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An integrated approach to transport infrastructure development
from IMIESA June 2022
by 3S Media
In April 2021, Egis was awarded the contract for the O&M of the Kampala-Entebbe Expressway – Uganda’s first toll road – linking the capital with its international airport
Laurent Bouchacourt, CEO, Egis Operation South Africa
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Egis operates across the transportation and mobility spectrum – from engineering, project structuring publicprivate partnerships (PPPs), all the way through to operations and maintenance (O&M), and asset management.
Recent landmark projects include the engineering, project and construction management of the entire Tangier-Kenitra line in Morocco – Africa’s first high-speed rail line – for the Office National des Chemins de Fer. The completion of this project has significantly reduced journey times between Morocco’s main cities from around 2 hours to 45 minutes. The project also provided an opportunity for upskilling and knowledge exchange between local engineers and the Egis project team.
O&M developments
In April 2021, Egis was awarded the contract for the O&M of the KampalaEntebbe Expressway – Uganda’s first toll road – linking the capital with its international airport. This is also the Egis Group’s first contract awarded in Uganda. “In line with its ‘Impact the Future’ strategic plan, Egis aims to make this project a real showcase for its O&M activities in the region. The Group is fully committed to the development of strategic infrastructure for the people of Uganda, thus opening up promising prospects in the country,” says Bouchacourt. He adds that Egis is also part of a consortium currently bidding for the Kampala-Jinja Toll Road PPP.
O&M contracts for cross-country or crosscontinent bridge and tunnel infrastructure are further areas of specialisation for Egis, particularly in Europe and North America. On the African continent, Egis led the design of the recently unveiled Kazungula bridge between Botswana and Zambia, and is involved in the development of numerous one-stop border posts.
Egis is also actively pursuing O&M opportunities in South Africa with Sanral, as well as provincial and municipal roads authorities within the SADC region.
“O&M contracts at provincial and municipal level – on similar standards to those developed by Sanral at national level – would be most beneficial. These types of contracts would provide the much-needed standardisation, as well as economies of scale, to deliver real value-for-money opportunities for expanded skills transfer programmes and support to SMMEs,” Bouchacourt explains.
Concessions and PPPs
For any country, the ability to successfully
For more than 50 years, the Egis Group has designed, built and managed hundreds of flagship urban and transit projects roll out transportation projects hinges on worldwide. Alastair Currie speaks available funding. This makes the PPP to Laurent Bouchacourt, CEO, Egis route a highly viable option to maximise infrastructure investments that serve as a Operation South Africa, about the catalyst for socio-economic development. organisation’s work locally Internationally, the toll road model is and across the African well established for PPP transportation continent. projects. “Toll roads are as old as the Roman Empire! For greenfield projects, they enable public financers to leverage their balance sheets,” says Bouchacourt, adding that there are various options available. “Public entities can pay an annuity to a concessionaire – rather than incurring the full brunt of the capital expenditure – and instead allocate capital to social infrastructure, such as housing, schools or hospitals, or shift the entire fiscal burden on to a private concessionaire for 20 to 30 years while collecting an agreed-on fee, escalated annually,” he continues. “At the end of the concession period, the state can elect to have the road
An integrated approach to
transport infrastructure development
asset transferred and only outsource the collection of toll fees to private operators, or assign fiscal allocations from taxes for the maintenance and upkeep of the road.”
Egis is involved on PPP road ventures worldwide. Within Africa, an example is a 30-year concession concluded with the Republic of Congo in 2019. Egis signed the agreement as a co-sponsor of the La Congolaise de Route and has started operating the first 540 km of road on the RN1 between Pointe Noire and Brazzaville.
“Elsewhere in Africa, concessions in Cameroon are also at an advanced stage of development. Additionally, Egis has positioned itself as a participant in future transportation PPPs (rail or road) in South Africa,” says Bouchacourt.
In parallel, Egis is also growing its presence in the aviation sector. Currently, Egis is a co-investor and the operator of the Abidjan Airport in Ivory Coast, as well as three airports in the Republic of Congo.
Since January 2022, South Africa features firmly at the core of Egis’ ecosystem in Africa – and Southern Africa in particular as a regional hub – with significant growth expected in 2022/23 in various sectors. Alongside roads, railways are potential growth areas.
“PPPs can certainly be a powerful contributor to the revitalisation of South Africa’s passenger rail network and infrastructure by ensuring efficient allocation of capital and improved levels of service to commuters,” Bouchacourt explains. “Efficient passenger rail asset management, infrastructure protection and improved operational outcomes such as punctuality, cleanliness, safety, as well as security, can possibly be better achieved through active management of performance indicators within a PPP framework. They bring the right tension and balance between risks and rewards, and – ultimately – better value for money for public transport utilities,” he continues.
“As regards freight rail, which is capital intensive, adequate alignment of interest between public and private stakeholders is also required – and routes carefully selected. Concession tenures long enough to offer the requisite hurdle rate to private investors and operators are necessary. If correctly framed, such PPPs can revitalise the productivity and output of our major export-driven coal line and ports, for instance.”
Egis’s value proposition is to focus on the improved integration of infrastructure and services to ensure better and safer outcomes. In addition to rail, this includes all other forms of public transport, as well as their potential impact on pedestrians.
Safe travels and smart mobility
Road safety is central to Egis Smart Mobility solutions. In South Africa, for example, Egis works with schools, communities, police and SMMEs to improve the security of pedestrians and pupils. A typical example is Egis’s community initiative in Katlehong, Gauteng. Here, Egis, Sekgutlong Primary School and the Ekurhuleni Metro Police joined forces to improve road infrastructure adjacent to the school, safety equipment and procedures.
“The future will be one of smart mobility dovetailing with the quest for zero-carbon emissions. Country references from around the globe – such as in Brazil, China and the UAE – present interesting potential crossover applications for South Africa in terms of smart mobility and public transport in large peri-urban areas,” adds Bouchacourt.
“The ‘greening’ of a number of cities and central business districts in Europe and the East Coast of the USA could also inspire major metros like Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town to do more – especially for pedestrians, bicycles and communities. Transportation is a holistic discipline and it’s there to deliver the optimal socioeconomic solutions that sustain lives and livelihoods,” Bouchacourt concludes.
Egis, Sekgutlong Primary School and the Ekurhuleni Metro Police joined forces to improve road infrastructure adjacent to the school, safety equipment and procedures
