Construction World July 2017

Namibia’s Diaz Wind Farm

Developed by Diaz Wind Power, and a joint venture between the United Africa Group and Quantum Power, the wind farm will be located in Lüderitz, a harbour town in southwest Namibia that lies on what is known as one of the least hospitable coasts in Africa. The Diaz Wind Farm will also be the country’s first clean energy project and a major step to harness the full potential of wind resources for the country. WSP served as the technical advisory to Diaz Wind Power for the development of the wind farm, where the consulting company’s specifications and tender documents for the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractor, as well as the Operations and Maintenance (O&M) agreement at the start of the project. Thereafter, the team was responsible for reviewing and evaluating the EPC contract and O&M agreement proposals, to optimise on and finalise them with the nominated contractors for this project. The company’s experts compiled the due diligence review report, supported the review and development of the project agreement’s technical aspects and undertook a thorough review of the environmental impact assessment – where their transmission line and substation specifications review services played a vital role in ensuring the project achieved its goals. Further to this, the company’s experts negotiated the power-purchase agreement (PPA) and general services agreement documentation, while providing stability studies and services to financial close on the project. WSP has since also performed a detailed grid study, which determined that the capacity on the connecting grid infrastructure is up to 90 MW – this means the wind resource is so good in the loc- ation that there is excess capacity to upsize and increase the project capacity at the earliest opportunity. WSP Africa – one of the largest multi-disciplinary engineering consultancies on the continent – has played a pivotal role in bringing about the development of the Diaz Wind Farm in Namibia. The wind farm aims to bring an additional 44 MW to Namibia’s national grid, which will also alleviate some of the pressure on the Southern African grid. → power team of experts were involved in preparing the minimum functional

Concor Infrastructure was involved in a number of wind farms including Loeriesfontein and Khobab in the Northern Cape where 122 wind turbine generator foundations were constructed.

and Port Alfred. We are also upgrading the R61 route between Bizana and Magusheni in that province.” In the North West, Concor Infrastructure is constructing what was previously a gravel road between the small towns of Ganyesa and Vragas, while on another SANRAL project work is underway upgrading the R67 Queenstown-Whittlesea road. Energy The company has played in important role over the years in the energy sector, and continues to be involved in power station construction. An exciting and more recent segment opening up for opportunity has been renewable energy, in particular the growth of wind-generated power. “We were involved in South Africa’s first large wind farm, between Jeffreys Bay and Humansdorp in the Eastern Cape, as early as 2012, where we provided site access roads as well as foundations and hard stands for 60 turbines,” Wisse says. “We have continued to build our experience in this field, and today stand as the preferred civil contractor on a number of wind projects that form part of bid window 4 of the REIPP programme led by the Department of Energy.” Past projects in this sector include the 35 turbine wind farm near Noupoort in the Northern Cape, completed in March 2016, and a wind farm near De Aar comprising 67 turbines where Concor Infrastructure finished its work early this year. Most recently, Concor Infrastructure was responsible for the substantial

completion of the Loeriesfontein and Khobab Wind Farm. This contract comprises the construction of all 122 wind turbine generator foundations as well as the adjoining hard stands and all internal roads. Water The water sector – mainly bulk supply and large dams – is another important area of expertise built up over decades in the business. The company was a vital partner in the recently completed Ingula pumped storage scheme in KwaZulu-Natal, building both the upper and lower dams. More recent work includes the completion of a large reservoir at Orange Farm south of Johannesburg, and a water tower and reservoir in the Lanseria area of Gauteng. Mining A fourth significant sector of Concor Infrastructure’s involvement has been mining. Despite the downturn in the fortunes of this sector in recent years, the company is currently busy with civil works to expand the important Grootegeluk coal mine for Exxaro and expects the mining market to recover soon. The traditional focus in this segment includes all civil mining infrastructure including haul roads, platform and foundations for process plants, rail load-out sidings, box-cuts for incline shafts and other related surface infrastructure. With its new ownership credentials, Concor Infrastructure is poised for an exciting expansion phase, says Wisse. 

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD JULY 2017