Pictures of the Future Spring 2006
Infrastructures – Developing Regions
Plugging into a New Life
Electricity, clean drinking water and telecommunications are crucial requirements of our civilization and the basis of prosperity. How can these essentials be brought to regions that don’t even have roads? Siemens projects in Africa and Asia offer solutions.
Thanks to solar energy, villages such as Antsia now have clean drinking water and electricity
The story is a typical one for Africa. "Seven years ago, the government of Gabon planned to bring electricity to the village of Antsia," recalls Henri Randriamanana from the Siemens Power Transmission and Distribution Group (PTD). Power lines and diesel generators were set up in the village, which is surrounded by miles of jungle. The generators ran for two months, but then the lights went out. "Because of the bad roads it was impossible to supply the village with diesel," says Randriamanana.
But today, Antsia has electricity in spite of its remote location. Some 40 streetlights illuminate the village’s roads at night, and a water purification unit provides germ-free drinking water at three dispensing points. All this was made possible by the Gabon Ministry of Energy, which commissioned Siemens to provide one hundred remote villages such as Antsia with solar energy. In December 2005, project leader Henri Randriamanana arrived in Antsia with his team and set up the solar streetlights as well as a 900-W solar energy generator for the water purification unit.
"The water purification unit, which consists of a pump, a sand filter and a UV disinfection unit, was the biggest improvement. It has marked the beginning of a new era for the village," says Randriamanana, adding that "Infant mortality declines by 80 % if the water is free of bacteria and bilharzia larvae." And the streetlights have completely changed the villagers' lives. "In the evening, when it’s pleasantly cool, people now get together to sing, dance and play their drums. The women can stay outside to pound manioc, weave baskets or clean fish," says Siemens project leader Randriamanana, who was trained as an engineer. "In addition, the lighting has brought the villagers more security. In the past, drug smugglers often used to come over the nearby border with the Congo and terrorize the villagers. That has stopped."
The government hopes that the solar units will boost development. Electricity not only brings light and clean water to the jungle. It can also bring about dramatic improvements in healthcare and education. In some of the "solar villages" schools have been equipped with electrical outlets that make it possible to use computers, radios and DVD players. Even Internet access is now possible by means of a satellite connection. Some local clinics now have electricity for operating a refrigerator or a ventilator. Other villages use electricity for interior lighting in their huts. That makes it unnecessary to use the wick lamps that are fueled with gas or petroleum and produce emissions that are extremely damaging to the users' health. "Many African children have damaged lungs because of these lamps," says Albin Schneider, regional director for Africa at Siemens PTD in Erlangen, Germany.
The solar collectors that Randriamanana and his team have installed in villages in Gabon, in some cases under very challenging conditions, have been specially developed for use in Africa. "Our engineers had to fine-tune the collectors for months until everything was just right," says Schneider. Today, all that’s necessary to set up one of these solar power stations is a screwdriver, a set of wrenches and some muscle power. After all, there are no cranes or power drills in the jungle. A special paint protects the control cabinets, which are as tall as a man, from the aggressive tropical climate. The lead batteries in which the electricity generated during the daytime is stored have a very long service life. According to Schneider, "After five years they still operate at up to 80 % of their capacity." So it’s no surprise that there’s a lot of interest in this equipment in the neighboring countries of Cameroon, Congo and Equatorial Guinea. They also have extensive jungle regions that are cut off from the electricity network.
Calls from the Jungle. In many parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America there is no fixed-line telephone network. But a Siemens project in Vietnam is demonstrating that even the inhabitants of mountainous or jungle regions can have access to a phone. Siemens has been commissioned by the Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (VNPT) to connect a total of 400 villages with the fixed-line telephone network via a Wireless Local Loop system by summer 2006. The "last mile" between the villages and the fixed-line network will be bridged by means of wireless technology. Nguyen Ba Thuoc, Vice President of VNPT, says, "We hope that access to telecommunication will stimulate socioeconomic development in the region." Education and tourism could reap particular benefits, according to Nguyen Thi Thu Huong from Siemens’ branch office in Hanoi, who adds: "Besides, in medical emergencies the villagers can now quickly contact a doctor."
