, improvements in education and health will be limited, which will, in turn, limit economic growth,” he adds.

“Presently, there is a lot of activity in the energy sector, with State-owned power utility Eskom building the Medupi coal- fired power station, in Limpopo, and the Kusile coal-fired power station, in Mpumalanga. Nuclear and other renew- able-energy options are also being researched or constructed,” says SRK Consulting MD Peter Labrum.

He believes that the key to growth in African countries is in infrastructure development, such as power generation projects, but that maintenance of existing infrastructure is equally important. However, the difficulty in securing funding for infrastructure programmes and the inability of governments in Africa to effectively coordinate a range of proposed development projects regionally are hampering growth in Africa.

Driven by requirements from the mining sector, Labrum says, the use of rail services will increase and that the requirement for solutions to pollution, particularly ground- water pollution, will also increase. “In the future, the requirement for additional rail capacity and the planned infrastructure pertaining to South Africa’s National Development Plan, for example, should provide an increased demand for consulting services outside the mining industry.”

He notes that SRK Consulting is taking action to supply development solutions to Africa by expanding its South African practice, establishing companies in Angola, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Malawi and Zimbabwe.

“Some of our recent involvement includes work on the Nacala rail corridor in Malawi, providing technical mining advice for the Cameroon government, and conducting numerous environmental and social projects for mining and telecommunications com- panies throughout Africa. We have also secured contracts for groundwater remediation projects and are part of the study team looking at the long-term solutions to deal with the acid mine drainage challenge in the Witwatersrand area, in Johannesburg,” continues Labrum.

Dixon notes that many of the challenges that projects face in the public and private sectors are caused by the need to obtain a social licence to operate in an area.

“A social licence is no longer just a case of obtaining a permit from government. Communities have to be involved in a project and its benefits over the life of and after the project,” he says.

Labrum notes that the consulting engineering industry, in South Africa, faces several challenges, including the uncertainty of the global economy, which has affected the marketplace and the workloads of consulting engineers.

“Further, while there is a large amount of potential work in the public sector, this has not been converted into actual projects, and the mining sector has been affected by industrial unrest, lower demand and the consequent lower prices received for commodities,” he explains.

These challenges, compounded by the worldwide shortage of engineering skills, make it difficult to adequately staff consulting engineering firms with skilled and knowledgeable professionals, says Labrum.

He notes that consulting engineers are further burdened because many South African clients do not have staff who are experienced enough to manage the risks and decision-making required during an engineering project.

Commercially, the consulting engineering industry must often deal with corruption issues as well as nonpayment, or severely delayed payment, for services rendered, Labrum adds.

He says there is a current trend for large international consulting engineering firms to merge with locally established consulting practices.

“With the economic slowdown in many parts of the world, engineering firms are looking for engineering, procurement and construction management opportunities in Africa,” explains Dixon.

The future of the local industry will be determined by the growth achieved by South Africa, but many in the industry are thriving on the opportunities outside the country’s borders, Labrum says, adding that the local consulting engineering industry has expertise and experience that is often not recognised.

Dixon adds that “the future economic growth in Africa will depend on the quantity and quality of engineers available”. “There is an ongoing need for education and skills development in South Africa; unfortunately, the country’s outcomes-based education system has not been conducive to solving engineering problems, producing graduates who have difficulty in assessing a problem and applying their knowledge to find a solution,” Labrum explains.

As part of its skills development programme, SRK Consulting encourages its young engineers to register as candidate engineers early in their careers, states Dixon. The company then works with candidate engineers to help them register with the Engineering Council of South Africa as professional engineers.

There are also courses, available from several industry sources, aimed at aspiring engineers, with SRK encouraging graduates to enrol for postgraduate studies, says Labrum.

The most important training, however, is done on the job under the close mentorship of an experienced consultant, he concludes.