Release
According to a new report by Timetric’s Construction Intelligence Center (CIC), the major economies in the Middle East and Africa are set to invest over US$717 billion in power generation projects in the coming years to increase generating capacity by 379 GW.
Saudi Arabia heads the 21 countries analysed with projects valued at almost US$150 billion, followed by South Africa at US$118 billion and Nigeria with US$95 billion. The developing countries of Africa such as Mozambique, DR Congo and Tanzania have growth in excess of 7.0% GDP and their governments are investing heavily to reduce the frequent power failures which afflict their economies.
Timetric estimates that of the US$717 billion of power generation projects planned or underway in the 21 countries studied, nuclear energy dominates with US$183 billion value of projects headed by Saudi Arabia, followed by gas projects with US$142 billion-led by Nigeria. Solar power is in third place valued at US$122 billion, again headed by Nigeria, with projects in 17 of the countries studied, showing the commitment of the countries’ governments to encourage renewable sources. The 21 countries of Algeria, DR Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia, UAE and Zimbabwe have over 75% of the projects worth US$542 billion at the pre-construction stage.
“The developing countries in Africa are showing high growth in their economies but need to create and maintain reliable power generation infrastructure for their populations and industrialising economies. Solar, hydroelectric and wind schemes figure largely in many African countries’ power generation strategies. The Middle East economies are seeking renewable sources of power whether biomass or solar; however, Saudi Arabia is still the leading user of oil for power generation and like its UAE neighbour is investing in mega nuclear projects,” says Neil Martin, Manager at Timetric CIC.
The largest value project tracked by Timetric CIC is the US$100 billion King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy in Saudi Arabia which is planned for 2016. Other major projects in the region are the US$30 billion Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in UAE which is already underway, and the US$30 billion solar power plant in Nigeria at the planning stage.