Africa – Page 2 – Prostruct Consulting

Surbana Jurong wins top industry awards for second year running in Africa

The SMEC’s South Africa team with the awards won at the recent Construction Industry Business Excellence Awards

For the second year in a row, SMEC, member of the Surbana Jurong Group, Africa team has been given top recognition for its achievements in several categories at the recent Construction Industry Business Excellence Awards.

The team garnered the Top Engineering Consultant Award in three categories: Civil Consulting Engineers; Structural Consulting Engineers; and Combined Civil & Structural Consulting Engineers.

Accepting the awards on behalf of SMEC South Africa were (above picture from left to right); SMEC South Africa CEO Kostas Rontiris; HR Manager for Johannesburg Ayanda Maphumulo; Regional Manager for Gauteng South Andrew McKune; Senior Technologist, Management Services Paula Cangi; Generation Manager, Power & Energy Dinesh Baqha; Commercial Manager, Legal Terence Ganamany and SMEC Africa COO Thomas Marshall.

The awards are hosted by leading consultancy and research company PMR Africa. They are based on market research from different industries and reflect how clients rate companies.

Celebrating World Water Day 2017

water africa — A boy samples the clean water. Image source: http://bit.ly/2n5qTnt

It is estimated that by 2025, two-thirds of the world’s population may face water shortages due to rapid urbanisation. The Surbana Jurong Group provides innovative and sustainable water solutions for every aspect of the water cycle and invests in research, development and new technology including computer-aided design and flow simulation packages to enhance our capabilities.

As we mark World Water Day today, we are heartened to be able to help raise the livelihoods of local communities by improving access to water supply, sanitation and drainage services. Below are two significant water projects which we are proud to be part of.

Khulna Water Supply Project, Bangladesh

Bangladesh water — *The project will help to provide access to safe drinking water to the residents of Khulna in Bangladesh*

“As a result of the project, 490,000 people have been connected to a piped water network for the first time, and 220,000 people have received improved water supply services.”

This project was developed to secure a sustainable urban water supply for residents of Khulna in southwest Bangladesh.

In the city of 700, 000 people, more than 80% of its residents do not have access to a piped water supply. To ensure safe drinking water for the people of Khulna, the Government of Bangladesh and the Khulna Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (KWASA) sought to implement major capital works through the rehabilitation and strengthening of the water supply system as part of a long-term investment plan.

SMEC, member of the Surbana Jurong Group, provided management development support to KWASA, to transform it into a professionally managed corporate body.

Water Supply and Sanitation Improvement Project, Zambia

Water Supply and Sanitation

Urban areas of Lusaka will benefit from a reliable water supply and improved sanitation

“This project will help to increase access to a reliable water supply, and improve sanitation and drainage services in selected urban and peri-urban areas of Lusaka.”

Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia has a population of nearly two million people. Not all of its residents have access to a treated water supply and only 30% have waterborne sanitation.

Engaged by the Millennium Challenge Account-Zambia Limited (MCA-Zambia), SMEC provides programme management services for citywide water supply, sanitation, and drainage improvement works in Lusaka. Our role also includes ensuring MCA-Zambia’s compliance with environmental, health and safety standards.

Energy Generation Assessment secured in Sierra Leone

The team in Sierra Leone will develop a business plan and transformation programme to strengthen corporate governance at EGTC and EDSA.

SMEC, member of the Surbana Jurong Group, has been engaged by the Millennium Challenge Coordinating Unit, which is part of a US foreign aid agency to undertake an Assessment and Business Planning Activity for the Electricity Generation and Transmission Company (EGTC) in Sierra Leone, West Africa.

The West Africa team will conduct an assessment of EGTC’s ability to meet current and future responsibilities in the reformed power sector and develop a business plan and utility transformation programme to support EGTC development.

The overall objective is to strengthen corporate governance at EGTC and EDSA (Electricity Supply and Distribution Authority) and to bolster EGTC’s operations.

