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AfDB finds Chinese firm guilty of fraud
AFRICA
THE African Development Bank (AfDB) has banned Sinotec, a Chinese transmission and distribution equipment firm, from taking part in bank-funded projects across Africa for three years.
The bank’s Office of Integrity and Anti-Cor- ruption found that Sinotec had submitted fraud- ulent information about its experience, the value and dates of its contracts and its relationship with other bidders when taking part in three tenders in East Africa.The tender covered the Regional Rusumo Falls Hydropower Project in Rwanda, the Uganda Rural Electricity Access Project and the Last Mile Connectivity Project in Kenya.
The AfDB’s decision also applies to Sino- tec’s affiliates and also to projects funded by other multilateral development banks that have signed the Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions.
These include the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and the World Bank.
After three years, Sinotec will only become eligible to participate in bank-financed projects if it implements an integrity compliance pro- gramme consistent with the Bank’s guidelines.
The Regional Rusumo Falls Hydropower Project involves the construction of a generation plant, transmission lines and substations and aims to develop sustainable infrastructure to increase access to power levels in Rwanda.
The Uganda Rural Electricity Access Project seeks to improve access to electricity by building medium and low-voltage distribution networks and last mile connections to the grid.
Kenya’s Last Mile Connectivity Project covers the supply of distribution material, construction of low- voltage distribution lines as well as capac- ity-building activities. Sinotec was contracted by Kenya Power to design, supply and install 3,000 km of low-voltage single-phase lines and supply cables in Kisumu, Western Kenya and Mount Kenya regions.
Despite the decision, China is still a major investor in Africa, even though there are con- cerns in many governments about over-exposure to Chinese debt..
Chinese commitment to power investment in sub-Saharan Africa has brought considerable capital to the region, but at the risk of high rates of indebtedness. China said in 2018 it aimed to make $60bn of new investment and loans avail- able to Africa.™
Power consumption falls in Egypt
EGYPT
POWER consumption in Egypt has fallen by between 5% and 7% across a range of industry sectors since the beginning of the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown, according to figures from the national regulator.
The Egyptian Electric Utility and Consumer Protection Regulatory Agency (EgyptERA) said that consumption had decreased in the commer- cial sector by 7%, while industrial consumption had fallen by 4%.
EgyptERA said that industry had not suffered such a fall because it runs on higher voltages.
On the other hand, domestic consumption rates actually rose as people stayed at home dur- ing the restrictions.
The agency said that the maximum load on the national electricity grid had fallen by between 4% and 7%, while minimum loads had fallen by between 3% and 8%, depending on the time of day.
In terms of generation, the hydro sector showed the biggest increase with 10%, while solar and wind showed a combined 5% rise in output.
The meant that natural gas and diesel showed a slight fall in generation, although they together
still account for the majority of generation.
The Egyptian government imposed its lock- down on March 24, and introduced a nationwide curfew from 7 pm to 6 am, although this has been reduced to 9 pm to 6 am during Ramadan. All restaurants and similar shops and estab- lishments that offer a food service to the public should remain closed, and will be limited to
home delivery service until 7 pm.
Egypt is building new generating capacity,
and the government has forecast that the coun- try could have 74GW of excess capacity by 2035, when the country’s installed capacity could reach 160GW and absorb up to 3GW of this excess.
Indeed, it has abandoned its plans to build 6,600MW of coal-fired capacity at Hamrawein, as the government is worried about future over- capacity and the cost of renewables continues to fall.
The government has set ambitious targets for renewables to account for 20% of electricity gen- eration by 2022, and 42% by 2035.
Solar is a key part of this, and the Benban Solar Park is rapidly approaching its design capacity of 1,465MW after opening its first 65MW at the start of 2019.™
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