Mozambique has moved into the world spotlight with the rumblings of change in recent years as multinational companies have discovered substantial reserves of gas both on-land and offshore. Although these findings coincide with the recent drop in global oil & gas prices, some projects are still underway. Local Company Kwikspace Modular Buildings (Kwikspace), Africa’s leading manufacturer of modular buildings, has been central to some of these key projects, such as supplying site accommodation and workforce housing on the ROMPCO Loop Line 2 Project, connected to gas discoveries.
The Republic of Mozambique Pipeline Company (ROMPCO) recently announced that South African petrochemical group Sasol and the governments of South Africa and Mozambique will invest millions of US dollars to build a new pipeline that will be operational in 2017, expanding on Mozambique’s natural gas assets to the South African market. The addition of this second new pipeline, called the Loop Line 2 project, will enable South Africa to receive 212 million gigajoules of gas, compared to the original 188 million gigajoules.
This line is in fact a major source of energy for SA’s industrial, commercial and domestic use, carrying natural gas from the Temane and Pande gas fields, crossing the Inhambane and Gaza provinces of Mozambique, down to Secunda in South Africa.
Gauteng, South Africa’s major commercial hub is, not surprisingly, heavily reliant on natural resources of gas from neighbouring Mozambique from an existing pipeline called the Mozambique-Secunda pipeline (MSP). The large-scale logistics of this new project have seen Kwikspace involved in supporting a number of contractors with remote site pioneer camps and accommodation villages.
On the recently completed ROMPCO accommodation camp, Kwikspace supplied buildings from its Tete and Pemba facilities as well as from its Johannesburg factory to meet the very short deadline. The convenient mobile buildings were used to accommodate a large staff contingent and once off-loaded on-site, allowed for immediate occupation. Finer details such as furniture, fittings and equipment were also installed.
The ROMPCO campsite is based near Funhalouro, Mozambique, in the Inhambane province and presented some of the usual challenges during the construction phase, with cross-border logistics and an approximate daily temperature of 36 degrees and 90 percent humidity being just two examples. Accustomed to this terrain, Kwikspace has forged ahead undeterred, to complete the project timeously.
Kwikspace African Business Development Director, Nick Alexander commented: “Projects on the continent are seldom completed without difficulties. Relevant experience, thorough planning and current knowledge of the business conditions in each country are crucial to managing the risks and completing projects successfully.”
