Bechtel, a leading global engineering, project management and construction company has extended its partnership with the Central African nation of Gabon, which it has been working with since 2010 to create and implement a $25 billion national infrastructure plan. Together they have established a national infrastructure agency to deliver approximately a hundred projects spanning transportation, housing, education and medical facilities, water and waste management. Achievements so far include completion of more than 800 homes, 600 classrooms, 600 kilometers of roads and Gabon’s first community wastewater treatment plant.
“We’re excited to continue our work to deliver infrastructure for the people of Gabon and to support the implementation of the country’s vision for economic growth,” said Ailie MacAdam, Bechtel’s Managing Director - Europe and Africa, Infrastructure. “This will include upskilling local workforces to manage major infrastructure projects in the future, building new facilities and improving local services all while sustainably managing the country's resources and biodiversity.”
The Bechtel-established public-works agency, l’Agence Nationale des Grands Travaux d’Infrastructures (ANGTI), is staffed by a combination of Gabonese and Bechtel staff, with more than 80 percent of the team hired locally. Bechtel’s role is to provide planning services, technical skills and project management expertise to the agency. The ANGTI’s current priorities include delivering more than 1,200 kilometers of roads, renovating an airport, upgrading medical facilities, building two new 20,000 seat stadia and upgrading two existing stadia to host the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations football tournament.
In addition to delivering projects to support the master plan, ANGTI’s long-term ambition is to enhance the Gabonese skill base for project management; construction; engineering; project controls; sustainability; health, safety and environment; quality and contracts, enabling the country’s future infrastructure projects to be managed without Bechtel leadership.
