Our presence in South Africa

Our presence, close to your projects.

Tractebel is proud to bring its global engineering and consultancy expertise to South Africa, offering a full range of services to support the country’s energy transition and infrastructure development. With a strong focus on sustainability and innovation, we work hand in hand with local stakeholders to address South Africa’s specific challenges—whether it’s adapting to climate change, improving urban mobility, securing water resources, or scaling up renewable energy. Our local presence ensures that global expertise is tailored to local needs.

From Data Centres and Energy Storage to Power Networks and complex infrastructure, we deliver integrated, future-ready solutions powered by engineering excellence and a mindset geared toward innovation and AI. By combining strategy, design, digital tools, and environmental and social insight, we help build resilient, low-carbon systems. Backed by over 150 years of experience and as part of the ENGIE Group, Tractebel is a trusted partner to help South Africa shape a more sustainable and connected future.

70
Present in Africa for almost 70 years
11
Regional branches and offices
200
Experts working across the continent
600+
Projects developed

Our offices in South Africa

South Africa

Tractebel Engineering South Africa Proprietary Limited

G02 Oxford House, 17 Park Lane, Century City, Cape Town, 7441, South Africa

The history of our presence in South Africa

The history of Tractebel in Africa is connected to the history of three leading international engineering companies: Coyne et Bellier and Lahmeyer International.

Coyne et Bellier is a French engineering consultancy company founded in 1947 and acquired by Tractebel in 1986. The company become active in Africa in 1949, for the studies of the Meffrouch dam in Algeria. In the 50s, Coyne et Bellier began to work in RDC (Koni dam), Morocco (Aït Ouarda, Bin El Ouidane), Guinea (Grandes Chutes), Zimbabwe and other countries. Since then, the company has been able to listen and forge strong links with its clients and partners in order to carry out tailor-made and sustainable projects.

Every project gives us the opportunity to promote innovative techniques (e.g. the Kariba dam in Zimbabwe/Zambia, completed in 1959 and the first large arch in a wide valley – H=128). One of the key focuses of the company is to propose structuring and global schemes for the development of rivers (Konkouré River in Guinea with Grandes-Chutes (1953), Garafiri (1999), Kaléta (2016) and Souapiti today or Blue Nile River in Ethiopia with Grand Renaissance). Our involvement in Africa is also linked to tunnels (Algeria), railways and outstanding structures.

Lahmeyer International is a German engineering consultancy company founded in 1890 and acquired by Tractebel in 2014. Africa has been a focus for Lahmeyer for more than 45 years. The company is currently involved in the largest ongoing infrastructure projects on the continent. Lahmeyer’s successful solutions to complex technical tasks are based on decades of experience in extensive infrastructure projects in Africa and around the world. Our first projects in Africa were transmission and distribution, hydropower and infrastructure projects completed in the 1960s.

Projects in Africa

They include the colossal 6,000 MW Grand Renaissance HPP (Ethiopia), the 2,067 MW Laúca HPP (Angola), the 240 MW Kaléta HPP (Guinea), the 500 MW Noor CSP (Morocco), the rehabilitation of the 2,000 MW Kariba HPP (Zambia) and of the 760 MW Kainji HPP (Nigeria), the 158 MW Taiba D’Diaye Wind Farm (Senegal), the ±500 kV DC transmission line that extends over 1,000 km (Kenya-Ethiopia), the water and sanitation upgrading programme for the towns of Kigoma, Lindi and Sumbawanga (Tanzania), the Casablanca City Tower (Morocco) and the Owner’s Engineering support services for Koeberg nuclear power plant (South Africa).