The project scope of work includes:

Defining and implementing a training programme to improve the Boards of Directors’ understanding of the operational environment, to strengthen the skills of the Directors to make informed investment and policy decisions, and to establish sound corporate governance practices
Evaluating the institutional structure, professional requirements and training needs for EGTC as an independent service provider
Drafting a business plan that presents EGTC corporate objectives and strategy to achieve the desired performance and financial results
Evaluating business systems, information technology platforms, professional development and equipment needs to serve the strategic objectives defined in the business plan

Project works, which will take five months, are scheduled to commence in April 2017.

South Africa’s new partnership to benefit over two million disabled

More than two million disabled South Africans will benefit from a new partnership which SMEC South Africa (Africa division) and the Disability Empowerment Concerns (DEC) Trust jointly formed with investment holdings company, Kapela Holdings Group.

The agreement will see Kapela Holdings Group manage and channel dividends from SMEC South Africa into six major NGOs catering to disabled people in South Africa.

This also constitutes a part of the profit-sharing requirements of SMEC South Africa in terms of its Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) obligations. “A portion of our profits will go to people with disabilities, ranging from blindness to mental health and epilepsy. They will be the direct beneficiaries of our partnership,” CEO Kostas Rontiris commented.

The Kapela Holdings Group manages companies, of which 12 are multinational investment portfolios. The Group works closely in partnership with the DEC Trust, and also manages its interests in terms of the Kapela Fund.

Surbana Jurong and SMEC win first joint bid in Africa

urban redevelopment design Guinea — Kaloum, the city centre of Conakry which is Guinea’s capital city

In a significant achievement since Surbana Jurong and SMEC joined forces in August, we are proud to announce our first successful joint project bid. The Surbana Jurong Group has been awarded an urban redevelopment and design contract in Guinea, Africa by the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE).

Kudos to the Joint Opportunities Coordination Office (JOCO) and everyone involved who have worked as one team to garner this success!

SJ and SMEC will assist the SCE to prepare a master plan for the government to redevelop Kaloum, the city centre of Conakry which is Guinea’s capital city. The scope of work includes:

Positioning
Visioning and Programming
Urban Redevelopment Planning
Urban Design
Implementation Planning
Master Plan launch

Kaloum and the Los Islands form the CBD of the City and the most congested portion of the urban area. Conakry is the largest city in French-speaking Guinea with an estimated population of approximately 2 million. Almost one quarter of the West African country’s population lives in the urban areas of Conakry.

JOCO has been actively working with leaders across all of the Group’s geographical markets, namely Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, North Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Middle East, Africa and the Americas.

Kaloum Guinea

Type of Project: Urban Planning and Design

Size: 1,300 hectares (about the size of 1,800 football fields)

Status: Awarded in Sep 2016. Target completion in mid 2017

Significance: First SJ-SMEC joint project in Africa

Surbana Jurong inks four MOUs to expand footprints in Africa

surbana jurong bafokeng nation development trust — Signing of MOU between Surbana Jurong Private Limited’s CEO (International), Mr Teo Eng Cheong and Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Bafokeng Nation Development Trust, Mr Obakeng Phetwe

Singapore, 24 August 2016 – Surbana Jurong has signed a string of MOUs with the Royal Bafokeng Nation and three international organisations namely Mixta Africa, Quantum Global and The International Federation of African Consular Chambers & Trade (FICA) to expand its footprints in Africa.

With its deep experience and expertise in urban planning and industrialisation, Surbana Jurong has already undertaken projects in 15 countries in Africa including Ghana and Gabon and will continue to do so in more countries.

Surbana Jurong CEO (International) Teo Eng Cheong said, “Africa is the second-fastest urbanising continent, after Asia. The demand for urbanisation and infrastructure in Africa is burgeoning. With the business environment in Africa being favourable to multinational companies, we are excited to partner with major players such as Mixta Africa, a highly active participant in the African Real Estate sector and Swiss-based Quantum Global, an investment partner with unique expertise in identifying gateway opportunities between Africa and international markets to help us grow our presence in this market.”

“Our work there will include designing affordable housing and formulating long term development and capacity building solutions by unlocking Africa’s resources in a sustainable way that will positively impact its economic and social development,” he added.

