R180m Coega contract nears completion.
18/11/2004
Media Release – Final ALSTOM SA
Coega
R180m bulk electrical supply infrastructure contract for Coega nears completion
ALSTOM Power Systems is in the process of completing installation of the bulk electrical supply infrastructure for the Coega industrial development zone (IDZ), which will culminate in the energisation of the network.
The R180m-plus contract was awarded to the electrical substations design, project management and construction company in June 2003.
Initially the main power feed will come from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Municipality (NMMM) network already serving the Port Elizabeth/Uitenhage area. Coega Main, the switching substation, will ultimately supply power to the IDZ from Eskom directly.
The contract encompasses:
Four 132 kV substations as part of the high voltage backbone. Coega Main, which is an air insulated switchgear (AIS) open yard substation, and Port, located close to the Ngqura deepwater port, which is a gas insulated switchgear (GIS) indoor substation, were designed and constructed by ALSTOM Power Systems, which also recruited and trained local labour to assist in their erection. Recruitment and Neptune substations, both AIS open yard substations, were subcontracted to Consolidated Power Projects (Conco) of Midrand.
Also as part of the HV backbone, supplying and erecting 12 km of dual 132 kV power lines connecting the HV substations. This work was subcontracted to Conco, which has provided concrete pylons to support the power lines, in place of the conventional latticework steel pylons. These have the advantages of being rust-proof, vandal-proof and aesthetically more attractive than steel pylons.
The rest of the HV backbone of dual circuit HV cable that has been installed underground between Neptune and Port substations, as it traverses the N2 freeway and a railway line. This work was subcontracted to African Cables, which supplied and installed the cable.
A total of 20 x 11 kV indoor interconnection substations for distribution of power into the various industrial clusters in the IDZ, which were all built by local SMME subcontractors. These substations are linked by 32 km of medium voltage cable.
A SCADA system to provide remote operation and monitoring of the electrical network and other services, which was subcontracted to Alcom Matomo.
AREVA Transmission & Distribution Switzerland supplied the gas-insulated switchgear for the Port indoor substation. This was a customised solution offer by ALSTOM aimed at ensuring high levels of system reliability in an industrial environment impacted by harsh coastal conditions.
A number of ALSTOM Power Systems’ sister companies in the ALSTOM SA group also supplied equipment for the project. These were:
· ALSTOM High Voltage Equipment, which supplied the HV isolators, circuit breakers, voltage transformers and current transformers.
· ALSTOM Power Transformers, which supplied the HV power transformers.
· ALSTOM Distribution Transformers, which supplied the MV distribution transformers.
· ALSTOM Switchgear, which supplied the MV switchgear.
· ALSTOM Protection & Control, which supplied the HV protection and control panels, the LV AC distribution boards and the SCADA system.
· ALSTOM Contracting, which supplied and installed the MV cable for the interconnection substations.
John McClure, ALSTOM Power Systems’ contracts manager responsible for the contract, said the strict policies applied by the Coega Development Corporation (CDC) concerning use of labour and developmental subcontractors on the project, although they put additional constraints on the company, proved to be a rewarding process to be involved in.
“It has been good to see guys coming through the ranks. For example, where we were required to hire and train inexperienced local people as part of the team to build a substation or erect power lines, some of them have subsequently been signed up as full-time employees doing that work. In addition some SMME’s really developed and have grown from fledgling businesses to effective companies,” he commented.
An underlying objective of developing the Coega IDZ was to address many of the socio-economic deficiencies and imbalances in the region, with particular attention being given to job creation, skills development and local participation, as well as providing reparation for previous racial and gender inequalities.
In addition to the widely-accepted black economic empowerment (BEE) principles, involving mainly black equity holdings in participating companies, the CDC introduced for the first time what is known as the historically disadvantaged individual management (HDIM) system.
The HDIM system monitors the actual execution of a contract by establishing up front whether or not there is an adequate percentage of blacks or otherwise historically disadvantaged individuals in the company’s total management and supervisory staff, what percentage of the total contract by value is undertaken by such management/supervisory staff, what each of them earns and what percentage of the working time of each is spent on the contract.
“With this system, although administratively demanding, a company cannot get away with window-dressing empowerment. It also forced us to do things differently and we achieved a lot in the process,” McClure remarked.
A requirement specifically to address unemployment was also applied whereby the CDC provided a pool of local labour that contractors had to draw from whenever they required extra labour for the work in hand. The CDC had to be notified of such requirements in advance to ensure the provision of basic training of the workers in the required skills where necessary.
ALSTOM Power Systems exceeded all the empowerment quotas that contractors had to meet
in terms of the companies they subcontracted work to and procured supplies from. “These ranged from local enterprises and SMME’s to BEE companies and women equity owned companies. As an example of how we were required to maximise the work opportunities, we employed no fewer than 13 civil subcontractors on the job and our labour force peaked at 550 workers during the construction phase,” McClure pointed out.
ALSTOM Power Systems is part of BEE group ALSTOM SA (Pty) Ltd, in which the BEE equity currently stands at 38 per cent. The group’s BEE shareholders are Tiso Private Equity (Pty) Ltd, Kagiso Ventures Private Equity, Kgorong Investment Holdings (Pty) Ltd, Sibilant Investments (Pty) Ltd and Management.
ALSTOM SA (Pty) Ltd employs 4 500 people and has an annual turnover in excess of R2bn. It has 25 operating units, including 2 empowerment subsidiaries, 20 production facilities and 21 distribution centres throughout Southern Africa.
ALSTOM SA has exclusive distribution, technology and representation rights for ALSTOM and AREVA in Southern Africa and maintains management and commercial links to the ALSTOM and AREVA business units in Europe.
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