Africa Outlook MagazineAfrica Outlook Magazine
  • Magazine
  • Issues

    Issues

    Show more
    Africa Outlook Magazine Issue 114 Cover
    Most Popular
    Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital Main

    Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital : Facilitating Healthcare Evolution

    Sulzer SA main

    Sulzer South Africa : Powering Partnerships Beyond Pumps 

    Defy Appliances MAIN

    Defy Appliances : Elevating the Domestic Equipment Experience

    Africa Outlook Magazine Issue 113 Cover April 2025 Cover
    Most Popular
    Yalelo Products Main

    Yalelo Zambia : Breaming with Success

    Ponticelli Angoil main

    Ponticelli Angoil : Oiling Up Angola

    Energy Partners Main

    Energy Partners : Powered by Results

    Africa Outlook Magazine Issue 112
    Most Popular
    South African Medical Technology Industry Association (SAMED) main

    South African Medical Technology Industry Association (SAMED) : Spotlight

    Bauba Resources Main

    Bauba Resources (Pty) Ltd : Telling a New Story About Mining

    WCE Consulting Engineers Main

    WCE Consulting Engineers : Multidisciplinary Masters

  • Corporate Stories
    • Agriculture
    • Construction
    • Economy
    • Energy & Utilities
    • Finance
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • Manufacturing
    • Mining
    • Oil & Gas
    • Retail
    • Supply Chain
    • Sustainability
    • Technology
    • Telecoms
    • Transport
  • Business Insights
    Business InsightsShow More
    Factory workers checking quality of products in large industrial hall.
    BT Industries : Propelling Performance Through Integrated Partnerships
    26 June 2025
    Read More
    African Beer Cup MAIN
    African Beer Cup : Crowning the Best Beers in Africa
    26 June 2025
    Read More
    Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital Main
    Letsholathebe II Memorial Hospital : Facilitating Healthcare Evolution
    26 June 2025
    Read More
    African Originals Main
    African Originals : Celebrating Identity Through Taste
    30 April 2025
    Read More
    Financial inclusion through decentralized finance
    Platcorp Group : The Front line of Financial Inclusion
    30 April 2025
    Read More
  • Industry Spotlights
    Industry SpotlightsShow More
    Printing SA Main
    Printing SA : Spotlight
    27 June 2025
    Read More
    MAIN ASPASA
    ASPASA : Spotlight
    21 May 2025
    Read More
    Rwanda ICT Chamber Spotlight MAIN
    Rwanda ICT Chamber : Spotlight
    24 June 2025
    Read More
    Small national flags of the Malawi on a dark background
    Malawi Chamber of Mines : Spotlight
    7 May 2025
    Read More
    South African Medical Technology Industry Association (SAMED) main
    South African Medical Technology Industry Association (SAMED) : Spotlight
    28 February 2025
    Read More
  • Subscribe
  • About Us
  • Testimonials
  • Meet The Team
  • Media Pack
  • Work With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe Free
  • My Bookmarks
  • Outlook Features
  • Events
©2025 Outlook Publishing Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
Font ResizerAa
Africa Outlook MagazineAfrica Outlook Magazine
Font ResizerAa
  • Magazine
  • Issues
  • Corporate Stories
  • Business Insights
  • Industry Spotlights
  • Expert Eye
  • Final Word
  • Agriculture
  • Business Travel
  • Construction
  • Economy
  • Energy & Utilities
  • Finance
  • Food & Beverage
  • Healthcare
  • Manufacturing
  • Mining
  • Oil & Gas
  • Retail
  • Supply Chain
  • Technology
  • Transport
  • Home
    • Magazine
    • Issues
    • Business Insights
    • Corporate Stories
    • Industry Spotlights
    • Business Events
    • Outlook Features
  • My Africa Outlook Magazine
    • Sign Up Today
    • My Bookmarks
  • About Us
    • Meet The Team
    • Testimonials
    • Media Pack
    • Work With Us
    • Event Partnerships
    • Contact Us
Follow US
Energy & Utilities > Lesedi Nuclear Services : Powering & Empowering South Africa
31Corporate StoriesEnergy & UtilitiesLesedi

Lesedi Nuclear Services : Powering & Empowering South Africa

Eddie ClintonEditorial Team
Eddie Clinton
Editorial Team
Published: 26 September 2015
Share

Restructuring and diversification at Lesedi Nuclear Services over 14-years culminates in the globally-significant market position.

Contents
INTRODUCTIONSECTOR WIDENINGHIGHLY SOPHISTICATED ENGINEERINGDIVERSIFYING RISK
VIEW BROCHURE

INTRODUCTION

Lesedi Nuclear Services has undergone various restructurings and diversifications over the course of its 14-year history; all of which have culminated in the globally-significant market position it currently finds itself in as the Company looks ahead to an even more exciting future.

Far from relying on pipedreams and potentially risky strategic developments, all of Lesedi’s growth – especially over the past decade – has been achieved as a consequence of carefully thought through, organic progression, with this journey now leaving the South African-based business on the precipice of a concerted drive into the wider sub-Saharan region and towards a diversified broader market.