Surbana Jurong has done many projects in the rapidly developing continent specifically in the Republic of Congo, Angola, Burundi, Nigeria, Mauritius, South Africa and others since 2005. One of Surbana Jurong’s major projects there was creating a master plan for the Rwandan capital city of Kigali to turn it into a financial hub for Africa in 2009. The master plan won the Best Overseas Planning Project Award 2010 and Best Planning Project 2013 in the Singapore Institute of Planners Awards.

Mr Teo signed the four MOUs at an event on the sidelines of the Africa Singapore Business Forum held at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel.

Witnessing the signings were Er. Louis Tay, Surbana Jurong’s Managing Director, Africa; Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Bafokeng Nation Development Trust Obakeng Phetwe and State Minister of Industry, Ethiopia, Dr. Mebrahtu Meles.

__________________________

For media enquiries, please contact:

Alvin HANG

Group Director, Group Corporate Communications

T: 6248-1100 |alvin.hangwy@surbanajurong.com

Lyn Lee FOO

Senior Manager, Group Corporate Communications

T: 6248-1019 | Lynlee.foo@surbanajurong.com

About Surbana Jurong

Surbana Jurong (SJ) has a rich 50-year heritage in the development of Singapore’s urban, industrial and infrastructure landscape. SJ traces its roots to the Housing Development Board (HDB) and the Jurong Town Corporation (JTC), agencies synonymous with Singapore’s early township and industrialisation efforts.

Headquartered in Singapore, Surbana Jurong Private Limited (SJ) was formed in June 2015 through the merger of renowned urban planning & affordable housing design expert Surbana International Consultants, and Jurong International, Singapore’s premiere industrial and infrastructure engineering design stalwart.

In August 2016, SJ completed a transformational merger with world-renowned infrastructure engineering designer SMEC Holdings. With this complementary merger, SJ now boasts a combined global workforce of 10,000 employees in over 95 offices across 40 countries in Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas. SJ is also presently the largest Asia-based urban, industrial and infrastructure consulting firm. SJ today provides one-stop consultancy solutions across the entire value chain of urbanisation, industrialisation and infrastructure domains.

SJ’s motto ‘Building Cities, Shaping Lives’ reflects its belief that development is more than just steel and concrete. SJ creates spaces and infrastructure services where people live, work and play, shaping cities into homes with sustainable jobs where communities and businesses can flourish.

Surbana Jurong appointed as master planner for the Greater Libreville region in Republic of Gabon

land management system surbana jurong government of gabon transport and infrastructure masterplanning — Signing ceremony between Surbana Jurong’s Group CEO Mr. Wong Heang Fine and SCE’s CEO Mr. Kong Wy Mun. Standing behind them are From Right to left, Er Louis Tay, SJ’s MD Africa, Er Whey Ying MAO, SJ’s Dy CEO international, Mr Mohammad Ait Fateh, SJ’s Manager Franco- Africa, Ms Neo Poh Line, SCE’s Senior Director Africa, Mr Djoko Prihanto, Dy MD SJPG, and Mr Marc Liew, SCE’s Assistant Director Africa.

Surbana Jurong has been appointed by the Singapore Cooperation Enterprise (SCE) as the master planner for the Greater Libreville region in Republic of Gabon. Surbana Jurong will be providing master planning, transport and infrastructure planning, as well as land management systems for the region estimated to be 1,000 sqkm, or around 1.5 times the size of Singapore. This is Surbana Jurong’s first project with the government of Gabon and this is the 2nd time we are integrating the development of the Land Management System with planning, after the SADA Master Planning Project of Northern Ghana.

Gabon is the one of the richest countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, and Libreville as the capital city plays a major economic role in the development of the country. With a growing population and strong economic growth, there is an increasing need for the Republic of Gabon to balance urban planning with economic and social progress. This contract will allow Surbana Jurong to share Singapore’s expertise in urban planning with the government of Gabon.