In the jungles of Vietnam, radio technology makes phone communication possible
Link to the World. The telecommunications market is also growing by leaps and bounds in some African countries. "In Nigeria the number of cell phone users has grown from zero to ten million within two years," says Mladen Risticevic from Siemens Ltd. Nigeria. Siemens has been present in this western African country since the 1950s and has built 70 % of the country’s fixed-line network, including a 6,000-km glass fiber network.
Risticevic and his colleagues are currently working to extend the cell phone network. That’s no easy task. Says Risticevic, "The northern part of the country is desert, while the cities in the South are literally flooded during the rainy season. Besides, the electric grid collapses several times every day." The mobile radio towers need an emergency power supply with air conditioning, and the control boxes must be absolutely water-tight. So far, Siemens has set up a million cell phone connections.
Telecommunication is also booming in Kenya, whose capital, Nairobi, is developing into East Africa’s biggest financial and business center. Although this country has the largest number of Internet users in Africa, it is still not connected to the worldwide broadband network. This means that access to the Internet and phone calls to the U.S. are possible only via satellite —at astronomical prices.
But all that will change by the end of 2006. Kenya Data Networks (KDN) has commissioned Siemens to build a 1,140-km glass fiber network that connects the coastal city of Mombasa with Nairobi and continues on to Uganda. The high-speed network can transmit up to ten gigabits per second. In Mombasa, the Kenyan net is to be connected with the East African sea cable, which will extend from South Africa to Sudan starting in 2007. "That will integrate Kenya into the global broadband communication network," says KDN Managing Director Kai Wulff.
During its operations in Africa, which started over a century ago, Siemens has always focused on one particular concern: "It’s important to employ local people, train them well and ultimately transfer responsibility to them," says Albin Schneider. That’s the only way to keep well-meant initiatives from turning into costly mistakes —like the old diesel generators of Antsia.
Ute Kehse
Africa's Most Modern Hospital
The Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital (IALCH) near Durban, South Africa, can serve patients with a wide range of ailments. This state-operated health center has a wide range of specialized departments, including bone marrow and organ transplantation, plastic surgery, reproductive medicine and the treatment of burn injuries. "IALCH, which was opened in 2003, is Africa’s most modern hospital," says Wolfgang Christian, Managing Director of Siemens Medical Solutions in South Africa. That’s because most of the technical equipment in this 850-bed facility, from the telephones and the IT system to the magnetic resonance tomographs and laboratory equipment, comes from Siemens. "Our dream was to build a world-class hospital, says Professor Ronald Green-Thompson, the Minister of Health of South Africa’s most populous province, Kwazulu-Natal. It’s not only the ultramodern equipment of the IALCH that impresses visitors —it’s also the hospital’s business model, a public-private partnership. The province provides the building and the medical personnel. But all of the non-medical work, such as building management and the provision and maintenance of medical equipment is handled by a consortium of five companies for a monthly flat rate.
This solution benefits both parties. "Now we can focus all of our energy on taking care of our patients," says Fikisiwe Zondi, the hospital’s manager. The consortium, whose largest partner is Siemens, is demonstrating at IALCH that it measures up to customers’ toughest demands. "This hospital is setting the benchmarks for future projects," says Stuart Gray, Managing Director of Siemens Medical Solutions subsidiary Siemed. Gray is responsible for the delivery and maintenance of all of the hospital’s medical supplies and equipment. The provincial government is particularly proud of the hospital’s "paperless" manner of operation. All of the lab data, X-ray images and medical reports are collected in an electronic file that is quickly accessible from each of the 1,300 PCs and notebooks in use at the hospital. At the heart of this paperless network is Siemens’ syngo platform, which makes it possible to create images with a broad variety of equipment and send those images electronically from one workstation to another. "The paperless system is making our medical care much more efficient," says Gray. The provincial government is also highly satisfied with the consortium’s work. "Thanks to the commitment of all of its partners, this project is a complete success," says Green-Thompson.