Police are urging the communities and the public to assist them find people that have been reported missing in the country. view more

Employees, who spoke to the Daily News on condition of anonymity, said they were forced to vacate their work stations view more

During the game, Grade 11 pupil Camryn Sampson was stabbed in the abdomen with a knife. Yesterday, she was reported to be making a good recovery in hospital. view more

A prominent Durban lawyer told the CRL Rights Commission that the annual furore around Diwali fireworks reflected a lack of tolerance. view more

South Africa will release a request for information (RFI) in the coming weeks to test the market for solutions to close an immediate electricity supply gap of between 2 000 MW and 3 000 MW, which has emerged primarily as a result of a fall in the energy availability factor (EAF) from Eskom's coal fleet and a de-rating of the anticipated output from the much-delayed Medupi and Kusile plants. The situation has been exacerbated further by the fact that no new capacity has been procured since 2014, as well as by a protracted hiatus, between 2015 and 2018, in the construction of renewables projects after Eskom refused to sign power purchase agreements. view more

The South African Photovoltaic Industry Association has welcomed the release of the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) and said that the significant allocation toward renewable energy boded well for the industry. The IRP2019 has made an allocation of 6 000 MW of new generation capacity for large scale solar photovoltaic capacity and about 6 000 MW for embedded generation. view more

The long-awaited, Cabinet-approved 2019 Integrated Resource Plan shows that South Africa is transitioning to a cleaner energy future, the South African Wind Energy Association said on Friday, giving the government blueprint a thumbs-up. The organisation welcomed the 14.4 GW allocation for wind power, which gave the technology 18% of total projected power generation capacity by 2030. Solar photovoltaic's allocation would see its share climb to 6% and hydro's to 8%. view more

The Bloodhound land-speed record car has arrived safely at Hakskeenpan, in the Northern Cape, where it will stay for the next month as the team prepares for the car's first high-speed test runs. The test runs are part of an effort to set a new world land-speed record. The current land-speed record is 1 227.9 km/h, and is held by the Thrust supersonic car. view more

The uYilo Electric Mobility Programme has opened the grant funding call for its 2019 Kick Start Fund Project. uYilo was established in 2013 as an initiative of the Technology Innovation Agency, with the aim to enable, facilitate and mobilise electric mobility in South Africa. UYilo says its 2019 Kick Start Fund Project can unlock up to R1-million in funding to candidates who are developing a technology that can advance the e-mobility industry in South Africa. view more

Global energy company Total expects delivery in 2020 of its first large liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker vessel. The bunker vessel will supply LNG to commercial vessels in northern Europe, including 300 000 t/y for French container transportation and shipping company CMA CGM for at least ten years. view more

South African government-bond yields could drop and the nation may hang on to its last investment-grade credit rating if policy makers implement the necessary reforms, central bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago said. Moody's Investors Service is scheduled to deliver its latest assessment of South Africa's credit rating on November 1. It has the country on a stable outlook, but government borrowing has increased to help keep power utility Eskom afloat, economic growth has slowed and business confidence is near the lowest in more than three decades. "South African policy makers know exactly what must be implemented so that Moody's do not venture" to a downgrade, Kganyago said. view more

The 12 industrial parks that have been renovated and form part of the Department of Trade and Industry's (DTI's) Industrial Parks Revitalisation Programme currently employ 65 000 people, says DTI regional industrial development chief director Stieneke Jensma. In addition to the main objective of creating jobs, the programme is geared toward promoting industrialisation and transformation, accelerating economic growth, attracting investment and establishing black industrialists in the parks. view more

In this opinion piece, Engineering News Senior Deputy Editor Martin Zhuwakinyu writes about the Andela initiative that was established to nurture Africa's technology talent. A couple of months back, I waxed lyrical about an initiative to nurture Africa's high-end information technology talent for placement with global tech companies. Its beauty, I wrote, was that the youngsters who were taken on board were not required to leave the continent's shores but worked out of offices in the major cities of Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Ghana and Egypt, thus avoiding a brain drain. view more

As South Africa enters its third day of blackouts, investors are still awaiting word from President Cyril Ramaphosa's administration on how it's going to fix the ailing State power company. The outages are being imposed by Eskom, the behemoth utility that's been without a permanent CEO since August and is so cash-strapped it can't service its debt and properly maintain aging plants. view more

The rate of global decarbonisation has slowed to its lowest level since 2011 after four years of moderate progress, PwC UK's latest Low Carbon Economy Index (LCEI) shows. Although the global economy is getting more energy efficient, overall energy consumption rose by 2.9% with the resurgence in the growth of energy-intensive industries such as construction and steel across rapidly industrialising economies, including China, India and Indonesia. view more

