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dam-l Moz. steel plant & water use/LS
Sent to us by Oxfam staff in Mozambique.
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>Enron agreement reached
>
>The Mozambican government and the United States corporation Enron
>signed in Maputo on 30 April a "framework agreement" on the principles
>regulating the use of the Pande natural gas field in the southern
>province of Inhambane. Signing the agreement were the Minister of
>Mineral Resources and Energy, John Kachamila, the chairman of the
>publicly-owned National Hydrocarbons Company, Issufo Abdullah, and the
>Vice-President of Enron, Anthony Way.
>
>The gas is to be used exclusively in the Maputo Iron and Steel Project
>(MISP) - which is a planned factory that will produce steel slabs in
>the Mozambican capital.
>
>Way said that the total investment in the factory, and the gas
>pipeline would be in the region of $2.5 billion. This makes it the
>largest single investment in Mozambique.
>
>Enron's partner in MISP is the South African Industrial Development
>Corporation (IDC). Each will put up 50 per cent of the equity for MISP
>- but the bulk of the funding will come from bank loans.
>
>Way stressed that MISP is not only one of the biggest projects in
>sub-Saharan Africa, but, when completed, it will be one of the largest
>steel plants in the world. According to the initial plans, it could
>produce up to four million tonnes of steel slabs a year.
>
>One of the major problems for MISP is water. The factory will use 67
>million litres of water (mainly as a coolant) per day. The government
>has warned Enron and the IDC that this water cannot come from the
>Umbeluzi river, which supplies Maputo with its drinking water.
>
>A second gas project is underway in Inhambane province: a consortium
>consisting of the US company Atlantic Richfield (ARCO), Sasol of South
>Africa, and Zarara of Dubai plans to export gas from the Temane field
>to the Sasol plants in Secunda, South Africa.
>
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>
>French firm heads water consortium
>
>A consortium headed by Saur Internacional (a subsidiary of the French
>construction company Bouygues) has won the tender for the privatised
>management of the water supply systems in five Mozambican cities -
>Maputo, Beira, Nampula, Quelimane and Pemba.
>
>Saur heads a consortium named Aguas de Mocambique (Waters of
>Mozambique) that will now negotiate a detailed contract with the
>government, according to the Minister of Public Works and Housing,
>Roberto White.
>
>The contractual discussions with Aguas de Mocambique should be
>finalised in June or July, allowing the delegation of water supply
>management to the consortium. It could be running the water systems in
>the five cities in August.
>
>The Mozambican state will continue to own the physical infrastructures
>of the water companies, while a new regulatory body will supervise the
>behaviour of the private operator.
>
>According to White, the consortium will be able to propose alterations
>of water tariffs, though it will have to take "socio-political
>factors" into account, so that low income households are able to
>obtain water at an affordable price.
>
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Lori Pottinger, Director, Southern Africa Program,
and Editor, World Rivers Review
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA
Tel. (510) 848 1155 Fax (510) 848 1008
http://www.irn.org
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