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Lambert Somec Electrifies Senegal with Financing
from the African Development Bank
It took a year and a half of hard work and perseverance in the face of numerous challenges for Lambert Somec Inc. to carry out its latest major project in West Africa. In April, 2002, the electromechanical construction firm completed two turnkey contracts in partnership with GLR, another Quebec-based company, to deliver high-voltage transmission lines along the Matam-Dagana corridor in Senegal and the Dagana-Nouakchott corridor in Mauritania. Worth CAD $50 million, the projects were financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD). The end client was SOGEM, the Manatali energy management company, which is based in Bamako, Mali, but also services Senegal and Mauritania. It was Lambert Somec's second undertaking in Senegal funded by an international financial institution. They also delivered a complete electrical system to Dakar University in 1999 under a contract financed by the World Bank.
Stiff international competition
Lambert Somec had its eye on the venture three years before the international bid went out. "We started tracking this project in 1997," says Denis Linteau, President of Lambert Somec, "and in 1999 we responded to a tender from SOGEM. So did firms from France, Spain, Germany and India. The competition was fierce, but the Lambert Somec/GLR joint venture presented the lowest bid and won."
The contract was signed in March 2000 to take effect the following September. "SOGEM needed six months in order to receive the necessary authorizations from the governments of each of the three countries it represents before getting the project under way," explains Linteau. The Canadian Embassy in Dakar, however, considerably sped up the process. "Canada's trade commissioners supported our efforts by meeting with the appropriate officials, which enabled us to obtain the requisite documents from the Government of Senegal in just two days."
Challenges on all fronts
The diverse aspects of the West African project rendered it very complex, as Linteau explains. "First, there was the construction of some 500 kilometres of 225-kV high-voltage lines in Senegal and Mauritania. Although they are neighbours, these two countries have marked topological and cultural differences, so working there was no easy task. In Mauritania, for example, the entire transmission line crossed the desert and then the river, whereas in Senegal it traversed the plain. Secondly, significant cultural differences created problems for travel and border crossings." As if that weren't enough to contend with, the project manager, SOGEM, is based in Bamako, Mali, while its workers came from various areas of Senegal, Mauritania and Mali. And the two funders, AfDB and AFESD, were headquartered in Côte d'Ivoire and Kuwait, respectively. "Needless to say, communications were a major headache throughout the project execution period," says Linteau.
In spite of the difficulties encountered, Lambert Somec pulled through with flying colours. Not only had an expert team of 12 Canadians successfully installed the transmission lines by April, but the entire project was completed in 18 months—six months ahead of schedule.
An established regional presence
Lambert Somec has been active in Senegal for the past several years, having completed the electrical work for expansion of the Sococim cement plant as well as for the Dakar University library. The latter project, funded by the World Bank and subcontracted through a Senegalese firm, entailed the delivery of a complete system including distribution, fire alarms, lighting and an emergency power generator. Under the national urgency program for increasing electrical power in Dakar, Lambert Somec installed a 37.4 MW fuel-powered turbine in 1999. Its Senegalese subsidiary, Socere Lambert Somec, which was involved in all these projects, has carried out some 1,200 kilometres of rural electrification in more than 100 villages, as well as renovating and expanding Dakar's street and traffic light system.
In order to ensure the success of its international ventures, Lambert Somec works closely with Export Development Canada (EDC) for its financing, insurance and bonding needs. Another crucial element, says Linteau, is the effective training of local staff, for which funding was granted to the firm under CIDA's Industrial Cooperation Program. "The program enabled us to send our specialists to Senegal many times between 1999 and 2001 in order to train local technicians, engineers and accountants, and to bring Senegalese workers to Quebec to complete their training," says Linteau.
Over the past 20 years, Lambert Somec has carried out, alone or with partners, major projects in the West Indies and in other African countries such as Cameroon, Rwanda and Guinea. The firm employs approximately 500 people at its Quebec City headquarters and its offices in Boucherville and Tracy, Quebec.
For more information, contact:
Export Financing Division, DFAIT
Tel.: (613) 995-7251
E-mail: ifinet@international.gc.ca
or
Denis Linteau, President
Lambert Somec Inc.
Tel.: (418) 687-1640
E-mail: dlinteau@lambertsomec.com
Internet: www.lambertsomec.com
Publication date: 2002/10/28
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