Baroness Fairhead announces €450 million in UK Export Finance (UKEF) support for UK firms to build three new hospitals and upgrade two power stations, improving healthcare and power provision in Angola.

Baroness Fairhead, Minister of State for Trade and Export Promotion, said:

I’m delighted that the UK Government, through UK Export Finance, is supporting these two projects. It enables a Scottish exporter to enter a global marketplace and deliver reliable power to millions of people in Angola. It also showcases how British expertise can assist the development of vital healthcare services.

This is a great example of how our ambition to grow exports, as set out in the Export Strategy, is helping British businesses break into overseas markets through support such as that provided through UKEF, our award-winning export credit agency, our teams led by HM Trade Commissioners in market and our GREAT.gov.uk website.

Opportunities for UK healthcare and construction suppliers

This is the first time UKEF, the UK’s export credit agency, has supported projects in Angola.

€380 million will go to support a contract between Angola’s Ministry of Health and ASGC UK, the UK branch of international construction firm ASGC, to build three new hospitals. The company will lead on the design, construction and equipping of the Mother and Child Hospital and Paediatric Haematology Institute, both based in Luanda, and the Cabinda General Hospital. The projects will create significant opportunities for UK healthcare and construction suppliers.

Once complete, the Mother and Child Hospital will have over 300 beds available, and the Cabinda General Hospital over 200, providing much-needed healthcare services to major population centres in Angola. The haematology unit will provide a range of specialist services including radiology, intensive care and a paediatric ward.

IQA Group, headquartered in Paisley, will upgrade two power substations in Viana and Gabela over the course of two years, significantly reducing North West Angola’s dependence on oil-generated power. UKEF will provide a guarantee to support a €70 million loan issued to the Angolan Ministry of Finance for the project.

This is the first international contract for IQA Group, which was established in 2002 and is now the UK arm of Spanish multinational Elecnor, and which is leading a consortium to deliver the work for the Ministry of Energy and Water in Angola.

Supporting economic growth and development

The project will have a transformative effect on the region’s power network, giving thousands of Luanda’s residents, as well as industry in the region, improved access to electricity to support economic growth and development.

Baroness Northover, the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy for Angola and Zambia, said:

I have visited Angola regularly in the last two years in support of UK- Angola business co-operation, and am acutely aware of the growing opportunities there. It is wonderful that these important projects have come to fruition and I look forward to seeing more in the future.

Gregory Smyth, Managing Director, IQA Group, said:

IQA Group has ambitious plans for international growth, building on our success in the UK, and we’re pleased that UKEF, along with the DIT team at the British Embassy in Luanda, is supporting us as we enter new markets. Support from UK Export Finance is a central part of our international offer, and is supporting our operations and jobs in Scotland.

Paul Woodman, Managing Director, ASGC, said:

UKEF’s support forms a crucial component of our strategy, enabling us to grow revenues and deliver value for clients such as the Angolan government. The government’s commitment to the growth of UK exports is continuing to help us build confidence with overseas customers and with UK suppliers.

Background

UK Export Finance is the UK’s export credit agency and a government department, working alongside the Department for International Trade as an integral part of its strategy and operations.

Our mission is to ensure that no viable UK export should fail for want of finance or insurance from the private market. We provide finance and insurance to help exporters win, fulfil and ensure they get paid for export contracts.

Sectors in which UKEF has supported exports include: aerospace, healthcare, infrastructure, telecommunications and transport.

UKEF has a national regional network of 24 export finance managers supporting export businesses.

Our range of products includes:

• Bond insurance policy
• Bond support scheme
• Buyer & supplier credit financing facility
• Direct lending facility
• Export insurance policy
• Export refinancing facility
• Export working capital scheme
• Letter of credit guarantee scheme

Our country cover positions outline our current cover policy and risk appetite for each country.

The first delivery of the new gritters took place in October and will improve safety for drivers and workers due to the vehicles improved technology, ergonomics and enhanced visibility.

Despite weighing 26 tonnes and measuring a maximum of 2.5 meters wide, there have been a number of incidents where gritters have been struck by other vehicles.

Research carried out by Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) shows that vehicles stand out more if painted in one block colour and are solid in shape, which is where the new design has come from.

The new vehicles also contain innovative technology which includes being able to pre-programme them with information specific to each gritting route. This enables salt to be spread onto the road automatically, taking into account any specific requirements for bridges, landscape and other road features, allowing drivers to give their full attention to driving at all times.

Our winter fleet manager Jane Wilkins said:

Safety is our top priority and we are always looking at ways we can improve our winter resilience. Using the research carried out by TRL and our own data, we have looked carefully at the number of incidents involving gritters to see what more can be done to improve safety and the service we provide.

The roll out of this £30 million programme started this year with 34 new vehicles in East Anglia. The remainder of the 157 vehicles, will be replaced over the next two years.

We’re working closely with gritter manufacturer Romaquip on the roll-out of the new fleet.

Romaquip technical director Stephen McKeown said:

We are excited to be working with Highways England, manufacturing a new generation of winter vehicles with numerous safety and technical advances. It is a pleasure to work with an organisation that strives to develop and improve their service, actively partnering with us to achieve these goals.

It is clear to see that the specification of these vehicles has been derived from consciously deciding to improve safety for both operators and other road users, and that the innovation to improve efficiency and functionality has also been thoroughly considered.

Romaquip is committed to delivering the best quality machines to all of our customers, we welcome this improvement and look forward to working with Highways England over the years to come.

We currently have 535 winter vehicles patrolling the 4,400 miles of motorways and major A roads across the country.

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