Lonrho Regulatory News (LONR)

25 Jul 2006 12:52

Lonrho Africa PLC25 July 2006 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE LONRHO AFRICA PLC ("Lonrho Africa" or "the Company") PREMIER SINGAPORE CONSULTING & ENGINEERING GROUP TO PLAN AND DESIGN THE LUBA FREEPORT IN WEST AFRICA Lonrho Africa is pleased to announce that Luba Freeport Ltd (Luba), LonrhoAfrica's 63% subsidiary, has appointed JURONG Primewide Pte Ltd ("JURONG"), amember of JURONG International Holdings Pte Ltd, to plan and design theexpansion of its port facilities in Equatorial Guinea. JURONG International is wholly-owned by JTC Corp, a statutory board that hasbeen responsible for shaping the industrial landscape of Singapore since 1968.Based on extensive practical experience of planning, constructing and developingport facilities, JURONG is able to offer fully integrated design andconstruction consulting services. Jurong Port is a fully-owned subsidiary of JTC Corporation and a sister companyof Jurong International. Jurong Port is a premier multi-purpose port forcontainers, bulk and conventional cargo in Singapore and the region. ItsContainer Terminal, set up in mid-2001, was voted the "Best Emerging ContainerTerminal Operator - Asia" by the international maritime fraternity for fourconsecutive years from 2003 to 2006. JURONG has been mandated to provide master design and planning services for thesubstantial expansion of infrastructure and facilities of the Luba quayside and50 Hectares of Freeport. JURONG will provide long-term development plans forLuba's expansion in addition to a fully integrated, short-term expansionfeasibility study for immediate implementation. Following completion of thefeasibility study, JURONG will commence construction of the facilities throughan Engineering, Planning and Construction (EPC) contract. Luba's expansion planswill increase the operational capacity of the Freeport and will provide improvedservices, facilities and logistics to all existing and future clients. The port is being developed to service the growing needs of the burgeoning oilindustry in both Equatorial Guinea and in the surrounding Gulf of Guinea. Inaddition to its Freeport status and strategic geographic location, Luba benefitsfrom naturally occurring deep water conditions and can handle both oil fieldsupply vessels and ocean-going ships as a result of the minimum 10m water depthat the jetty. As part of the expansion however, Luba will push the jetty andfacilities out towards the sea to give up to 18m of draft which will facilitatethe servicing of the largest ocean-going vessels. This vision will help to establish Luba as a regional hub for the West Coast ofAfrica: Cargoes in transit can be stored indefinitely and then re-shipped whennecessary, without any duty being charged. Larger and costly ocean-going vesselscan make one stop to drop off their entire cargo at Luba rather than makingpartial deliveries in numerous ports. Cargo is then stored safely until it isdelivered later to other regional destinations by smaller more economic vessels. "Luba Freeport is being established as a 'One Stop Shop' for oil logistics inone of the fastest growing, oil-producing areas in the world," said DavidLenigas, Joint Chairman and CEO, Lonrho Africa. "JURONG is the world leader inthe design, engineering, construction and operation of port facilities. With thecombination of our vision for the port and JURONG's expertise, we believe that,from shipping's perspective, Luba can become to Africa what Singapore is toAsia." Luba has commenced discussions with a number of potential funding counterpartiesto fund its expansion plans for the port. These are taking place concurrentlywith the technical feasibility study to ensure that expansion plans areimplemented in the shortest possible time frame. In May, Lonrho Africa announced its acquisition of 63% of the issued sharecapital of Luba Freeport for US$2 million. The port has a reputation within theWest African region as an efficient and cost effective freeport. It acts as alogistics centre for the oil and gas industries in the Gulf of Guinea andservices major oil companies in the region. Its Tax Free status and centralgeographical location make it a unique choice for a West African regional hub.Lonrho Africa has agreed with the EG Government to maintain the overalldevelopment programme for the Port facilities. Luba Freeport's major contracted clients include: Amerada Hess, Mobil EquatorialGuinea, Baker Hughes, Marathon, LOTEG, Schlumberger, Nalco, SBM, Chevron Texaco,Devon Energy, Petronas, Noble Energy and MI Equatorial Guinea. -END- For further information, please contact: Lonrho Africa Plc +44 (0)20 7016 5100David LenigasEmma Priestley Strand Partners Limited +44 (0)20 7409 3494Simon RaggettMatthew Chandler Cardew Group +44 (0)20 7930 0777Nadja VetterEden MendelEmma Consett NOTES TO EDITORS LONRHO AFRICA Lonrho Africa is in the process of re-establishing a significant presence on theAfrican Continent. The new investment and acquisition strategy, adoptedfollowing the appointment of David Lenigas as Chief Executive in December 2005,will focus on the natural resources, infrastructure, leisure and agribusinesssectors. Lonrho Africa has considerable experience across these industries in awide range of countries. Recently, the Company announced investments in BrinkleyMining Plc, Nare Diamonds Ltd and Luba Freeport Ltd in Equatorial Guinea. Luba Freeport Facilities:Berth length : 110mMax. water depth: 10m JURONG JURONG Primewide represents JURONG International's Design & Build arm. ThePrimewide team offers quality one-stop turnkey solutions to their clients in anefficient and cost-effective manner. Qualified and experienced project managerswill take care of projects at every stage and ensure that delivery is on time,on target and within budget. JURONG Primewide has a wide array of internationalprojects under its belt. Some key completed projects in Singapore include NHTechno Glass, Kimberly-Clark Manufacturing Facility, the Horizon Terminals inJurong Island, Novartis and NESS Display. JURONG Port Facilities - Singapore: Berths: 23Berth length : 4.5kmMax. water depth: 16.7mHandling capacity for container: 1.4 million TEU/yearGeneral & Bulk Cargo: 9.7 million tons (2005) This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange