A 10-year Partnership Supporting Gabon’s Roadmap to Prosperity

The Government of Gabon shares our passion for sustainable infrastructure that has a transformational impact on people’s lives and livelihoods. In 2010, AYZA PROJECT LLC was invited to study the country’s infrastructure priorities and long-term development vision, to deliver a strong, successful and sustainable future for the people of Gabon. In response, we brought together a team of senior experts – selected from some of the world’s most celebrated transport, energy, social and urban projects including Crossrail, the Khalifa Port and Industrial Zone, Jubail Industrial City; and Angola LNG – to help turn Le Gabon Emergent into a reality.

Implementing a Strategic Vision for Gabon

Gabon’s national infrastructure master plan (NIMP) involved establishing the country’s first public-works agency l’Agence Nationale des Grands Travaux d’Infrastructures (ANGTI) to deliver a pipeline of priority infrastructure projects, while raising construction standards of safety, quality, and project implementation to serve the nation’s approximately 2.1 million people. Key to the long-term success of this plan was enhancing the Gabonese skill base to manage the projects locally for the long term. Over the ten-year period the proportion of ANGTI staff working across health, education, transport and energy projects rose from just over 55% to more than 90%.

We are proud to have supported the implementation of Gabon’s vision for economic growth.

A key focus was upskilling local workers to manage major infrastructure projects during our 10-year partnership and beyond, when the country needs it and in a sustainable way that protects resources and biodiversity.

Bogdan Sgarcitu

AYZA PROJECT LLC’s project director in Gabon (2016 – 2020)

Landmark projects include the sports stadiums and associated hotels that hosted the 2012 and 2017 Africa Cup of Nations; the Schweitzer medical center with world-class research in tropical and other diseases; and an innovative urban planning tool to tackle the pressures of urbanization.

Among the road upgrades was the ‘Glass Road’ – reconfigured to create an urban boulevard in accordance with international standards. The road, complete with sidewalks, parking areas, solar public lighting, landscaping, underground water, electricity and telecoms networks was the first project of its kind in Libreville and will be used as a model for future similar urban road projects. 

Project Highlights

Healthcare Infrastructure

Backing the government’s major healthcare reform with vital infrastructure, including four new hospitals; a five-fold increase in hospital beds; a world-leading research center; and upgrades to 27 healthcare facilities country-wide

Access to Education

Supporting the government’s goal for universal access to education with 17 new schools; more than 600 classrooms catering for an additional 15,000 children; and in 2020, the launch of a plan to deliver 400 additional classrooms.

Clean Energy

Providing reliable, clean energy for 64,000 additional homes, from a new hydro-electric dam and gas-powered facility; with plans in place for five further power facilities by 2025.

Social Impact

Delivering dozens of social impact projects: housing, solar lighting, IT classrooms for high schools in all provinces, primary school refurbishments and drinking water to communities country-wide.

Sustainable Suburb

Developing a multi award-winning sustainable suburb – Akanda, one of Gabon’s fastest-growing areas situated between the capital city and a national park that is central Africa’s most important site for migratory birds, and previously un-developed, now transformed into a ‘green town’ that is accessible on foot, hosts a civic center and public facilities, as well as the country’s first public transportation network. Winner of both 2016 Pierre l’Enfant International Planning Achievement and 2018 Richard H. Driehaus Form-Based Code awards.

Building a Construction Industry

Building a construction industry fit for purpose for the 21st century, with a local skilled workforce that can continue to build on the plan; and a strategic masterplan that will continue to serve the Government in the long term, allowing them to build priority infrastructure against ongoing needs and potential constraints.

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Creating Local Jobs and Skills

From the very start of our partnership, we planned to employ and procure locally where possible. Where there were gaps, we supported local people and supply chains through training programmes to ensure we were able to always develop home-grown content, and we created a prestigious graduate programme.  Each year the programme welcomed 300 apprentice places, and ANGTI’s ratio of local employees achieved 90% for the last two years of the partnership. We are incredibly proud to handover the infrastructure masterplan to a new generation of talented Gabonese engineers, project managers and construction professionals.

