Penetrating African Market
Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, South Korea's top power equipment maker, is taking the first step into the South African power plant market.
The company announced on Dec. 8 that it has clinched a 240 billion-won (US$203.82 million) deal with Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) to improve the Morupule A power plant in Botswana.
The Morupule A power plant, which is located 260 kilometers northeast of the capital city of Gaborone, has a total capacity of 132 megawatts – four generators producing 33 megawatts. It is the outdated plant which started operation in 1986. The power plant has been shut down since 2012. Under the deal, Doosan Heavy Industries will replace and repair key parts, such as turbines and boilers, in the Morupule A power plant over the next two years to improve performance.
Park Heung-kwon, head of Doosan's turbine/power plant business group, said, “We have implemented the strategy to diversify the markets and finally has tapped into the new markets, including Turkey and Botswana, this year. With the latest contract, we are planning to actively target the South African power plant market, which has great growth potential.”
Meanwhile, International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that power generation capacity in sub-Saharan Africa will grow from the current 90GW in 2015 to 385GW in 2040.