The Civil Engineering Contractor February 2019 | Page 9

PROJECT OWNERS
New container
terminal in Gobabis
Project: Port infrastructure
Client: TransNamib Holdings and
Botswana Railways
Location: Namibia
Development and exploration at Masama is proceeding ‘pleasingly’.
Minergy firing ahead with
Masama Coal Project
Project: Coal mining infrastructure
Client: Minergy
Location: Botswana
Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE)-listed Minergy Limited, a coal mining
and trading company which owns 100% of the 390-million tonne
Masama Coal Project in the Mmambula Coalfield, has made pleasing
progress on the operation. Advancement, including the construction
of a new washing plant, has been made since the company was granted
a mining licence in August last year.
While Minergy is still in the development and exploration phase, it
has made considerable progress towards full operational status and has
invested in infrastructure, including offices in Medie and Lentsweletau,
according to Andre Bojé, the company’s CEO. In addition to breaking
ground and having contractors start work after the mining licence was
granted, Minergy is actively engaging the local communities regarding
job creation and upliftment programmes.
This includes improving the school and the clinic in the village closest to
the mine, Medie, as well as bringing in electricity. The mining contract was
awarded to Jarcon, a joint venture between IPP, a South African company,
and Giant Plant, a Botswana company, whose build-own-operate-transfer
contract for the washing plant was awarded to Pentalin Processing.
Contracts for the provision of site and bush clearing, civil works,
power reticulation, water and waste management, road construction,
and weighbridges are also in various stages of appointment. Bojé
says that both Botswana and Minergy have a significant role to play
in fulfilling the increased demand for coal, with four million tonnes
of coal exported from South Africa to the African continent in 2016,
which is forecast to rise to 38 million tonnes by 2030. nn
www.civilsonline.co.za
TransNamib Holdings and Botswana Railways
(BR) recently signed a memorandum of
understanding (MoU) in Gaborone,
Botswana, which will culminate in the
development and operation of a container
terminal in Gobabis. The MoU, signed at
the end of November 2018 between the two
railway operators, signals the beginning of
a relationship to develop and enhance trade
between the two countries. The MoU was
signed by TransNamib CEO, Johny Smith,
and his Motswana counterpart, Leonard
Musa Makwinja.
“The future of railways offers many
opportunities,” said Smith during the signing
ceremony. The co-operation is expected
to facilitate opening import and export
opportunities, and to unlock value on the
Trans-Kalahari route — even though the
two countries are not completely linked
by rail yet. The MoU serves as a short- to
medium-term partnership to connect the
two rail companies via a rail and road
intermodal service between Namibia and
Botswana. The intermodal linkage from
Walvis Bay to Gobabis will, therefore,
reduce the road transportation return trip
with about 1 200km.
This agreement aims to be a starting
point to assist the two governments to
develop the Trans-Kalahari Railway (TKR)
Project, which has been identified to
unlock significant commerce and trade
opportunities for both countries. The TKR
is a tripartite trans-boundary corridor
management institution, which was
established with a political and economic
vision to pursue or contribute towards
deeper regional integration programmes of
SADC and SACU. This is to be achieved by
linking the Port of Walvis Bay to the Port of
Maputo on the east coast of Africa.
The TKC connects highways of Namibia,
commencing at the Port of Walvis Bay,
through Kanye and Lobatse in Botswana,
to South Africa, mainly to the industrial
heartland of the greater Gauteng. nn
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