The list of services will be rendered in 8 phases, namely:

Phase 0 : Data Inventory and Inception including Site visits, data collection, and authority meetings
Phase 1 : Analysis, Vision and Concept Options
Phase 2 : GIS database design & Land Management System
Phase 3 : Regional Concept Plan Environment, Transport and Infrastructure Strategies
Phase 4 : Detailed City Master Plan including Zoning Plan and Regulations, and Detailed Environment, Infrastructure and Transport proposals
Phase 5 : Urban Design Plan and Guidelines
Phase 6 : Implementation Plan and Strategies
Phase 7 : Setting-up City Gallery
Phase 8 : Post-Planning Capacity Building for 6 months

Surbana Jurong buys stakes in two firms amid African foray

The Straits Times, 12 November 2015

Urban developer Surbana Jurong has acquired stakes in two companies in a bid to further expand its presence in Africa, where demand is high for affordable housing. Click here to read more

Surbana Jurong Brand Launch

SURBANA JURONG EXPANDS PRESENCE IN AFRICA WITH CHINA’S CITIC CONSTRUCTION AND TAKES STAKE IN AN AMERICAN BUILDING DESIGN SOFTWARE COMPANY

Stake in CITICC (Africa) Holding Limited paves way to potentially develop 30,000 affordable homes in Sub–Saharan Africa in next 5 years; Investment in FLUX Pte Ltd will grow Surbana Jurong’s sustainable & building design capabilities

Singapore, 11 November 2015 – Surbana Jurong Private Limited announced today that it has further expanded its international footprint by taking a stake in China’s CITICC (Africa) Holding Limited which would see it potentially developing 30,000 affordable homes in Africa in the next five years. It has also taken a stake in an American software company, a spinout from Google X, which builds collaborative cloud-based software tool used for building design, urban solutions and master planning, which will grow its sustainable and building design capabilities.

Surbana Jurong is investing in a 20% stake in CITICC (Africa) Holding Limited, a USD300 million investment platform set up between International Financing Company (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and Chinese multinational construction and engineering company, CITIC Construction Co., Ltd. The consortium will partner with local housing developers and provide long-term capital to develop the homes over the next five years. Surbana Jurong will bring its complete value chain of multi-disciplinary design and engineering capabilities including city and township masterplanning to strengthen this investment platform’s value proposition.

Given the drive to greater productivity in the real estate industry, the investment of USD9.25 million in FLUX Factory, Inc (FLUX) will help Surbana Jurong grow its sustainable and building design capabilities. Founded by 3 Google engineers in June 2012, the company builds collaborative cloud-based software tool leveraging on FLUX’s big data analytics solution and these are applied to building design, urban solutions and master planning.

Said Mr Wong Heang Fine, Group CEO of Surbana Jurong Private Limited: “The equity stakes in these two international entities is a continuation of our strategy to grow as a global firm that has solid presence in emerging markets while incorporating the most effective and efficient technology to augment our town planning and urban solutions capabilities. We have a strong presence in Africa, having done projects in nine African countries. With the stake in CITICC (Africa) Holding Limited, we will significantly increase our market access into Africa, particularly in affordable housing.”

IFC which set up its regional headquarters in Singapore in 2011, estimates that rapid urbanization is pushing up demand for housing in Sub-Saharan Africa. African cities become home to over 40,000 people every day, many of whom find themselves without a roof over their heads. Kenya’s housing shortage is estimated at 2 million units, while Nigeria is in want of 17 million units.

Sérgio Pimenta, IFC Director of Global Manufacturing, Agribusiness, and Services said, “CITICC (Africa) will help transform Africa’s housing markets by providing high quality, affordable homes, creating jobs, and demonstrating the viability of the sector to local developers. IFC will work with financial institutions to support mortgages and housing finance that will allow people to purchase the units. Having Surbana Jurong join as an equity partner and preferred service provider for engineering and design work will further strengthen the value of this partnership.”

“CITIC Construction will take advantage of our engineering experience and delivery capability to develop more affordable houses for Africa through the Platform.” Said Xu Mingguang, Assistant President of CITIC Construction and Director of CITICC (Africa) Holding Limited, “We hope to work closely with Surbana Jurong to leverage its strength and experience on the various consultancy work such as planning, design, development management.”

Sophisticated Software Technology in Building Industry
Surbana Jurong’s investment in FLUX is a strategic long term investment in technology that will strengthen its complete value chain service offering and grow its sustainable and building design capabilities.

