Robots may play a pivotal role in preserving the world’s last giant radio telescope. Situated in southern China’s mountainous Guizhou province, the 500-metre aperture spherical radio telescope (FAST) became the only one of its type, after Puerto Rico’s Arecibo telescope collapsed in December 2020. Five intelligent robots have passed preliminary inspections to conduct maintenance work…
South African authorities have announced construction on the Mtentu Bridge has begun. The R4.05 billion cantilever bridge will span the Mtentu River in the Eastern Cape’s Winnie Madikizela-Mandela municipality and, with an estimated height of 223 metres, will be the tallest on the African continent. Conceived by Danish architecture house, Dissing and Weitling, the Mtentu…
Chinese physicists have completed the first and most crucial step towards what they claim will be the world’s first commercial onshore modular reactor. Because it is mobile, the core for the ‘Linglong One’ nuclear reactor, built by China First Heavy Industries, is an ideal candidate for small islands and other remote locations. The breakthrough marks…
Zimbabwean authorities are considering a proposal made by the China Energy Engineering Corporation (China Energy) for a 1 000-megawatt floating solar farm on the southern African country’s largest water body, Lake Kariba. The nearly $1 billion project would ease the immense pressure on Zimbabwe’s energy grid which currently fails to meet even 50% of the…
A Chinese consortium will construct a $650 million toll road in the Zambian Copperbelt province, after several years of delay amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. The proposed 327-kilometre-long roadway joins the Zambian capital, Lusaka, with the country’s third most populous city, Ndola. Once complete, the dual carriageway toll road will form a reliable trade route between…
China is preparing to certify its answer to Boeing and Airbus this month. The C919 commercial airliner, developed by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) has already received orders from several domestic airlines and has been described as the realisation of “a Chinese dream”. FlightRadar24, a real-time flight tracking service, identified two C919s landing…
Kenya has officially launched its long-awaited Nairobi Expressway after concluding months of trials. Kenyan president, Uhuru Kenyatta, announced the completion of the project at a ceremony in July, saying the 27-kilometre tolled highway would ease traffic flow and cut travel times significantly. The Nairobi Expressway was commissioned in 2019, six years into Kenyatta’s presidency. Also…
Bikita lithium mine in Zimbabwe will receive a mammoth $200 million investment after Chinese mining firm, Sinomine Resource Group, announced it plans to construct a complex capable of producing millions of tons of lithium ore per annum. Realising the strategic importance of the element in the electric vehicle (EV) industry, Zimbabwean officials are making moves…
China’s relentless drive to find fossil fuel alternatives continues. This time with the report that the world’s second-largest economy would construct a massive nuclear-powered steam plant in Lianyungang City. Early estimates suggest that the facility could prevent thousands of tons of coal from being burnt and releasing harmful greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The project…
Chinese engineers are using AI and 3D printing to build a megadam in only two years. Upon completion, the 590 foot (180m) tall Yangqu Dam will provide much needed energy to the region and will be the single largest object created using 3D printing, dwarfing the previous record holder by 570 foot. High on the…