South Africa’s mining sector holds vast potential as the country restructures its economy with a policy of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE)…and Wardrop is helping to move these initiatives forward. We have 40 years of lessons learned and experience working in African countries and we’re now positioning our team of experts to help the mining industry participate in the country’s growth strategy.

Our first international project was in Africa. It was the design of a water distribution system and supervision of its installation in northern Cameroon in 1968. Since then, Wardrop has worked on projects in more than a dozen countries across Africa. In fact, in the early 1990’s, Uganda’s stability and development prospects convinced our management team to establish a partnership with a local structural engineer, Patrick Batumbya. Our partnership led to the formation of MBW (Mutengya Batumbya Wardrop) Consultants with a staff of nine, eight of whom were from Uganda. We have since built the company to 50 permanent staff and we support our Ugandan team with our Canadian engineering staff as required. Batumbya currently serves on the Executive Committee of the International Federation of Consulting Engineers.

We grew the MBW presence in Africa by taking on larger projects and expanding our list of clients, which includes Government of Uganda, World Bank, African Development Bank, and private sector clients. MBW focuses on structural and civil engineering, transportation, institutional development, architecture, water supply and sanitation, and environmental consulting.

Over the years, Wardrop brought project management, business development, quality control, health and safety initiatives, human resources management and development, as well as technology transfer and training. All have proven successful in Canada and around the world, and have been adapted to Uganda’s culture and environment. These processes have helped MBW to become the largest and most successful engineering company in Uganda.

This year, we will transfer full control of MBW into Patrick’s hands, which will create a locally owned and managed consulting engineering firm. MBW will to continue to work in partnership with Wardrop, and will broaden relationships regionally and internationally to the benefit of MBW and the local community. This black-owned and –operated firm will be positioned to develop and flourish under BEE initiatives as the mining sector continues to grow in South Africa and across the continent.

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