Engineering
Mpumalanga’s major sectors, mining, petrochemicals and mineral beneficiation, all require a strong engineering sector.
• The Kusile Power Station civils contract is worth R2.9-billion.
Mpumalanga is home to several large-scale processing plants that require high-end engineering skills, including the manganese works in Nelspruit and the ferrochrome plants at Middelburg and Machadodorp. The province’s many mines need skilled engineers, as does the petrochemical plant at Secunda. The sugar and forestry industries also require engineering expertise.
As in most parts of South Africa, engineers are in short supply in the province. The Mpumalanga Regional Training Trust gave bursaries to 8 315 students between 2004 and 2008.
A joint venture comprising Group Five, Stefanutti Stocks, WBHO and Basil Read is tackling the civil engineering work on the massive Kusile Power Station contract. Work began on this R2.9-billion contract in 2009. Nelspruit mechanical engineering company Steval Engineering has been busy on the new gold mine being built at Burnstone.
The provincial government is investigating the possibility of building an international convention centre in Nelspruit. If that project were to get the green light, the full range of engineering services would be required.
Other major projects exercising the skills of engineers in Mpumalanga in recent times include:
• The construction of the Mbombela Stadium as part of the 2010 Soccer World Cup, at an estimated cost of R920-million
• The more than R115-billion investment by Eskom in new and refurbished power stations
• Various infrastructure developments along the Maputo Development Corridor
Although some economists suggested in early 2010 that bureaucratic bottlenecks in releasing government funds for infrastructure spending were negatively affecting the work of engineers and construction companies, most of the big companies reported good results in March 2010. Group Five reported a rise in earnings of 8% and Murray & Roberts’ order book increased by 10%.
However, with private spending down because of the global economic downturn, and some of the country’s bigger projects being delayed, national government has moved to exercise some centralised control over infrastructure budgets in the provinces.
Water delivery has been the concern of many municipalities in Mpumalanga. Engineers are sorely needed to help municipalities deliver drinking water and waste water solutions.
Online resources
Engineering Council of South Africa: www.ecsa.co.za
South African Association of Consulting Engineers: www.saace.co.za
South African Federation of Civil Engineers: www.safcec.org.za
South African Institute for Industrial Engineering: www.saiie.co.za
Southern African Institution of Chemical Engineers: www.saiche.oc.za
Southern African Institution of Civil Engineering: www.civils.org.za
