Vinci

Madagascar
Gérard Perceau, the French advisor who has President Rajoelina's ear

In four years, former Bouygues executive Gérard Perceau has become a key figure in negotiations on major infrastructure projects between the state of Madagascar and its technical and foreign financial partners.

Congo
Medef seeking investments but not Jean-Jacques Bouya in Brazzaville

The French employers' federation, MEDEF, is due to visit Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire, the economic capital of Congo, from 7 to 9 December, after a stop in Libreville, Gabon.

Ghana, Ivory Coast
Mysterious UK firm Duc In Altum wants to build medical cities in Africa

The South African representative of an unknown British firm owned by an Israeli-Bulgarian duo has been trying to convince various African governments to build vast smart medical cities to fight against Covid-19.

Tunisia
Transport minister in search of funds for Enfidha port

The project to build a deepwater port in Enfidha, postponed numerous times, is being relaunched with a call for tenders. Six companies are in the running but the funds for the project have yet to be secured.

Africa
Ivory Coast, Mali, Uganda, Chad

Every Wednesday, Africa Intelligence reveals the next generation of movers and shakers in business and politics.

Morocco
King's favourite construction company CMS sets sights on Inwi data centres and Attijari's HQ

Bought in 2016 by the former "king's steward" Zouhair Fassi Fehri, Construction Management Services is creating a branch dedicated to telecom infrastructures and has already approached Inwi, the operator owned by the royal holding company Al Mada.

Spotlight | Rwanda
Qatar Airways puts bidders for $2bn Kigali airport in tailspin

Turkish, Qatari, Greek and Portuguese companies flocked to Doha to bid for the Kigali airport contract, but the shortlisted candidates, faced with new last-minute conditions, are nowhere near the end of the race.

The New Guard
Kenya, South Africa, Congo, Guinea, Morocco

Every Wednesday, Africa Intelligence reveals the next generation of movers and shakers in business and politics.

KenyaSolomon Kuria, the link between Kenyatta and Odinga.

South AfricaNonceba Mhlauli, President Ramaphosa's youth champion

CongoSteven Moussala, Prime Minister Anatole Makosso's Franco-Congolese sherpa

GuineaMohamed Lamine Solano, Conakry's voice in Washington.

MoroccoOmar Chraibi, the man behind Voltalia's solar victory.

Algeria
Sonatrach shuns Western firms for Chinese oil companies

State-owned Sonatrach, noting the disaffection of Western firms for the Algerian market, is now focused on doing business with Chinese companies, foremost among them Sinopec.

Cameroon
Outlook is bleak for struggling Sogea-Satom subsidiary

Without fresh work, Sogea-Satom's subsidiary in Cameroon ended last year in difficulty as it began carrying out yet another workforce reduction plan in October. Prospects for 2022 are poor.

Tunisia
Second chance to bid for construction of Bizerte Bridge

The bidding process for the construction of the Bizerte Bridge has been reopened. Although Tunisia's Ministry of Equipment and Housing was already examining submitted bids in December 2020, none of them have so far been selected.

Madagascar
World Bank wraps up corruption investigation into Ivato airport

The first few months of the new terminal at Ivato, built and managed by a consortium of Aéroports de Paris, the Meridiam fund and the Bouygues and Colas construction groups, are expected to be disrupted by the findings of an investigation by the World Bank's anti-corruption unit, a branch of which was involved in financing the project.

Cameroon
Sogea-Satom prepares major layoffs

In a circular sent to all staff on 27 October, Pierre-Etienne Latour, head of the Yaounde office of the French construction group Sogea-Satom, a subsidiary of Vinci, announced a 'mass redundancy plan'.