The Civil Engineering Contractor May 2018 | Page 12

WORLD NEWS
The
United
Kingdom’s
Department for International Trade
(DIT) says it has the ability to facilitate
the provision of billions of pounds
sterling in lending and guarantees
to African countries, to help them
address a chronic infrastructure
backlog that the World Bank estimates
to be about USD93-billion a year in
the sub-Saharan region alone.
DIT in Africa has a presence in 21 countries across the
continent and can enable the provision of these facilities
through UK Export Finance (UKEF), the United Kingdom’s
export credit agency and part of DIT. Loans can be extended
in the local currencies of nine African countries for
projects ranging from transportation and mining to general
construction, though they must include at least 20% UK
content and meet all other lending criteria. For example,
UKEF can support infrastructure projects in South Africa (up
to GBP4-billion), Kenya (up to GBP1-billion), and Nigeria (up
to GBP750-million).
Emma Wade-Smith, the UK’s Trade Commissioner for
Africa, says, “Finance is a critical component of infrastructure
development and the combined risk appetite of GBP21.4-
billion we have across the region to facilitate projects is a clear
sign of the UK’s belief in Africa’s long-term economic growth
trajectory.”
Despite Africa being the second-fastest urbanising region in
the world behind Asia, with estimates showing that in the next
30 years, more than half of its projected 2.2-billion people
will live in cities, data compiled by the Washington DC-based
Brookings Institution shows that 319-million people across
sub-Saharan Africa have no access to reliable drinking water;
10 - CEC May 2018
620 million have no access to electricity; while only 34% of
the continent’s people have adequate road access.
DIT in Africa has been instrumental in establishing the
Africa Infrastructure Board, which brings together UKEF, the
Department for International Development (DfID) as well
as UK infrastructure and mining companies that are already
active in Africa. Its aim is for UK government and industry to
work together to identify major infrastructure projects across
Africa that can benefit from the UK’s extensive expertise in
the fields of finance, engineering, and governance, as well as
health and safety.  
DIT in Africa is presently tracking numerous active
infrastructure projects across the continent that it believes
could benefit from UKEF funding. Uganda’s Kabaale
International Airport is one such project that has already
benefitted which, when completed, will be the East African
nation’s second-largest airport, thanks to the GBP215-million
loan it received from UKEF in December 2017. This is the
largest-ever facility granted to an African country by the
export credit agency.
a fully integrated and bespoke service to our customers.
Our compliance standards — for water recycling, health
and safety — are beyond exemplary and our customers
are realising the value of gaining significant competitive
advantage through maximising return on their investment
while minimising environmental impacts.”
Northern Ireland’s global leading wet processing
equipment company, CDE, announced that it has bought
the Caterpillar Northern Ireland manufacturing facility in
Monkstown. 
This gives CDE 27 871m 2 of extra plant, effectively
multiplying its existing operations tenfold and one that will
drastically cut lead times for project delivery in sub-Saharan
Africa. The announcement was made just before exhibiting
at the bauma CONEXPO AFRICA in Johannesburg, where
the company also launched its CDE Meta division focusing
on the mining industry.
CDE head of Mining, Adam Holland, says the
announcements are significant. “We are demonstrating the
company’s considerable commitment not only to the region
but also to meet demand and respond to the company’s rapid
expansion.”
Regional director for CDE in sub-Saharan Africa, Nicolan
Govender, adds, “Our equipment and engineering prowess
has seen major growth in Africa and we are delighted
that we can not only reduce lead times but also deliver
The African continent still struggles from a chronic lack of basic
infrastructure.
CDE Global is the world’s number one wet processing
equipment company for sand and aggregates, mining, C&D
waste recycling, and industrial sands.