Uganda included in Siemens plan to expand footprint

May 5, 2017 in Companies, Infrastructure by Editor

May 5—Siemens, one of the world’s most admired names in engineering, electronics and services, wants to work more closely with African countries beginning with Uganda and Sudan in the areas of power supply, industry, transportation and healthcare.

On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum 2017 in Durban, South Africa, Joe Kaeser, President and CEO of Siemens AG said,  “Africa’s economies are gaining ground and can develop their full potential with the right partner. Siemens wants to support their sustainable development – with solutions and projects in Africa, for Africa.”

He said, “The agreements with our African partners are important steps along this path. Our goal is to double our order intake in Africa to more than €3 billion ($3.3 billion by the year 2020.”

Witnessing the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, Brigitte Zypries, German Federal Minister for Economics and Energy said, “Africa is a continent with economic opportunities and the German industry is an outstanding partner for the countries of Africa to realize these opportunities.”

“I am very pleased that with the agreements signed today, good progress is being made towards the goal of better infrastructure and thus more growth and employment. I particularly welcome the training program because well-trained skilled workers are a key pillar of prosperity and development,” she said.

Uganda’s finance minister, Matia Kasaija signed the MOU on behalf the government which is currently involved with two major power projects at Karuma and Isimba that are expected to nearly double the country’s electricity generation capacity.

Spending on African infrastructure has more than doubled to $80 billion over the last 15 years, and the aspiring urban centers offer growth opportunities for the entire continent. More than a billion people worldwide have no access to electric power, and half of those people live in Africa. In Uganda and Sudan, Siemens’ primary goal is to increase national power generating capacities and to connect the local population to the power grids.

Siemens has already developed financing solutions for its mega-project in Egypt and power plant projects in Nigeria and is supporting its African partners’ efforts to implement these major infrastructure projects. Siemens promotes economic growth in Africa through far-reaching partnerships in the competence fields of power generation, transportation and healthcare, as well as the digitalization of industry.

Siemens has been active in Africa for more than 157 years. Today, with more than 3,600 employees based in a total of 15 African countries, the company contributes decisively to the continent’s economic development. In addition, Siemens is investing an average of €10 million per year for training programs and is promoting programs to increase integrity in politics and society.

In the spirit of Germany’s current presidency of the G20 group and the recently published Marshall Plan for Africa, Siemens is developing new projects for the continent, with the long-term goal of promoting the African economy and creating local jobs.