Glossary and abbreviations

Steel and process terms

Arc furnace (EAF)

An electric arc furnace melts scrap, DRI or HBI with an electric arc between graphite electrodes and the charge. It is the main steelmaking route in Africa and the route assumed in this paper.

Billet

A semi-finished steel product of square section, cast in a continuous caster and rolled into bars, rods or light sections.

Direct-reduced iron (DRI)

Iron produced by removing oxygen from iron-ore pellets or lump ore in the solid state, usually with natural gas, and in future with hydrogen.

Hot-briquetted iron (HBI)

DRI compacted at high temperature into dense briquettes that are safer to ship and store.

Ladle furnace

A secondary steelmaking unit that adjusts the temperature and chemistry of liquid steel before casting.

Long products

Steel products that are long relative to their cross-section: reinforcing bar, wire rod, angles, channels and beams.

Phase and step

In this series, a "phase" (Phase 1, 2 or 3) is an investment phase of one project; a "step" is part of the analytical sequence of the zone roadmap in Chapter 10.

Mill scale

The iron-oxide layer that forms on hot steel and is removed during rolling; it is recycled or sold.

Slag

The non-metallic by-product of steelmaking, formed from lime and oxides; EAF slag can be processed into aggregate.

Furnace dust

Fine particles captured by the furnace’s filters; it contains zinc and lead and is classified as hazardous waste.

Wire rod

Hot-rolled long product of small round section, supplied in coils and drawn into wire, nails and mesh.

Power and utilities

Flicker

Rapid fluctuation of voltage that causes visible variation in lighting; arc furnaces are a classic source.

Short-circuit power

A measure of the strength of an electrical network at a point; the higher it is, the less a fluctuating load disturbs the voltage.

SVC and STATCOM

Static var compensator and static synchronous compensator: power-electronic devices that supply or absorb reactive power rapidly to stabilise voltage and reduce flicker.

N-2 redundancy

A supply arrangement designed to remain available with two components out of service.

Schedulable load

A load whose timing can be planned around the grid’s needs, as an arc furnace’s melting can be moved away from peaks; distinct from an interruptible load, which the grid operator can cut at short notice.

Capacity factor

Energy actually generated by a plant in a period divided by the energy it would generate running at full capacity throughout.

Closed-loop cooling

Cooling-water circuits in which water is cooled and reused, so that only losses and blowdown need to be replaced.

Institutions and places

AfDB

African Development Bank.

AGL

Africa Global Logistics, part of the MSC group; a shareholder of KPIZ S.A. and of the Kribi container terminal.

ARSEL

Agence de Régulation du Secteur de l’Électricité, Cameroon’s electricity regulator.

CEMAC

Communauté Économique et Monétaire de l’Afrique Centrale: Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

CIPK

Complexe Industrialo-Portuaire de Kribi, the overall land reserve classified for the port and its industrial hinterland.

KCT

Kribi Conteneurs Terminal, the operator of the container terminals at the Port of Kribi.

KPDC

Kribi Power Development Corporation, owner and operator of the 216 MW Kribi gas power plant.

KPIZ S.A.

Kribi Port Industrial Zone S.A., the company created on 26 February 2026 to develop and manage the integrated industrial zone of the Port of Kribi.

MINEE, MINEPDED, MINT, MINTP

Ministries of Water and Energy; Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development; Transport; and Public Works.

PAK

Port Autonome de Kribi, the public-capital company that owns and manages the port and its domain.

SNH

Société Nationale des Hydrocarbures, Cameroon’s national hydrocarbons company.

SONATREL

Société Nationale de Transport de l’Électricité, operator of Cameroon’s transmission network.

ZIIPK and ZIPK

Zone Industrielle Intégrée du Port de Kribi (the integrated zone of about 4,000 ha developed by KPIZ) and Zone Industrialo-Portuaire de Kribi (the port authority’s usual name for the industrial area of the port domain).

Trade, finance and environment

AfCFTA

African Continental Free Trade Area.

CBAM

The European Union’s carbon border adjustment mechanism, which prices the embedded emissions of imported steel and other goods.

DWT

Deadweight tonnage, the carrying capacity of a ship.

Equator Principles

A risk-management framework adopted by financial institutions for environmental and social risk in projects.

HS code

Harmonized System code used to classify traded goods; chapter 72 covers iron and steel and chapter 73 articles of iron or steel.

IFC Performance Standards

The environmental and social standards of the International Finance Corporation, applied by many development lenders.

MoU

Memorandum of understanding.

Strategic environmental assessment

An assessment of the environmental effects of a plan or programme, such as an industrial zone, rather than of a single project.

TEU

Twenty-foot equivalent unit, the standard measure of container volume.