Besix, a leading Belgian infrastructure group with a major regional presence, said it has been awarded a major contract to provide site management as well as the civil engineering works for a skyscraper, F Tower at Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Standing at 935 ft, it will be the tallest tower in Africa.

 

The project, being developed by PFO Africa with the support of Ministry of Construction, Housing and Urban Planning, is an initiative of the Ivory Coast, the leading economic power in French-speaking Africa.

 

The F Tower, whose architecture was designed by Pierre Fakhoury, is located in the Plateau district, in the heart of Abidjan. Included in the urban development plans since 1970, the F Tower is the sixth tower of the city's Administrative City.

 

On the contract win, Deputy CEO Pierre Sironval said: "Besix is extremely proud to participate in the construction of the F Tower. This is our second contract in Ivory Coast, a country that offers a favourable business environment and is economically dynamic."

 

"In PFO Africa, the leading construction company in Ivory Coast, we have found a high quality partner. Together we were already building one of the largest drinking water production plants in West Africa. We look forward to strengthening this alliance by participating in the construction of a building as iconic as the F Tower," he stated.

 

Besix is set to start work this month with the launch of the structural works on the basis of the existing foundations.

 

A major player in the global construcion sector, Besix has built many high-rise buildings around the world, notably in the Benelux and France, as well as in Australia and several Middle Eastern countries through its subsidiaries Besix Watpac and Six Construct.

 

In Ivory Coast, Besix and PFO Africa are completing the construction of one of the largest drinking water production plants in West Africa, in La Mé. This plant is equipped to supply drinking water to more than one and a half million Ivorians.

 

On the African continent, Besix is currently contributing to the construction of the Grand Egyptian Museum (Egypt), the Mohammed VI Tower (Morocco) and the Nachtigal hydroelectric project (Cameroon), which will produce a third of Cameroon's electricity.

 

General Manager Business Development Philippe Dessoy said Besix's strength lies in its ability to carry out the most technically complex works, including buildings, ports and terminals, and environmental infrastructure. 

 

"Our group owes this to the expertise developed by its internal engineering department, as well as to the experience accumulated over the last 110 years in Europe, Africa and the Middle East in particular," he added.-TradeArabia News Service