Fair Trade:Alcan on board for PE smelter

CANADIAN aluminium producer Alcan has signed a contract worth more than $100m with a joint venture consisting of SNC-Lavalin, Hatch, and Murray & Roberts for the front-end engineering design (Feed) and management of the 360000-ton-a-year first phase of the proposed Coega Aluminium smelter near Port Elizabeth. The Feed is expected to take nine months to complete and will provide firm cost estimates and a critical path for construction, pending the notice to proceed from the Coega Aluminium joint venture board. The second phase of the export-orientated project, which would bring aluminum production up to about 720000 tons a year, is currently in development. Last month, Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto gave an assurance that its proposed $38bn takeover of Alcan would not affect plans for the construction of the Coega smelter. The Alcan board has unanimously accepted the Rio Tinto bid, which trumped a hostile bid by rival Alcoa. Board maker gets euro loan PORTUGUESE wood-based board manufacturer Sonae Novobord has secured a € 25m loan from the European Investment Bank to help fund a R475m expansion of its panel board factory in White River, Mpumalanga. A spokesman said the investment would double the plant’s capacity to manufacture wood-based particle board for the kitchen, furniture and construction industries, and create at least 40 new jobs in a disadvantaged area. There would also be skills enhancement, technology transfer and the replacement of imports by domestic production. In addition, the increase in production would open the way for some of the particle board to be exported, he said. IDC expands funding into Africa THE Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) is to expand its programme of funding for franchise investments to include ventures into other African countries. The corporation disbursed R252m to help mainly black franchisees set up 96 operations in SA during the past financial year to March, and will be broadening the scope of the programme to include the rest of the continent during the current financial year, for which it has a total budget of R337m. Applicants are expected to provide at least 10% of the required amount from their own pockets. An IDC spokesman said the aim was to help entrepreneurs find new markets, and export South African franchise brands. Manzoni to drive Wesgro ANGELO Manzoni, the former managing executive of Saab Grintek’s enterprise division, has been appointed CEO of Western Cape trade and investment promotion agency Wesgro. Manzoni has a strong background in information technology, having also headed the business process outsourcing and IT-enabled services at Trade and Investment SA, an agency of the trade and industry department. He takes over from Nils Flaatten, who has acted in the position since former CEO Ismail Dockrat left nine months ago. Flaatten has taken up a provincial government post.