A new model of extruder for hollow-core slab production, has been introduced. The new machine will offer high casting speed, second generation automatic compaction control and bouncing prevention. In addition to the standard hollow-core slab production, the new design of the machine will also enable casting of a variety of precast slabs. Precast concrete offers a number of potential benefits, including faster production time with cost savings carried through to site installation. The blending of digital and machinery has resulted in more advanced precast manufacturing machinery. view more

JSE-listed information and communication technology service provider EOH has announced the sale of its interest in Data World, Xcallibre and Evaluations Enhance Property Appraisals - together Data World Group - for R101.8-million. EOH Mthombo, the EOH unit that has been implicated in dubious payments, will sell Data World to Terra Analytics. view more

The We Love Alexandra Community Makeover project was launched to stakeholders on Friday, at a breakfast convening representatives of business, the local community and religious institutions. The project aims to convene these stakeholders to pursue a collaborative approach to bring about real, sustainable change to the township and its people, and is being spearheaded by the South Africa Day movement. view more

China continued its grind to more moderate growth in the third quarter as investment slowed, providing little upside for a global economy flirting with its first recession since 2009. Gross domestic product rose 6% in the July-September period from a year ago, the slowest pace since the early 1990s and weaker than the consensus forecast of 6.1%. On the upside, factory output improved and retail sales held up, but slowing investment growth remained a concern. view more

Dual-listed property investment company Stenprop has acquired two industrial estates in Glasgow and Wolverhampton, in the UK, in separate transactions, for £7.1-million. The first of the two new estates is the Western Campus at the Strathclyde Business Park, in Glasgow, which was acquired from Central Assets for £4.6-million and reflects a net initial yield of 6.8%. view more

Coal will continue to play a significant role in South Africa's plan to boost electricity generation over the next decade, with more renewable energy also lined up, Mineral Resources & Energy minister Gwede Mantashe said on Friday. He said the additional capacity for the energy mix until 2030 would include 1 500 megawatts from coal, 2 500 MW from hydro, 6 000 MW from photovoltaic, 14 400 MW from wind, 2 088 MW from storage and 3 000 MW from gas. This will see coal contributing 59% of energy volumes view more

As businesses and consumers had to ensure several days of growth-denting loadshedding this week, the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA) has highlighted the importance of procuring new generation capacity. The association believes that in choosing the new capacity needed to replace power utility Eskom's ageing coal-generation fleet consideration has to be given to the need to decarbonise the energy system at least cost. view more

Coal will continue to play a significant role in electricity generation for the country, Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has said. The minister on Friday briefed media on the recently gazetted Integrated Resources Plan 2019.  view more

National electricity provider Eskom said on Friday it would effect a third day of rotational powercuts, saying it had lost supply from some generating units due to coal and ash handling issues. Eskom, which had initially indicated it would scale down load-shedding to "stage 1", which involves suppressing 1 000MW of demand at any given time, said it would instead apply "stage 2" -- in which it takes off 2 000MW -- for the greater part of the day. view more

Anglo American's Los Bronces copper mine in Chile is targeting a 30% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the next ten years, with its two other environmentally protective, same-period goals being 50% less water abstraction and 30% less energy use. The 152-year-old mine, located in the ice-topped Andes mountain region, is owned 50.1% by Anglo American, 20.4% by Mitsubishi and 29.5% by Chile's state-owned Codelco and joint venture partner Mitsui. view more

Creamer Media's readers continue to be part of the mobile revolution.  Over 20% of Creamer Media's online readers view the websites on their mobile devices. To cater for this growing mobile readership Creamer Media offers an Engineering News Online app for iPhone and Android users.  These apps offer access to all content available on the Engineering News Online website and also offers additional benefits such as push notifications to alert the reader of breaking news items and the opportunity to save articles for a later read through the app's bookmarks functionality. view more

State-owned electricity utility Eskom's decision to approach the courts for urgent relief in the form of a reversal of the Energy Regulator's controversial March 7 decision to offset a government equity injection of R69-billion through a lowering of the utility's return on assets could result in material increases in electricity tariffs in the coming two years. Eskom announced on October 11 that it had applied for urgent interim relief against the Energy Regulator's fourth multiyear price determination (MYPD4), which it would also take on legal review on a non-urgent basis. view more

South Africa is experiencing many challenges in terms of meeting water demand and the country will have to pursue a number of different solutions to engender water security, says multidisciplinary engineering consultancy GIBB senior associate Ron Tluczek. view more

Specialist industrial plugs and sockets manufacturer Ampco on Thursday launched its new plastic plug and connector range for use in commercial, mining and industrial applications. This advanced Gen 2 plastic range further expands the company's current locally manufactured metal and plastic range of plugs and connectors, said sister company Powermite director Donovan Marks. view more

Emerging natural gas producer Renergen's Virginia gas project, in the Free State, has the potential to position South Africa as a prominent player in the helium market. As a result, South Africa could become the eighth country in the world to export helium. The project also marks the construction of South Africa's first commercial liquefied natural gas (LNG) liquefier, and will result in dual-listed Renergen starting commercial production of both LNG and liquid helium by 2021. Where the helium ... view more

