⎪ Water, wastewater and pumping solutions ⎪
Osmotic Engineering’s landmark year Infrastructure advisory company Osmotic Engineering Group (OEG) has marked 2025 as a defining year of growth, influence and international expansion, following its role in one of South Africa’s most significant national energy studies, the delivery of large-scale African water infrastructure projects, and the strengthening of its position as a specialist infrastructure advisory firm. A t the core of 2025 was OEG’s col- laboration with PwC South Africa on the landmark national study, ‘South Africa’s Energy Sector Investment Johnson says: “Our work with modelling the national electricity system allows us to apply the same modelling and advisory tools to major pri- vate energy offtakers. We help clients understand how to decarbonise at the lowest system cost, where to invest and how to structure projects so they can reach financial close.” wastewater treatment for urban, rural, and off- grid communities, supporting scalable, climate- resilient sanitation.
“OEG is deeply committed to decentralised, smart and resilient water systems for Africa,” high- lights Igboamalu. “Technologies such as Biopipe and advanced filtration enable us to deliver sus - tainable sanitation solutions that are affordable, scalable and fit for the realities of African cities.” At the national level, OEG was appointed in 2025totheDepartmentofWaterandSanitation’s strategic advisory panel to support long-term in- frastructureplanning.Thecompanyalsoadvanced projects with Dipula, advising on water efficiency strategies across a national property portfolio, and supported infrastructure planning in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality and Amathole District Municipality through advisory work linked to institutional funding and public–private partnership readiness. The group has also expanded its telecommu- nications capability into a broader information and communications technology (ICT) offering, reflecting the growing importance of data, digital infrastructure and intelligent systems in large infrastructure programmes. Geographically, OEG made strategic ad- vances by formally establishing OEG Lesotho to target significant cross-border infrastructure opportunities and registering an OEG entity in the United States as part of a long-term global growth strategy. Looking ahead, OEG has po- sitioned 2026 as a year of consolidation and international growth, with a sharpened focus on advisory-led delivery. “Our strategy is clear,” says Igboamalu. “We are building OEG into a global infrastructure advisory business. We are moving deliber- ately beyond traditional design engineering into high-value, strategic advisory, owner’s engineering and project anchoring. We bring together technical, financial, legal and environmental expertise to make projects bankable, fundable and sustainable. That is how infrastructure should be built.” As South Africa and the wider African con- tinent confront increasing energy demand, climate pressures, and water scarcity, OEG believes the role of integrated, technically led advisory firms will become increasingly critical. “With collaboration, innovation and pur- pose, we are helping shape infrastructure that lasts,” concludes Tony Igboamalu. https://osmoticengineeringgroup.com
Requirements to Achieve Energy Security and Net Zero by 2050’. Commissioned through a partnership with the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), the Presidential ClimateCommission(PCC),theNationalPlanning Commission(NPC)andNationalTreasurythrough the SA-TIED Programme, the study has laid out a long-term investment and infrastructure roadmap for South Africa’s electricity sector. Technical and expert inputs from SANEDI, Eskom Holdings and the University of Cape Town further strengthened the study. AndrewJohnson,EnergyDirectoratOEG,says the project represented a significant national con - tribution. “This was effectively a new generation of long-term energy modelling for South Africa. We developed detailed energy system models using open-source software that tested multiple future pathways to 2050, balancing energy security with emissions reduction. Our role was to build and validate the technical foundation for quantifying generation, transmission and distribution invest- ment needs. It was a complex, multi-year process, but one that has real value for long-term planning and infrastructure funding.” The collaboration with PwC has extended beyond national modelling. In 2025, OEG and PwC were appointed by Eskom to support the establishment of Eskom Green, a new ring-fenced renewable energy business designed to accelerate the utility’s participation in South Africa’s clean energy transition. The work includes strategic and technical advisory on project pipelines, risk management, operational structuring and market positioning. Johnson adds: “With Eskom Green, we are helping shape what a modern, competitive re- newable energy business looks like inside a public utility. The focus is on making projects bankable, understanding risks early, and aligning technical delivery with commercial and market realities. This builds directly on the national level work we have done through the PwC partnership.” OEG’s energy advisory credentials were further strengthened through its ongoing role as technicaladvisortoDiscoveryGreen,oneofSouth Africa’s leading private energy traders. During 2025,keymilestoneswereachievedonlarge-scale wind and solar projects, including financial close on significant utility-scale developments in the Western Cape and Limpopo.
Beyond energy, OEG’s water infrastructure portfolio expanded significantly in 2025. In Cameroon, the company was appointed as the owner’s engineer for what is now one of the country’s most ambitious water infrastructure projects. Located in Douala, the ultrafiltration wa - ter treatment project is aligned with the directives of President Paul Biya and Cameroon’s Five-Year Priority Investment Programme for 2023-2027, as well as the country’s Strategic Development Plan for 2026-2030. The project will expand plant capacity from 55 to 123 megalitres of water per day, support- ing the national objective of achieving 85% urban and peri-urban drinking water coverage by 2032. Funded by international development finance institutions, the project has positioned OEG firmly on the continental infrastructure stage. TonyIgboamalu,CEOofOEG,saystheproject reflects the company’s long-term vision. “This project in Cameroon is not just about a treatment plant; it is about resilience, dignity and long-term national development. We are honoured to serve as owner’s engineer on a presidentially mandated programme that will fundamentally change ac- cess to potable water for thousands of people. It reflects the kind of high-impact, advisory-led infrastructure work that defines OEG.” OEG also supported South African water- sector innovation in 2025 by participating in the launch of the Emfuleni Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for water and sanitation infrastructure, alongside Rand Water, government stakeholders and private-sector partners. The SPV is designed to unlock long-term financing for high-impact water and sanitation projects through structured public–private partnerships. Igboamalu comments: “The creation of the Emfuleni SPV represents a shift in how we finance and deliver water infrastructure in South Africa. At OEG, we believe that strong technical advisory combined with innovative funding mechanisms is the only way to close the infrastructure gap.” Further strengthening its water and sanita- tion leadership, OEG secured official approval in Lesotho to implement Biopipe, a decentralised wastewater management system. The technol- ogy is designed to deliver zero-sludge, odourless
January-February 2025 • MechChem Africa ¦ 21
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