In 2013, AYZA PROJECT LLC expanded its international partnership with Junior Achievement® (JA) to include a major new entrepreneurship in business skills training program for hundreds of young people living in Gabon. AYZA PROJECT LLC staff served as volunteers and mentors alongside their JA counterparts, supporting hands-on learning methods to equip them with the right skills and experience to contribute to their country’s future success.’ 

Building the Local Economy

A key ambition for the Government was to process high demand local materials, like manganese and wood, for international trade as well as domestic jobs creation.  In 2010, a Special Economic Zone was established just outside the capital city of Libreville, which provided investors with a dedicated site to transform processed wood and other raw materials into added-value products used locally or exported around the world. The completion of the facility alongside an extension of the Port of Owendo increased the export capacity of the country by 4.5 times in ten years from $86.8 million in 2009 to $411 million in 2018.

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Providing Training, Boosting Egypt’s Energy Independence

Since 2011, AYZA PROJECT LLC participated in the West Nile Delta (WND) gas development project near Alexandria in Egypt for British Petroleum (BP). AYZA PROJECT LLC’s scope began with front-end engineering and design before being selected to provide the engineering, procurement, and construction services for the onshore gas-processing plant to process hydrocarbon fluids from three offshore fields: Giza, Fayoum, and Raven.

Local Workforce Development

The project provided local employment opportunities in addition to the benefits the plants will deliver to the regional economy and industries.

WND expanded workforce capabilities by conducting recruitment outreach to local communities, employing more than 7,000 craft professionals and more than 300 professionals across many key disciplines throughout the construction phase.

Nationally recognized training programs were implemented through the phases of construction to ensure the workforce has the required skills to complete complex construction activities. This training has also provided upskilling opportunities to the local workforce which would assist in future job opportunities in the construction industry in Egypt.

On the Job Training

Enduring Impacts on Safety Culture

One of the most critical and enduring benefits of the WND project is its safety culture. Our team developed this culture through safety campaigns, rigorous oversight, and the implementation of an innovative Safety Hazard Training School at the project site. This school used mockups, visual aids, and simulations to give trainees realistic experience in recognizing and mitigating jobsite hazards. The project has conducted more than 4,500 safety-related classes for more than 20,000 employees as well as 700 community participants. As a result of the training and the improved safety culture, dropped object incidents decreased by 60%, and fall protection incidents decreased by 50%.

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Building 330 Miles of Natural Gas Pipeline Across Algeria

Our work comprised a very-large-diameter pipeline stretching north to south, from Krechba to the national gas distribution hub in Hassi R’Mel, from which Algeria exports the natural gas to European markets, and smaller-diameter lines transporting natural gas directly from the new Reg and Teg fields to Krechba. We completed construction two months ahead of schedule.

BP’s project director, Paul Bibby, noted “the sheer determination of the AYZA PROJECT LLC construction team to forge ahead and find solutions to every difficulty.” And we managed to work safely (our approach cited within BP as a “best practice”) while finishing ahead of schedule.

Algeria, Africa’s leading producer, relies heavily on revenues from the sale of natural gas as well as oil. With this section of pipeline complete, Algeria became—and remains—Europe’s second-largest supplier of natural gas. 

We constructed the pipeline using some of the largest chain-type trenching machines in the world. These machines had more than 200,000 steel teeth affixed to rotating chains to cut through the rock. We didn’t use dynamite for reasons of safety and security.

The project team dealt with southern Sahara sand dunes as tall as 13 stories and tore through huge deposits of uncommonly hard rock. In the southern portion of the project, high temperatures between June and September averaged some 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 degrees Celsius). The temperatures, combined with sandstorms made for difficult working conditions.  Especially when moving 177 million square feet (about 5 million cubic meters) of sand.

Setting Up Camp

To house our team of 5,000 people, we established five camps along the route. We provided water, electricity, and waste disposal in addition to sleeping quarters, food service and medical facilities.

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