The Isimba Hydroelectric Power Station is located along the River Nile between Lake Kyoga in Kayunga District and Lake Victoria, some 90km North-East of Kampala, extending over more than 2,800 acres of land.
SMEC, a member of the Surbana Jurong Group, is proud to have partnered with the Government of Uganda to solve the country’s electricity generation deficit through the realisation of the Isimba Hydroelectric Power Station, which was commissioned in March 2019. The power station comprises a power house with four 45.8MW Kaplan turbine generator units, a water retaining dam, a spillway and a 132kV switchyard.
The Isimba Hydroelectric Power Station is one of Uganda’s largest infrastructure projects and the third largest electricity plant in the country. It is expected to boost electricity generation by 183MW, powering homes, schools, factories and planned transport systems.
Construction of the hydropower plant commenced in April 2015 through a bilateral agreement between Uganda and China. As the Project Management Consultant, SMEC worked closely with contractors and the Uganda Electricity Generation Company Ltd (UEGCL) to supervise the quality of construction, ensure compliance with project processes, monitor progress, train and mentor UEGCL staff, and provide technical expertise and engineering advice for various project phases.
A 3D model of a typical oil and gas storage facility.
The Surbana Jurong Group scored a significant win in Ethiopia recently when it secured an oil terminal project with Ethiopian Petroleum Supply Enterprise.
In what was a collaborative effort between Surbana Jurong and SMEC, a member of the Surbana Jurong Group, the Group participated in the bid for engineering, project management, and site supervision consultancy services for the construction and commissioning of a new white oil products storage terminal at Dukem, Ethiopia.
Ethiopia Petroleum Supply Enterprise CEO Tadesse Haile Mariam (left) in a handshake with Fekere Mamo, SMEC Country Manager Ethiopia, as Shimeles Kebede, SMEC Assistant Country Manager Ethiopia, looks on.
The oil storage terminal will be the biggest in capacity (240,000 cubic metres) among Ethiopia’s depots, and the first to store and handle aviation fuel. It will be able to accommodate refined petroleum, white products receipt, storage and distribution, comprising product storage tanks, tank truck and rail wagon receipt facility, tank truck loading gantry with allied piping/automation, and other related facilities.
SMEC Foundation members with supplies donated to the mayor’s office on behalf of the Sierra Leone government.
Following three days of heavy rainfall in August 2017, Sierra Leone suffered a devastating mudslide causing 300 people to lose their lives with many more reported missing. In the days following the disaster, the SMEC Foundation contacted the mayor’s office which was managing the disaster relief, to find out how SMEC, a member of the Surbana Jurong Group, could assist.
They indicated an urgent need for safety equipment for the emergency workers to facilitate their rescue efforts and in assisting the victims of the Sierra Leone floods. As a result, the SMEC Foundation donated 600 pieces of safety gear and equipment including reflector suits, rain boots, hard hand gloves, masks and helmets to the cause.
Members of the school for the blind with our representatives after the handover ceremony.
A school for the blind in Nigeria had an urgent need for computers with facial-recognition software, and the Surbana Jurong team on the ground swung into action.
Through the SMEC Foundation, five computers with the required software that is usable by the blind were donated to the Kenneth Ulo Foundation, a non-governmental organisation that promotes the welfare of the blind by offering training and post-training support to develop entrepreneurial skills.
A handover ceremony was attended by parents of children who attend the school, head of the foundation Kenneth Ulo, and our Country Operations Manager Pious Ebubedike and Human Resource Assistant Charity Abah. The principal of the school, Florence Njoku, called the gift a dream come true.
SMEC will conduct training programmes for Newmont’s technical employees in Ghana.
SMEC, a member of the Surbana Jurong Group, has been engaged by mining company Newmont (Ghana) to provide consultancy services for Asset Management and Condition Monitoring Training. It is the Surbana Jurong Africa division’s first asset management project in West Africa.
Newmont’s Asset Management programme in West Africa has matured in recent years, evolving from a tactical approach to a strategic regional programme. Its next step is to build a sustainable Asset Management competency level. In Ghana, Newmont is seeking to close the skills and knowledge gaps coupled with applying the skills and knowledge gained by individuals in training. SMEC’s team will provide a comprehensive Asset Management Training Programme to Newmont’s technical employees in Ghana, with courses covering Reliability Engineering, Condition Monitoring and Maintenance Planning. Training will be carried out at Newmont’s Ahafo and Akyem mines.
SMEC’s scope of work also includes assessing site conditions and maturity, testing competency frameworks against job descriptions, and developing a mentorship model. The project, which has a duration of 18 months, will see SMEC provide a collaborative training approach, using a mix of standard material and customised solutions to match the operating maturity of Newmont.
Sharing a victory handshake are SJ’s Issac Assisi and Dr Gideon Gono, Chairman of TD Holdings, after Surbana Jurong and SMEC representatives completed the signing of the master-planning contracts with their clients.
Surbana Jurong’s Planning Group and Economic and Industrial Planning Team, partnering SMEC’s Urbanisation Team in Africa, have jointly secured two project wins in Zimbabwe. The broader service provision will be the Market Positioning, Concept Master Plan, Concept Infrastructure Plan and Development Guide Plan for an 8,000ha Agri-Processing City which includes a 225ha business park situated some 40km from the capital, Harare. The second is the Feasibility Assessment & Concept Master Plan for an Airport Hotel & Wellness Centre Development on the edge of the capital city’s limits. The projects will run concurrently and completion is expected in 10 months.
