“Two key factors for the success of infrastructure projects in Africa is the collaboration between the private and public sector, whilst using a third party for early engagement and de-risk; and integrity in the design process.”

This statement was made by Poya Rasekhi, Chief Executive Officer of Arup SA, at the recent Captains of Construction Exclusive Leadership Forum panel discussion which addressed the topic ‘Industrialisation Policy Goals in Africa: Aligning Private Sector Strategy’.

“The private and public sector has to engage in a collaborative approach in order to succeed in reaching project goals. It also makes ‘success-sense’ to identify a third party and engage early on in the developmental stage to minimise risk factors associated with major infrastructural programmes,” said Rasekhi.

“This will help align objectives and priorities for making the project a success, where both private and public sector can meet their objectives. The Fifa 2010 World Cup project is a perfect example of how partners worked together with Fifa to achieve the great success that the project became.”

“Integrity in design cannot be compromised in any way. We see sub-standard designs working their way into developments more regularly due to the pressure of price and lack of upfront planning and design work.

“In a recent Arup survey on the real cost of poor design, we discovered that in developed countries between 4% and 5% is spent on design, whilst in developing countries it is between 2% and 3%  – often resulting in an over run of 30% to 40% of capital cost. These costs can be easily reduced in Africa through embracing effective planning and good design.”

 

Renewables

When commenting on big African infrastructure to watch, Rasekhi added, “The Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme is globally recognised as a success. We now need to focus on how we implement similar initiatives into other sectors of industry as well as exporting the concept to the rest of Africa.

“In the energy space, the price of grid electricity is increasing while the price of solar energy is decreasing, so the incentive for utilising renewables integrated into buildings is increasing.

“An indication of the importance that Arup SA places on renewable energy resources is evident by the fact that five years ago Arup South Africa had no renewable energy team to speak of. “Our SA team is now regarded as the global leader of excellence for renewables within Arup,’’ he concluded.