In Egypt, the Petroleum Minister Tarek El-Molla (photo) has said that the petroleum sector is presently carrying out new refining projects with investments estimated at $7.7 billion. According to El-Molla, the ministry is devoted to the schedules and time of delivering and operating the projects. He added that the petroleum sector is implementing a broad strategy that will address the...

The ICT and transport infrastructure division of the African Development Bank (AfDB) published the review of its activities in 2015. It reveals that the institution financed last year 16 projects associated to the division across Africa, two of which are ICT-focused. These projects received a total of $114 million (about FCFA67.7 billion) and should generate in the long term 200,000 jobs....

AfDB granted the Democratic Republic of Congo $11 million to support its Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Programme (NELSAP) which aims to boost electrification in not only DRC but in Nile basin neighboring nations as well. Electrification rate in the region ranges between 2 and 17%, for a demand of 115 MW. To overcome this shortcoming, DRC will build as part of the NELSAP, two 220...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on July 10, that his country would consider lending Tanzania $500 million to finance water projects. During an official visit of Modi to Dar es Salaam, India and Tanzania signed various bilateral agreements, including a $92 million convention to finance water projects in the Tanzania’s semi-autonomous Zanzibar islands. The Prime Minister...

The Ugandan alternative stock exchange ALTX East Africa has started operations on July 8 with treasury bills and bonds. According to executive director, Joseph Kitamirike, ALTX East Africa relies on a multi-currency electronic trading platform; investors thus do not need to convert to shillings to trade. This platform is extremely rapid in its activity. Truly, transaction can be completed in...

Mining companies Petra Diamonds and Ekapa Mining signed a joint-venture agreement to combine their operations in the Kimberley region, into an unincorporated joint-venture named the Kimberley Ekapa Mining Joint Venture (KEM JV). Operations involved comprise Petra Diamonds’ underground mines, Ekapa Mining’s tailings operations, and Kimberley Mines tailings operations, acquired from De Beers...

Mining firm Perseus Mining plans to produce its first gold at its Sissingué project, in Cote d’Ivoire, in December 2017. This was revealed in the firm’s quarterly update, in which Perseus also announced its plans to develop the project on a large scale. The $100 million project should produce 385,000 oz of gold, at $632/oz for 5.25 years, after first production. Also, the project...

The African Import-Export Bank (Afreximbank) and the China Export-Import Bank (China Eximbank) will finance the development of 2,000ha of industrial zones in Cote d’Ivoire, according to a statement published on July 8 by the Ivorian government after a council of ministers’ meeting. “This project will accelerate the industrialization of our country via the promotion of the manufacturing...

Eni’s CEO Claudio Descalzi (photo) has said that he is hopeful about the company’s chances of selling more stake at its Mozambique gas field this year.The company has two integrated LNG projects in the country; the offshore Area 4 and the smaller Coral field. The company expects the final investment decision (FID) for the Coral field this year, after which the Mozambican authorities and the...

In its 2016 global report on information technologies entitled “innovation in digital economy”, the World Economic Forum assessed countries that integrate ICTs in their socio-economic development. Integration relates to the use of ICTs by the government, companies and populations. In Africa, Mauritius, though 49th in the world, remains the most advanced. The island is followed by South...