Formed in 2001 as an evolution from Intens Engineering and the predecessor’s construction of Koeberg Nuclear Power Station, AREVA, global leader in the nuclear industry, adopted Lesedi Nuclear Services as a way to enhance its localisation strategy.

Fast-forward 14 years, and Lesedi is a market stalwart across not only nuclear projects and maintenance services, but also industrial, renewable, oil & gas and waste to energy, leveraging a turnkey service offering unrivalled elsewhere in the sector. And very soon, this expertise will be evident on an international scale on the continent.

“We have expanded our project horizons to include several sub-Saharan countries,” the Company’s Business Development Manager, Shane Pereira explains. “Over the past 12-18 months we’ve been active with waste to energy and biomass projects in Ghana and Mauritius as well as in Rwanda, Namibia, Botswana and Mozambique.

“We will partner with local companies when doing business in those particular countries, while, over the next few years, we also hope and expect to increase our turnover from US$50 million to around US$75 million through a similar diversification in the various forms of power generation.”

SECTOR WIDENING

Another, potentially longer-term goal would be to take equity in projects, but Lesedi has a rich history in optimising its natural growth one step at a time; its current shareholding structure is setup strongly to facilitate such success.

Five years after inception, in 2006, the first significant restructuring took place as AREVA increased its majority share to 51 percent; a move which paved the way for the construction of 14 150MW open cycle gas turbines for Eskom as it entered an environment outside of nuclear for the first time.

The commissioning of an entire balance of plant contract for Eskom further compounded the sector widening, and set the tone for three years of prominence in that nationally-pivotal energy sector. 

Pereira notes: “The contract with Siemens was for the mechanical erection of the turbines, and the balance of plant for Eskom involved scopes including fire protection, fuel and loading, treatment of the fuels, forwarding systems, compressed air, electrical power distribution systems, control and instrumentation, and the supply of all operating and maintenance procedures.

“Then, in 2009, we were awarded the contract for the balance of plant for the Medupi Coal Fired Power Station for Eskom which included the detailed design, procurement, installation and commissioning of all the low pressure services for the plant. The contract value was in excess of US$100 million and Medupi is the largest dry-cooled power station under construction in the world and therefore a significant milestone project for Lesedi.”

Applying those same levels of expertise, the significance of attaining the contract for the balance of plant for the 4,800MW plant stemmed equally from the fact that Lesedi was the only bidder; emphasising the Company’s stature as the only able turnkey provider for a project of that magnitude.

HIGHLY SOPHISTICATED ENGINEERING

This unique and niche set of resources derives from a careful fostering of the Company’s workforce throughout its diversification and was given a new dimension in 2012 with a restructuring put in place to best hone the skill-sets, sub-contracting partnerships and project management capabilities engrained in the organisation.

With AREVA diluting its shareholding to 39 percent, the introduction of the J&J Group as the Company’s primary black empowerment shareholder, and international construction heavyweight, Group Five to the Company’s ownership has since aided Lesedi’s diversification even further. 

More from Africa Outlook

Sona Group : Pride of Nigeria
Transitioning Telecommunications to 100 Percent Reliable Renewable Energy
Komatsu : Sustainable Solutions Informed by Innovation
Sierra Leone Renewable Energy Association (REASL)
RO-AL Construction : Harnessing the Telecoms Boom

“Over the years, we have developed a highly sophisticated engineering division as well as commercial contracting competencies in order to carry out the kinds of projects we have done,” Pereira says. “We have utilised only local skills for the projects we have worked on, and the diversification we have enjoyed, has enabled us to grow our engineering and project management capacities significantly.”

The end result is an EPC entity with overlapping skill-sets across numerous industrial domains, which not only makes Lesedi an attractive contracting proposition across nuclear, oil & gas and various energy sectors, but also a highly flexible business in terms of applying said attributes to future opportunities that may arise.

“Since 2012 we have diversified a little bit further and have bid on a biomass project in South Africa,” Pereira states as an example. “We’re now well positioned to develop our own projects with the intention of executing them across various forms of power generation in the future.”

This differentiating market advantage out in the field is further complemented by an ongoing internal acknowledgement of how to be as lean, efficient and streamlined as possible, despite the ever-increasing size of the business.

Demanding, continuous training programmes for experienced and graduate employees alike addresses the manual aspect of such an approach, while the introduction of Industrial Financial Systems in 2009 as an enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform has had a similarly defining effect on refining administrative and project procedures from the Company’s central South African hub.

DIVERSIFYING RISK

Ultimately, what Lesedi has achieved, on an unparalleled scale, is affirm itself as the EPC contractor of choice in a widespread array of sectors in the region.

Pereira enthuses: “We position ourselves as an EPC company but our value added is certainly focussed on the ‘EP’ aspect of EPC. We have strong engineering skills, strong project management skills and strong integration skills ensuring appropriate technologies are selected in the execution of our projects.