Said Wong Heang Fine, “FLUX helps developers maximise the development potential of any site and at the same time helps the building industry design eco-friendly buildings. This is particularly relevant as there is growing demand for sustainable and green building designs which require sophisticated software like FLUX’s platform. We expect our investment in FLUX to put us in a strong competitive position to grow in emerging markets like China and Africa, and also share the sophisticated expertise in developed markets like Singapore where labour productivity is a growing and an on-going concern. FLUX software is expected to make significant reduction to costs, time and resources.”

Said FLUX CEO and Founder Nicholas Chim: “We are delighted that Surbana Jurong has taken equity in our company. The global Architecture, Engineering and Construction (“AEC”) software industry is estimated to be about USD 10 billion and will grow significantly between 8.5% to 10%p.a. over the mid to long term due to rapid urbanization worldwide. Surbana Jurong, Asia’s consultancy powerhouse for urbanisation and infrastructure developments, will help us enhance our product offering by providing real time user input on the needs of the development industry in sustainable and green building design. With its global footprint in some of the fastest developing countries in Asia, Africa and South America, their inputs will be invaluable in helping us design universally useable software for the market.”

About Surbana Jurong Private Limited
We deliver total urban, infrastructure and engineering solutions to support social and economic growth.

As Asia’s consultancy powerhouse for urbanization, industrial and infrastructure developments, we have a distinguished track record in shaping Singapore’s landscape over the last 50 years.

Our multi-disciplinary team of specialists provides industry-leading solutions harnessed through years of successfully completing a wide array of projects in over 51 countries across 207 cities. We have built more than a million homes in Singapore, completed masterplans for over 30 countries and developed 49 industrial parks around the world.
Surbana Jurong recently acquired two companies – KTP Consultants Pte Ltd in Singapore and Sino-Sun Architects & Engineers Co. Ltd in China. These two acquisitions will grow our staff strength by 25%, strengthen our infrastructure development capabilities and bring our market reach in China to 16 cities.

With over 600 international & local awards under our belt, we have what it takes to understand, anticipate and exceed our clients’ expectations. Today, Surbana Jurong employs over 4,000 employees from 40 nationalities in 26 offices across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

About CITIC Construction
CITIC Construction is a wholly-owned subsidiary of CITIC Limited . CITIC Limited is China’s biggest conglomerate and one of the largest companies on the Hang Seng Index (SEHK:00267). Its businesses include financial services, resources and energy, manufacturing, engineering contracting, real estate and infrastructure and others in China and overseas. CITIC Limited’s majority shareholder is CITIC Group in Beijing which ranks 186th of the Global FORTUNE 500 Firms(2015). For more information about CITIC Limited, please visit the company website at www.citic.com

Based on CITIC Limited’s full-service strength and international reputation, CITIC Construction has developed a “FOUR in One” business structure integrating engineering contracting, financing, resources and industries. CITIC Construction’s operation strategy is to win over engineering contracts with front-end services and financing solutions for clients, and prompt industrial development through engineering contracting work. CITIC Construction provides clients and local governments with a full package of comprehensive services throughout the whole project lifecycle. In 2015, CITIC Construction ranked 52nd among the ENR Top 250 international contractors. For more information, please visit www.cici.citic.com

About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. Working with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, we use our capital, expertise, and influence, to create opportunity where it’s needed most. In FY15, our long-term investments in developing countries rose to nearly $18 billion, helping the private sector play an essential role in the global effort to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit www.ifc.org

About FLUX
FLUX is a San Francisco based software company that is a spinout from Google X, a development lab by Google dedicated to making breakthrough technological advancements in areas including self-driving cars, Google Glass and drone deliveries

FLUX was founded by 3 Google engineers in June 2012. The company builds collaborative cloud-based software tools which are used for building design, urban solutions and master planning to help the building industry design eco-friendly buildings, leveraging on FLUX’s big data analytics solution. The computational and algorithmic programming technology of its software platform enables design configurators to generate automated design options based on rule and code base algorithms and hence allows for significant reduction of costs, time and resources.

For media enquiries, please contact:
Alvin Hang Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications

Tel.: 6248-1100 Mobile: 9222-1010 Email: Alvin.hangwy@surbanajurong.com

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