The South African government has selected preferred bidders for the development of four utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) projects in the Northern Cape, with a combined investment value of R10-billion. The four BESS installations will have a combined capacity of 360 MW/1 440 MWh, with three using lithium-ion battery technology, and one being a [...]

South Africa needs to more than double climate financing to achieve its emissions reduction targets, according to a study by the Presidential Climate Commission. Current annual average funding of R131-billion needs to be boosted to R334-billion for the country to meet its net zero goal by 2050, the commission said in the The South African [...]

Brazil-based major aerospace group Embraer has announced that Canadian carrier Porter Airlines has ordered a further 25 E195-E2 airliners, which will take its fleet of this type to 75. The airline also has options on another 25 of the aircraft.  The new order is worth, using list prices, $2.1-billion. “Porter Airlines is an exciting disrupter [...]

Trade union the National Union of Mineworkers' (NUM's) Highveld Region is planning to march to the offices of the Presidency and the Department of Public Enterprises on December 9 to demand an immediate intervention on State-owned Transnet’s failure to transport minerals to and from the country’s terminal ports. Various mining companies are sitting with stockpiles [...]

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) finds in its latest Agriculture Survey for 2022 that the sector generated R450-billion in income for the year, compared with R404-billion in income generated for 2021. This 11.2% increase in income was driven by the animals and animal products industry, which generated R172-billion of sales, followed by horticulture generating R109-billion [...]

The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) will on November 29 resume procurement for road construction projects, with 86 tenders to be advertised. CEO Reginald Demana has announced that the roads agency is resuming business after tenders worth billions of rands were stalled owing to a legal impasse between Sanral and some construction companies [...]

UK-based global major propulsion and power systems group Rolls-Royce announced on Tuesday, as part of a Capital Markets Day that it is hosting, that it is targeting a major uplift in its performance, over the medium term (that is, until 2027). The intent is to create a business that is (in the order given by the [...]

South African manganese mining company Jupiter Mines announced on Tuesday that it has produced a 99.9% pure sample of high purity manganese sulphate monohvdrate (HPMSM) using the Northern Cape’s manganese ore and bringing into service an internally developed hydrometallurgical production process. Inclusion of the battery grade manganese in the cathode of electric vehicle batteries introduces [...]

JSE-listed Stefanutti Stocks’ contract revenue and operating profit from continuing operations for the six months ended August 31 improved to R3.3-billion and R69-million, respectively, with the group’s overall cash position increased to R687-million. CEO Russell Crawford says the group continues to deliver a satisfactory performance and is focused on the successful completion of outstanding items [...]

Tanzania is seeking $5.6-billion for a new railway in the south linking the Indian Ocean to Lake Nyasa and traversing regions rich in iron-ore, coal and graphite. The East African nation is looking for public-private partnerships for the 1 000 km line, according to a presentation by Tanzania Railways Corp MD Masanja Kadogosa. The agency [...]

JSE-listed vehicle rental and leasing company Zeda, in its maiden results as a listed company, reported a 12.4% year-on-year increase in revenue to R9.14-billion for the financial year ended September 30. Further, the company reported an 18% year-on-year increase in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) to R3.32-billion.

Investment holding and management company Invicta Holdings achieved a robust performance for the six months ended September 30, with revenue having increased by 12% to R4.3-billion. The increase of R461-million was made up of R178-million from the South African operations, while the rest of Africa contributed R89-million and Europe and America contributing the balance of [...]