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PAN-AFRICAN a price hike that raised natural gas prices for important to our institutions.”
energy-intensive industries by 28% effective bna IntelliNews, November 2 2021
Odinga backs special from November 1. Cement, iron and steel, pet-
rochemical and fertiliser producers are to pay
African fund to plug $5.75/mmBtu, up from $4.50/mmBtu, while ANGOL A
other industries will see a 21% rise to $4.75/
infrastructure deficit mmBtu. Angola losing $6mn day
Egypt already has a fuel pricing mechanism
African Union (AU) high representative on for gasoline whereby the government reviews due to low oil production,
infrastructure development Raila Odinga is local prices of petroleum products every quarter
backing a call to establish a special continen- and raises or lowers them by up to 10% accord- PetroAngola chief says
tal fund to accelerate development of regional ing to price fluctuations on the international
projects. market. The decline of oil production in Angola is caus-
Addressing the Spotlight on Africa-Infra- The Egyptian government’s latest initiative to ing daily losses of $6mn, the chief executive of
structure Development forum held in Dubai extend the gasoline pricing mechanism to natu- specialised oil and gas consultancy PetroAn-
Exhibition Centre, Odinga said establishing an ral gas comes in light of natural gas prices surg- gola told an international energy conference in
African special fund will accelerate the devel- ing by five fold in Europe and Asia this year on Luanda, Angop reports.
opment of regional projects key to facilitating a recovery in demand and tight global supplies Patricio Quingongo said Angola’s supply
trade. following the near-suspension of exploration in the global market represents just 1% due to
He said the fund could be set up through and development work in 2020 at the height of current production levels having dropped to an
partnerships and coordination by public and the pandemic. average of 1.1mn barrels per day (bpd). He put
private sector stakeholders with development bna IntelliNews, November 2 2021 the export/production differential at 3%, adding
partners’ participation in de-risking infrastruc- that Angola exports almost everything it pro-
ture projects through guarantees. AIIB, OPEC Fund to duces. He estimated exports of 103,000 bpd and
The African Development Bank (AfDB) a decline in exports of 7%, according to Angop.
estimates that between $130bn and $170bn is provide National Bank of Apart from COVID-19, cuts by OPEC, less-
needed to fund the continent’s infrastructure ened demand, and the global economic recovery
development needs. Egypt $200mn loan for have also negatively impacted the sector, the Pet-
“While these figures may appear large roAngola chief said.
they represent a small percentage of financial infrastructure sector bna IntelliNews, October 29 2021
resources that exist in the continent both gov-
ernment and private sectors. African pension Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment
funds manage approximately $350bn of assets Bank (AIIB) and OPEC Fund for International SUDAN
in Sub-Saharan Africa,” said Odinga. Development (OPEC Fund) agreed to provide
He cited the LAPSSET corridor in Kenya as a National Bank of Egypt (NBE) a $200mn loan Sudan military leader says
key regional project that has lagged behind and facility for on-lending to sub-projects in the
whose implementation could be accelerated infrastructure sector, AIIB said in a press release. technocratic PM will be
through the special fund. NBE is the largest commercial bank in the
bna IntelliNews, November 2 2021 country by asset size, gross loans and deposits. announced within a week
The loans will support the Egyptian govern-
ment’s efforts to enhance the growth of invest- Sudan’s military leader General Abdel Fattah
EGYPT ments across various infrastructure sectors in al-Burhan has said a technocratic PM agreed
the energy, transport and sustainable cities fields. upon by different sections of the Sudanese peo-
Petroleum Ministry It will help bridge the maturity gap between the ple could be announced in a week, amid pres-
demand for longer-term loans necessary for the sures to restore civilian power.
considering automatic development of infrastructure projects and the millions of dollars in desperately needed aid to
Western countries have cut off hundreds of
availability of short-term deposits in the Egyp-
adjustment mechanism tian financial system. Sudan since al-Burhan dissolved PM Abdalla
“Egypt’s significant infrastructure needs can Hamdok’s cabinet and arrested many officials,
for natural gas prices be met by increasing investments in both public in a move he said was necessary to preserve the
and private sectors (projects), and banks such as country and avert a civil war. However, the mil-
Egypt’s Petroleum Ministry is considering NBE will play a critical role in deploying fund- itary leader promised to continue Sudan’s path
implementing an automatic adjustment mech- ing where it is most needed,” said Tareq Alnassar, to democracy by organising previously planned
anism for the prices of natural gas supplied to OPEC Fund’s assistant director-general – Private elections that are scheduled for 2023. This week,
factories for industrial use every 3 or 4 months Sector and Trade Finance Operations. the UN Security Council called for the restora-
as a step towards liberalising the natural gas mar- He added: “[We] are delighted to support tion of civilian rule.
ket, media sources reported quoting Petroleum NBE’s efforts for on-lending to the private sec- The military will not interfere in the choice of
Minister Tarek El Molla as saying. tor and pleased to co-operate for the first time the ministers, al-Burhan pointed out.
The announcement comes on the heels of directly with AIIB in a partner country that is bna IntelliNews, November 1 2021

P20 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 44 03•November•2021