The Civil Engineering Contractor August 2018 | Page 31

and gas, commodities, and increasing
population growth, combined with
urbanisation. However, southern Africa
is lagging this trend, while proximal
countries like Botswana, Namibia,
and Mozambique present their own
opportunities,” Green notes.
Interest in Africa’s infrastructure is
primed by the continent’s good business
case, with a 5–25% a year return-on-
investment as an economic multiplier.
With regard to AECOM, which
continues to expand its footprint in
Africa, one of its strategies is to follow
its larger, existing clients entering the
African market, while also looking for
consistency in delivery.
One of the primary challenges
impeding
the
infrastructure
d evelopment pipeline in Africa remains
funding — either governments not
having the capital to invest, or being
unable to provide sovereign guarantees
for loans. Other challenges in delivering
capital projects include the deficit in
skills and institutional capacity, as well
as geopolitical risk and, in some cases,
an inhibiting policy and regulatory
environment.
“There are, in some instances, a lack
of capacity and experience in Africa’s
governments to deliver large-scale
infrastructure projects. However, there
is a push from governments to develop
and improve skills to close this gap. The
challenge is more around managing the
entire life cycle of the project versus the
detailed project work,” says Green. He
explains that failures in project delivery
can commonly be attributed to initial
poor project selection and preparation,
unrealistic expectations, occasional
political interference, as well as cost
and schedule overruns due to a lack of
proper project control and oversight.
Africa wants a one-stop
solution
The answer was previously seen as
being public-private partnerships
(PPPs) but here too, Green noted,
unrealistic expectations had settled
in, and many projects did not proceed
due to initial poor project preparation,
and a consequent lack of interest and
financing.
Within this context lies an
opportunity to address Africa’s large-
scale infrastructure requirements,
as the integrated delivery model is
the best means of realising complex,
multidisciplinary projects in Africa,
Green claims.
The traditional model of deploying
expatriates to run projects and to
staff country offices is no longer
sustainable. “Our aim is to grow
local businesses in those countries,
staffed by local people,” Green says.
“While our home base is South
Africa, we typically partner with local
firms because local knowledge and
connections are extremely important
in terms of market intelligence and
project delivery.”
With the major challenge being
funding, design, build, finance, and
operate (DBFO) is AECOM’s global
project-delivery model to unlock
projects. “The trend is for clients
to look for a ‘one-stop shop’ for
infrastructure delivery. One of the
many benefits of DBFO for clients
is that it centralises risk, allowing
for a single point of contact and
responsibility, as well as shortening
the procurement cycle,” Green adds.
However, not all these boxes can
be ticked by AECOM in Africa at the
moment, Green says. He adds that
the African market is not necessarily
mature enough yet in all cases for the
full DBFO approach. “For instance, we
cannot necessarily bring the financing,
operations, or building side to bear on
all projects. Instead, we are currently
engaged in a strategy of deliberate
partnering with select contractors
and financiers.”
Project case studies
Given its integrated model, AECOM
focuses on the more complex projects,
where it can make a significant
difference. Such projects include
the Tema Port Expansion Project in
Ghana for Meridian Port Services,
operator of the container terminal.
AECOM is providing the design
review, project management controls,
and construction supervision on
this strategic project. The project
commenced in October 2016, with
completion anticipated by Q4 2019.
“At its peak, we will have 70 people
INSIGHT
Darrin Green, MD for Civil Infrastructure
at AECOM, talks to the opportunities in
Africa: PwC and the AfBD estimate the
infrastructure requirement for Africa at
USD130-billion to USD170-billion a year,
peaking at USD180-billion by 2025.
on site, of which 55 will be Ghanaians.
While high-level management is being
carried out from South Africa, we have
a fully fledged project team on the
ground,” Green explains.
Another flagship project for AECOM
in Africa is the Itare Dam in Kenya for
the Rift Valley Water Services Board
(RVWS), which will have a capacity of
100 000m 3 /day. Currently commencing
construction, it also highlights AECOM’s
unique approach to project financing. “A
key differentiator for us here is a more
integrated delivery model,” Green says.
Here AECOM is partnering with Italian
contractor CMC, with which it has a
long-standing relationship, as well as
assisting with Italian export financing to
implement the project.
The future
Green reiterates that AECOM’s future
growth will continue to be derived from
Africa. “We have a specific strategy to
focus on the larger and more complex
projects, in an attempt to leverage an
integrated delivery model, combined
with the fact that we have access to a
global skills base,” he concludes. nn
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