“Typically with the construction element though, we will either partner with a construction company or sub-contract the construction scope to a construction specialist, where Lesedi will manage the construction. It just so happens that by the definition of construction, a lot of market players have large balance sheets but that doesn’t mean they have the EP capabilities, which is really where the risk resides.”

It is also where Lesedi comes into its own in diversifying said risk, striking a balance between offering clients its own extensive turnkey offering, alongside the promise of introducing a host of construction-specific business partners to the overall bid proposition.

Being the only bidders back in 2006 for the balance of plant on Eskom’s open cycle gas turbine project, as well as for the internationally-renowned Medupi balance of plant EPC contract, epitomises Lesedi’s unique positioning in the market, while equally prominent successes in areas of health and safety – recently celebrating three million lost time injury-free man hours – ensures that the excitement surrounding the Company’s future expansion is certainly not misplaced.

Pereira concludes: “Areas like health and safety are given massive emphasis within our organisation, throughout Lesedi, our partners and our sub-contractors.

“It fits within the wider ethos of priding ourselves on quality and doing the job correctly. “Quality is the name of the game: We have trusted relationships, competent sub-contractors, and a highly skilled workforce which ultimately confirms to clients in these projects that we are the people who will do the job correctly first time.”

Join in the conversation on LinkedIn
Share This Article
Facebook Whatsapp Whatsapp LinkedIn Email Copy Link
ByEddie Clinton
Senior Head of Projects
Follow:
Join in the conversation on LinkedIn

Join us on Socials

Popular in Africa Energy & Utilities

Rural Electrification 1536px
Rural Electrification Agency : Equalising Energy Access
8 Min Read
Energy Partners Main
Energy Partners : Powered by Results
13 Min Read
Segen Main
Segen : Staying Sunny Side Up
6 Min Read
SAPVIA Main
South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA) : Spotlight
6 Min Read
NamWater MAIN
NamWater : Water For All, Forever
5 Min Read

Current Africa Outlook Issue

Defy Appliances MAIN
Defy Appliances : Elevating the Domestic Equipment Experience
7 Min Read
Manufacturing
Sulzer SA main
Sulzer South Africa : Powering Partnerships Beyond Pumps 
6 Min Read
Manufacturing
0 Master Drilling MAIN
Master Drilling : Breaking New Ground in Innovation
5 Min Read
Mining
Denya Developers MAIN New v
Denya Developers : A Design Vision – From Concept to Creation
5 Min Read
Construction
Modi Mining MAIN
Modi Mining : Rooted in Mining
4 Min Read
Mining
Cimencam MAIN
Cimencam : Cementing a Place in History
4 Min Read
Manufacturing
LafargeHolcim Cote d'Ivoire MAIN
LafargeHolcim Cote d’Ivoire : Cementing a Sustainable Future
6 Min Read
Manufacturing
Teamwork, technology and research in laboratory for analysis
Life Bay View Private Hospital : A Beacon of Excellence
3 Min Read
Healthcare
NewSpace MAIN
NewSpace Systems : Rocketing to Success
4 Min Read
Manufacturing
Rawson Developers Main
Rawson Developers : Building Homes, Designing Lifestyles
5 Min Read
Construction
Namibia Medical Care Main
Namibia Medical Care : Making Health a Priority
6 Min Read
Healthcare
Trinity Metals main
Trinity Metals : Enabling a Better Future
6 Min Read
Mining
An underground loading machine carries a full bucket of ore. © istock/ukwazi
Ukwazi : Integrated Operations That Empower Cohesiveness
6 Min Read
Mining

Most Read on Africa Outlook

South African Medical Technology Industry Association (SAMED) main
South African Medical Technology Industry Association (SAMED) : Spotlight
10 Min Read
Industry Spotlights
Bauba Resources Main
Bauba Resources (Pty) Ltd : Telling a New Story About Mining
14 Min Read
Mining
Yalelo Products Main
Yalelo Zambia : Breaming with Success
5 Min Read
Food & Beverage
Ponticelli Angoil main
Ponticelli Angoil : Oiling Up Angola
11 Min Read
Oil & Gas
WCE Consulting Engineers Main
WCE Consulting Engineers : Multidisciplinary Masters
4 Min Read
Construction

You May Also Like

Printing SA Main
Industry Spotlights

Printing SA : Spotlight

Turner & Townsend MAIN
Construction

Turner & Townsend : Transforming Africa Together

Uganda Heart Institute MAIN
Healthcare

Uganda Heart Institute : Committed to Combatting Cardiac Conditions

My Africa Outlook

  • Subscribe Free
  • My Bookmarks

Africa Outlook

  • About Us
  • Meet The Team
  • Work For Us
  • Contact Us
Outlook Creative Services
Outlook Publishing

Work With Us

  • Work With Us
  • Testimonials
  • Media Pack
  • Event Media Partnerships
  • Creative Services
Africa Outlook MagazineAfrica Outlook Magazine
Follow US
©2025 Outlook Publishing Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Article Licensing Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy

We use cookies to ensure your best experience on our website. If you continue using our website, we'll assume you agree to our cookie policy