Mott MacDonald to acquire South African engineering consultancy
Global engineering, management and development consultant Mott MacDonald is to acquire the Johannesburg-based engineering specialist, PD Naidoo & Associates.
Under a deal which will see the activities of the two companies in southern Africa come together to create an 800-person strong entity, the new Mott MacDonald PDNA business will provide a much extended, multi-sector capability for the entire sub-saharan region. The move – subject to approval by the Competition Commission of South Africa – is the culmination of a highly successful working relationship built over several years and supports both firms’ long-held growth aspirations in Africa. The deal is a major boost of confidence for foreign direct investment into South Africa and Africa.
Mott MacDonald and PDNA are currently working together on a range of major projects including the Eastern Cape Infrastructure Joint Venture, providing Transnet with EPCM (engineering, procurement and construction management) services covering port infrastructure upgrade projects at Port Elizabeth, Port of Ngqura and East London.
The proposed new practice will operate from 15 centres in South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique, providing multi-disciplinary design, implementation and management services across the property and infrastructure, transport, water, industrial, mining, energy, communications, health and education sectors.
Commenting on the development, Keith Howells, chairman of Mott MacDonald Group, said: “Bringing a company of PDNA’s standing into the Group will give our combined southern Africa operation the scope and scale to tackle a greater number of the more complex and strategic next-generation projects that our clients want to take forward to support the region’s social and economic success. And as both Mott MacDonald and PDNA are employee-owned companies, our combined workforce will share the same drive, commitment and motivation to achieve the best possible outcomes for our customers.”
Dempsey Naidoo, chairman of PD Naidoo & Associates, added: “This is a progression of the growth and global strategy for the PDNA Group. Uniting our two businesses in this way will create a powerful single-source, end-to-end service – backed by in-depth understanding and knowledge of southern Africa’s social, economic and technological environment. That’s not only an advantage for our clients – it will present much greater scope for all our staff and allow us to further develop our position in the region.”
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Media Enquiries:
Tom Smith
+44 (0) 20 8774 2205
tom.smith@mottmac.com
Christina de Burgh-Milne
+44 (0) 20 8774 3639
christina.deburgh-milne@mottmac.com
Lee Lodge
+44 (0) 20 8774 2040
lee.lodge@mottmac.com
About Mott MacDonald:
A diverse £1.1bn global management, engineering and development consultancy. One of the world's largest employee-owned companies with 15,000 staff, it has 170 principal offices in 50 countries and projects in 140. Engaged in public and private sector development across 12 core sectors: transport, buildings, power, oil and gas, international development, urban development, industry, water, environment, education, health and communications. The world’s biggest provider of infrastructure finance advisory services with more than 300 deals worth over £30bn and ranks 14th in Engineering News Record’s 2012 Top 200 International Design Firms, reaching 8th in ENR’s Africa listing. Currently working on nationally strategic projects such as Crossrail, High Speed 2 and Olympic legacy development in the UK, Adelaide Oval in Australia, metro development across eight cities in India, airport expansion in Los Angeles, London, Hong Kong and Turkey. Working in 40 African countries, continuing an association with the continent going back nearly 100 years. Current southern Africa infrastructure assignments include major port and rail upgrades in South Africa and Mozambique along with power development in Botswana and South Africa. The consultant’s portfolio also features technical advisory roles on such diverse projects as a city-wide broadband network for Johannesburg and the SA government’s renewable energy independent power producer procurement programme.
About PD Naidoo & Associates:
A leading startup BEE multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy that is 100% employee owned, employing 600 people located in 13 offices across sub-saharan Africa.Currently working across various sectors namely transport, water, power, mining infrastructure, energy, commercial buildings, urban development and advisory services in both the public and private sectors.Known in South Africa and Africa as a multi-disciplinary market leader in engineering and technology solutions, contributing to nationally significant development in South Africa for over 26 years, and more recently in southern Africa, through notable projects such as Soccer City Stadium, King Shaka and OR Tambo international airports, Nelson Mandela Bridge, Eskom’s Kusile Power Station water treatment plant, the 100MW Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) Project, Maputo Development Corridor, Automotive Supplier Park and Maropeng’s Cradle of Humankind, various PPPs and major commercial ventures in the private sector, working as far afield as Kenya, Ghana, Namibia and Mozambique. Able to offer quality assured services through its SABS ISO 9001 accreditation which will soon include accreditation for both ISO 14000 and ISO 18000 standards.Committed to its training, mentorship and enterprise development model which is now becoming standard for the industry in South Africa, Africa and further afield.Currently working on nationally strategic projects such as the Mokolo and North South Carrier bulk water pipeline projects, a 5 star green rated building for the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism’s head office in the city of Tswane and the Department of Education’s PPP project.
The combined Mott MacDonald PDNA business will have immediate reach-back to Mott MacDonald’s global network of 15,000 staff in 50 countries including internationally recognised experts in areas ranging from infrastructure finance and PPPs to renewables to Building Information Modelling (BIM).
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