The projects are wholly aligned with the country’s long-term fiscal objectives to boost much-needed economic activity within a developing, robust Special Economic Zones (SEZ) strategy. Implementation of the newly appointed SEZ Board’s policies will see the two projects showcase not only as pilot schemes but also as important key economic drivers for the capital.
SMEC, member of the Surbana Jurong Group, sanitation project will improve health and living conditions in Arba Minch.
SMEC, member of the Surbana Jurong Group, has been engaged by the Arba Minch Town Municipality in Ethiopia to provide consultancy engineering services to improve sanitation planning and capabilities, as well as to improve the performance of the existing sanitation service chain.
This project is aimed at improving the public health and living conditions in Arba Minch, and will deliver the following key components:
An improved sanitation service chain
Improved sanitation planning and capabilities in Municipality
The project is in accordance with the Monitoring and Evaluation Framework of the One WASH National Program of Ethiopia. The Program brings together four key government ministries and their related sectors to modernise the way water and sanitation services are delivered to people. This project will engage relevant stakeholders in strategic and operational sanitation planning, as well as the delivery of these services within the sanitation service chain. This is aimed at effective and efficient utilisation of financial and human resources for the provision of sustainable sanitation services.
The contract was awarded in July 2017 and the project duration is 24 months, with downstream services being envisaged.
Buguruni School for the Deaf students at the opening of the new water drinking taps which the water has passed through filtration for clean and safe drinking water
The SMEC Foundation recently partnered Buguruni School for the Deaf in Tanzania to rehabilitate and improve basic facilities at the school. The SMEC Foundation helped rehabilitate the water supply system, to ensure a clean and safe source of drinking water, and provide water supply to the kitchen, toilets and dormitories.
Formed in 1974 by the Tanzania Deaf Society, and operated in conjunction with the Government of Tanzania, Buguruni School is a free primary school for deaf children. The school is run under a strict budget which is insufficient to meet the needs of the pupils. The school has approximately 268 pupils including 150 boarders.
The SMEC Foundation project comprised:
A water supply system which included the extension of an existing single tap to a 1,000-litre tank and drinking area with 36 outlets for pupils. The outlets provide clean and safe drinking water after filtration to enhance water safety.
A float switch for tanks using water from the borehole to reduce loss of water due to overflowing from tanks, improve sanitation and reduce electricity costs.
A new supply and distribution system of pipe network to consumer points. Water was supplied to all toilets and bathrooms across the compound including dormitories, classroom blocks and offices.
Flushing of the 20-year borehole and rectification of the pumps together with electric works for the pump.
Regional Manager – East Africa (T) Nasser Harrasy (last on right), Country Manager – Tanzania, Mohammed Kumbakumba (second from left) and Assistant Country Manager and CSR committee member Abdulkher Islam (third from left), with the Headmistress of the Buguruni School for the Deaf and the Executive Director of Tanzania Society for the Deaf (in jacket) at the opening ceremony.
Mr Yasin Mawe, Executive Director of Tanzania Society for the Deaf said, “I would like to extend our heartfelt and sincere thanks to SMEC. We look forward to continuing working with you in any other projects from your end for the benefits of the children at our school.”
Steven Hitt (left), Executive Director of Beit Cure Hospital Zambia, expresses his appreciation to Manengu Musambo, SMEC Country Manager-Zambia, upon receiving the blood bank refrigerator
As part of Surbana Jurong Group’s Corporate Social Responsibility programme, The SMEC Foundation has donated a blood bank refrigerator to Beit Cure Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia.
The refrigerator, which can keep blood at optimum temperatures for two weeks even without electricity, is the first the hospital has owned, since its inception ten years ago.
During the handover ceremony, Manengu Musambo, SMEC’s Country Manager-Zambia, said, “At SMEC, we appreciate the value of life and have partnered with Beit Cure Hospital to enhance service delivery and help save lives of the vulnerable children treated at the hospital.”
Mr. Steven Hitt, Beit Cure Hospital Executive Director, expressed great delight and gratitude for the donation, “Having the refrigerator will help maintain a great supply of fresh blood urgently required in most of the hospital’s surgeries.”
Beit Cure Hospital is a paediatric teaching hospital, specialising in the treatment and care of children living with physical disabilities. It is one of the few hospitals in Zambia to adequately address the surgical needs of children with disabilities.
The Water Sector Reform Project seeks to improve the delivery of water and electricity services in Sierra Leone
The West Africa team in Sierra Leone has been engaged to provide consultancy services to the Guma Valley Water Company.
This project is part of the Government of Sierra Leone’s Water Sector Reform Project under its Threshold Program, which seeks to improve the delivery of water and electricity services, and enhance transparency, accountability and customer service practices.
Scope of work includes:
Project management and reporting
Physical mapping of water infrastructure and associated infrastructure
Water infrastructure condition assessments
Implement health and safety systems
Hydraulic modelling
SMEC will work with the Millennium Challenge Coordinating Unit, an independent unit established by the Government of Sierra Leone which is responsible for administering all contracts and grants related to the Threshold Program.
