Mainstream Renewable Power announced it has completed a fundraising operation aimed at financing the construction of two wind power plants in Kangnas (140 MW) and Perdekraal East (110 MW). This successful operation was conducted by a poll of financiers led by ABSA Bank and allowed to raise the R6.6 billion (over $518 million) required for both facilities. The mobilization has seen the...

In Tunisia, land acquisition by foreign investors has been limited to TND200 million in value. The estates minister Mabrouk Korchid (photo) reported. This strategy aims at preserving native Tunisians' access to land. “We have no intention of selling agricultural or social housing assets to foreigners [...]. We will adopt measures to protect the poor class,” the minister said, according to...

The Ethiopian government plans, within the next three months, an Urban Institutional and Infrastructural Development Program (UIIDP) set to reach 6.6 million people. The Ministry of Urban Development and Housing reported June 4. Estimated at $860 million, this 5-year program will be implemented in 117 towns across the country. Amlaku Adamu, head of Urban Income Improvement Office, said the...

The new airport under construction in Icolo e Bengo at about 30 km from the Angolan capital Luanda is expected to be commissioned by 2020. This was revealed by Rodrigo Januário, an official of Mace Group, the company in charge of the project. According to the official relayed by Macauhub, construction works which started since 2014 are 60%-achieved and should be completed within the next two...

WAEMU Commission’s head Abdallah Boureima and his ECOWAS counterpart Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, signed a Memorandum of Understanding on crisis and conflict prevention in West Africa, last June 5 in Lagos. The goal is to support the WAEMU Monitoring and Early Warning Mechanism (MeVap) and to strengthen the ECOWAS Early Warning and Response System (ECOWARN). WAEMU indicated that the MeVap is a tool...

In 2017, Rwandan mineral exports generated $373 million, reflecting an increase by more than 100% compared to the previous year. This was reported by Reuters which quoted Francis Gatare (photo), CEO of Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas Board (RMPGB). Speaking at a meeting with industry players in Kigali yesterday June 5, he indicated that revenues in 2017 were "fantastic". The feat was...

The Senegalese government wants to improve the country’s land governance system by testing the Dashboard, a new land indicator monitoring tool conceived by the International Land Coalition (ILC). According to Commodafrica, which reported the news, “the Dashboard is a monitoring tool designed by the International Land Coalition (ILC) to collect people-centered data on land governance....

The Egyptian government plans to start importing rice to increase stocks and better control the domestic market, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail announced. The strategy is to offset the decline in the water-intensive crop’s production. Indeed, the country has recently cut its rice production to preserve the Nile's water resources as it feared the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam project could threaten...

South Africa's economy declined by 2.2% in the first quarter of this year, recording the largest quarter-on-quarter shrink since the first quarter of 2009, when the economy contracted by 6.1%. The national statistics agency (Stats SA) revealed. “After growing by 3.1% in the fourth quarter of 2017, the South African economy wobbled in the first quarter of 2018, shrinking by 2.2%,” the agency...

Yesterday June 5, Iamgold reported positive results following a pre-feasibility study (PFS) for its Essakane heap leach project in Burkina Faso. The results showed an increase by 39% in the mine’s probable reserves from 1.3 million oz to 4.7 million oz. Meanwhile, indicated resources also increased by 19% to 5.1 million oz, while inferred resources increased by 54% to 0.6 million oz....