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| Merz, McLellan and Mott MacDonald join forces in Africa Merz and McLellan, the South Africa and Botswana power consultancy, has joined Mott MacDonald as part of both companies' plans for expansion in Africa and to strengthen their positions in the African power consultancy market. In particular, this move provides a strong combined local and international resource to meet the region's power infrastructure investment needs over the next 30 years. Merz and McLellan has 45 staff based in Johannesburg and Durban, South Africa and in Gaborone, Botswana. Its excellent track record in the region dates back to 1910 when it worked on an assignment in South Africa for the Durban Corporation Alice Street Power Station. More significantly in 1920 Charles Merz produced a report which led to the first Electricity Act in South Africa and the formation of Eskom as a national supply utility. The South Africa and Botswana operations stem from a separate local partnership which Charles Merz set up in southern Africa in 1937. The company is currently working on inspection work in Eskom power stations, transmission projects in Botswana and a range of other projects in southern Africa. Across Africa Mott MacDonald has projects in some 34 countries spanning various sectors including power, transport, water, environment, health and education. In South Africa the company is involved in a major capital expansion programme which Transnet embarked on to upgrade all nine of the country's freight terminals and railway freight lines. It also helped design Mbombela Stadium, a 43,500 seat venue that will host first round matches in the 2010 World Cup. Across the region the company is involved in health projects, helping the fight against disease and environmental degradation while in the water sector it is designing sustainable sanitation and water management strategies to improve the aquatic health of Lake Victoria, Africa's largest lake. In the power sector the company is working on such projects as power systems in Libya, power related telecoms in Botswana and smart grid strategy work in South Africa. write your comments about the article :: © 2010 Construction News :: home page |