Zimbabwe has cancelled a US$400-million investment deal for the National Railways of Zimbabwe, which had been awarded to a consortium that included South Africa's Transnet and the Diaspora Infrastructure Development Group. In 2017, the government of Zimbabwe awarded the $400-million tender for the revival of NRZ to Transnet and DIDG. However, on Wednesday, Harare said the tender had since been cancelled. view more

Fifth generation (5th Gen) combat aircraft are totally transforming the nature of air combat, Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II test pilot Billie Flynn has told the 2019 Aeronautical Society of South Africa conference, in Pretoria. The F-35 multirole fighter is the second 5th Gen combat aircraft to enter service, following the F-22 Raptor air dominance fighter (which is also a Lockheed Martin product). While the F-22 is operated only by the US Air Force, the F-35 is already operated by eight ... view more

Rail components manufacturer Alstom Ubunye on Thursday inaugurated its 80 000 m2 modernised rail components factory, in Nigel, Gauteng. The factory was established in 1957 and Alstom acquired a 51% stake in the company, Commuter Transport and Locomotive Engineering, in 2016 calling the new Company "Alstom Ubunye". view more

The University of KwaZulu-Natal's (UKZN's) Hydrogen and Real-time Analysis Experiment (Hirax) has deployed two new prototype telescope dish designs at the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (Sarao), in Hartebeeshoek, Gauteng. The first dish, made from fibreglass, was designed and manufactured by MMS Technology, in Pretoria, while the second dish, made from aluminium, was designed and manufactured through a partnership between NJV Consulting and Rebcon, in Durban. view more

South Africa has started discussions with power producers to try to get cheaper electricity from some older renewable energy projects and give the economy a boost, several participants in the talks say. But participant power firms - some of which are backed by big names such as EDF Renewables - say they can't give the government big savings on many of the 64 solar and wind projects that are part of the discussions, because most of the money has already been spent. view more

Cabinet on Thursday announced it had approved the promulgation of the Integrated Resource Plan, South Africa's policy blueprint for the electricity sector. The IRP spells out a proposed energy mix for the country until 2030. In a statement, Cabinet said "most of the inputs" from experts in the sector, the public and academia, received during a public consultation process last year were included in the 2019 IRP. The IRP was released as the country is experiencing another round of rotational power cuts as Eskom moves to fix boiler tube leaks at five of the utility's generating units. view more

Negotiators from the UK reached an agreement with officials in Brussels Thursday that could pave the way for Britain to finally break its 46-year-old ties to the European Union this month. The withdrawal agreement was completed just in time for EU leaders to assess it when they gather for summit talks in the Belgian capital later in the day. The deal then needs to win the backing of the UK Parliament on Saturday. view more

The City of Johannesburg has imposed level one water restrictions to curtail water use by residents, considering a consistent decline in Gauteng's water levels over the past months. Hot temperatures and no rain over the past few months have affected the state of the province's water resources, the Department of Water and Sanitation said. The department issued a weekly dam levels report, which found that Gauteng's provincial average water level had dropped to 86.1% this week, compared with 87.1% last week. view more

As from October 31, public transport in South Africa moves one step closer to integrated ticketing with the Gautrain to accept contactless bank cards for payment of its train, parking and bus services, says Bombela Concession Company marketing and communication executive Kesagee Nayager. This means Gautrain customers can tap in and out of the system using their credit, debit and cheque cards, as well as National Department of Transport cards used on the A Re Yeng bus system, in Pretoria, the Rea Vaya bus system, in Johannesburg, and the MyCiTi bus system, in Cape Town. view more

Zimbabwe has cancelled a deal struck with South African logistics group Transnet and its partner to recapitalise State-owned National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ), citing a failure to meet timelines and funding issues, a government official said. The joint venture of Transnet and Diaspora Infrastructure Development Group (DIDG), a consortium of Zimbabwean investors living abroad, won the bid to recapitalise the financially struggling NRZ with $400-million in August 2017. view more

Public policy research organisation Charter Cities Institute (CCI) will, on March 17 and 18, host an inaugural conference in Sandton to create awareness around charter cities and the promise it holds for emerging economies in Africa. CCI executive director Dr Mark Lutter says that despite the reduction in global poverty over the past 50 years, governments around the world still struggle to meet the challenges posed by demographic booms, poorly managed urbanisation, institutional failure and ever-changing economic conditions. view more

Independent power producers and coal procurement are among the biggest cost drivers for State-owned electricity company Eskom, accounting for 50 percent of its costs, parliament's select committee on appropriations has said. The committee this week visited Eskom's Megawatt Park offices in Johannesburg to examine how management, the board, the government, suppliers and consumers can contribute in returning the financially struggling entity to sustainability. view more