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06.05.2020
DUGLAS ALLIANCE LTD. representatives took part in the first webinar organized by Africa Investment Exchange
First webinar organized by Africa Investment Exchange (platform for meetings of the leading investors in Africa’s infrastructure) took place on April 30. It was dedicated to discussing results of the research conducted by the organization among the Africa energy sector experts. The research was conducted during the period from April 1 to April 29 and aimed at identifying threats and their consequences as they have arisen in connection with the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The research involved representatives of public and private sectors, whose activities are related to the development of Africa countries’ energy system: public utility companies, consulting companies, investment and financial institutions, equipment suppliers and construction organizations, etc.. Speakers of the event were experts from Nigeria, Ethiopia, Uganda, West African countries, Finland and Great Britain.
Research outcomes demonstrated significant impact of the pandemic on the operations of the energy sector organizations. Almost 69% of the respondents noted high level impact of the COVID-19 pandemic consequences on the companies’ activities, about 3% of the respondents defined the situation as critical. The most significant pressure on business is determined by restrictions of the experts’ relocation, which, in its turn, complicates implementation of construction works. As a consequence, more than 75% of the experts forecast review of the projects implementation terms, as well as financial changes connected to exchange rates uncertainty.
Representatives of the company DUGLAS ALLIANCE LTD. directly participated in the research and joined the new format of the experts’ meetings via the online platform of the webinar. DUGLAS ALLIANCE LTD., as many companies in the industry, was forced to adapt the company’s operations to the new conditions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. To provide for uninterrupted progress of construction works at the Sendje HPP under the conditions of quarantine, the company ensured autonomy of daily living activities of the experts, revised the logistic processes considering the new circumstances and does its best to minimize negative impact of the pandemic on the project implementation timing.