IN BRIEF (Page 24)

CNPC, Total enterjoint venture with Iran

Iran signed a $4.8 billion (4.4 billion euros; 3.9 billion) natural gas development deal with energy giants Total SA and China National Petroleum Corp, marking the first joint venture with international partners since UN sanctions on the nation were eased in January. Paris-based Total will control 50.1 percent, with CNPC taking 30 percent and Iran's Petropars the rest. The deal, for the 11th phase of the offshore South Pars gas field, is still preliminary, with both sides signing a "heads-up agreement", according to Gholam-Reza Manouchehri, deputy director of the National Iranian Oil Co. Total put the cost of the first phase of the project at $2 billion, with Total's share at $1 billion, Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne said on Nov 8. "It's definitely in the interests of the country, and now the partners, to finalize the contract," he said.

Chinese company helps Ethiopian school

A Chinese heavy machinery manufacturer is helping an Ethiopian primary school with a water cellar project to address a water shortage. The project harnesses rainwater for the Oda Nebee Primary School in Ethiopia's Oromia Regional State, about 30 kilometers south of Addis Ababa.Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group provided funding for the project through the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, a Chinese NGO that focuses on charitable initiatives. The project at the school will be used as a demonstration for local farmers, encouraging them to scale up the technology in the area. The Oda Nebee Primary School cellar project is a pilot of 50 cellar projects that the machinery company intends to build in different parts of Ethiopia for communities with difficulty in getting access to water.

Sino-Hydro signs to build Harare dam

Chinese contractor Sino-Hydro has signed an agreement with the Zimbabwean government for the construction of a new dam northeast of Harare that will augment supplies from four other reservoirs that can't cope with demand, according to Minister of Environment, Water and Climate Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri. News agency New Ziana was told on Nov 9 that an environmental impact assessment will be done before the construction begins on Kunzvi Dam, 67 km outside the city. The estimated initial cost of the dam is $400 million (363 million euros; 323 million), but all major works including laying a pipeline and building new waterworks will push the bill as high as $900 million.

Merck opens pharma plant in Nantong

The world's leading biomedicine company Merck has opened a plant in Nantong, Jiangsu province, to produce pharmaceuticals on the country's Essential Drug List. Merck has invested 170 million euros ($187 million; 151 million) in the Nantong pharmaceutical plant. "By dedicating the largest manufacturing plant outside Europe to the production of pharmaceuticals to address widespread health care needs in China, Merck is connected to China more than ever," said Mark Horn, managing director of Merck's biopharma business in China.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 11/11/2016 page24)