Yemisi Izuora
Stakeholders in Africa’s power sector have envisaged that Nigeria would lead top six African country’s in key gas infrastructure projects in the next twenty years.
Analysts who gathered at the just concluded 17th East African Power Industry Convention (EAPIC) which held in Kenya pointed that the largest opportunities for gas are anticipated to originate from countries like Nigeria, Mozambique, Tanzania, Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire and South Africa.
The investment opportunity for these top six countries, evaluated from an engineering and project management perspective, totals approximately $12,6 billion, with a total number of gas power opportunities increasing to as much as $212 billion.
Gas infrastructure investment opens up substantial opportunities to companies on a global level and significantly alters the competitive structure of industries in which companies operate, including the players within them.
The convention drew participants from a number of top utility and service provider companies, including: KenGen, Eskom, GE, Powertech, Cummins and Landis+Gyr, providing a leading platform for identifying and establishing further insights into the various markets associated with the energy reform landscape and investment opportunities across Africa.
“The EAPIC convention emphasized that strong public sector involvement is required in order to drive emerging market needs, as well as satisfy the risk appetite of the various sets of investors,” noted Aurelia van Eeden, Energy & Environment Business Unit Leader at Frost & Sullivan.
“There is a distinct willingness from African governments to drive investment and solve energy challenges of their respective country, such as the emerging gas landscape on the Eastern Coast of Africa.”
Van Eeden delivered a presentation that identified key African gas infrastructure trends influencing gas and associated markets on the African continent.
“In a recent project completed at Frost & Sullivan, we identified tremendous opportunity for gas infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa over the next 20 years,” stated van Eeden.
Other highlights from the conference included the panel discussion on “Stimulating Investment: Underpinning of a Stable Economic Environment” which focussed on access to finance in order to ensure that energy projects on multiple levels and associated sectors become bankable.
The executive panel on “The Big Debate: Is Renewable Energy the Solution to Universal Access to Affordable Energy?” was also of particular interest to the delegates as it highlighted the current and future role of renewable energy, as well as the opportunity to fast track certain technology types within the African energy environment.
The 17th EAPIC Convention gathered over 200 high profile industry delegates and showcased insights from over 75 senior speakers, who were able to contextualise challenges and investment opportunities that exist for the East African energy landscape.
Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today’s market participants.