Marine Intake and Outfall Infrastructure Servitude(s) Project, Coega Special Economic Zone, Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape

The Coega Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is situated on the northern side of Port Elizabeth within the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality (NMB Metro), Eastern Cape Province.  The integrated SEZ and Port of Ngqura is approximately 11,500 ha in extent and comprises of 14 zones designated for various light, medium and heavy industrial land uses. The purpose of the marine intake and outfall infrastructure and servitudes project is the provision of seawater for various industries (aquaculture, power provision and desalination) via a number of seawater intakes and the discharge of treated effluent into the marine environment. As such, infrastructure related to this project needs to be constructed along the coast. The Port of Ngqura and Zone 10 within the SEZ have been proposed.

Intake Infrastructure

The need for the marine seawater abstraction servitudes is driven by the water requirements for the following proposed Coega SEZ industries:

• Cooling water for two 1000 MW LNG power stations for which the EIA is currently in progress.
• Land based abalone and finfish aquaculture (42,370 tonnes / year).  Environmental Authorization received on the 7th of February 2018.
• The Coega Aquaculture Development Zone includes the development of a desalination plant with a maximum capacity of 60 Ml / day.  Environmental Authorization received as part of the authorisation for the aquaculture development zone on the 7th of February 2018.

The following maximum (worse case) seawater intake requirements are projected:

• Cooling Water: Once Through Cooling: 14.70 m3/sec
• Cooling Water: Wet Mechanical Draft Cooling: 0.42 m3/sec
• Aquaculture flow through system for abalone: 5.00 m3/sec
• Aquaculture recirculation system for finfish: 0.94 m3/sec
• Desalination: 2.03 m3/sec

There will be two seawater abstraction servitudes with associated infrastructure:

1. Inside the Port of Ngqura for a Once Through and Wet Mechanical power station cooling water requirements; and
2. East of the Port of Ngqura to meet the more specific water quality requirements of the aquaculture industries and for desalination.

Within each servitude, a number of different seawater abstraction technologies will be utilised, depending on industry requirements. Therefore, ALL the following types of abstraction technologies may be implemented:

• Abstraction basin with concrete intake channels (within the Port);
• Seawater abstraction pipelines;
• Vertical beach wells;
• Onshore pump stations and screening facility; and
• WEROP wave pumps.

Detailed descriptions of these technologies will be provided in the Scoping Report as well as the Environmental Impact Assessment Report.

OUTFALL INFRASTRUCTURE

The need for the marine effluent discharge servitudes is mostly driven by a corresponding need by the respective Coega SEZ industries to return abstracted seawater back into the offshore marine environment.  Other discharges will include wastewater treatment effluent and stormwater.

The following maximum (worse case) effluent discharge requirements are projected:

• Cooling water: once through cooling: 14.70 m3/sec
• Cooling water: wet mechanical draft cooling: 0.30 m3/sec
• Aquaculture flow through system for abalone: 5.00 m3/sec
• Aquaculture recirculation system for finfish: 0.94 m3/sec
• Desalination brine: 1.22 m3/sec
• Stormwater: Uncertain

ALL the following technologies may be implemented to discharge the various effluent streams from the various proposed land-based uses into the sea:

• Tunnel discharge;
• Pipeline discharge;
• Surf zone discharge; and
• Beach discharge (for storm water).

Detailed descriptions of these technologies will be provided in the Scoping Report as well as the Environmental Impact Assessment Report.

Published: 18 January 2021
Review Period: N/a

Contact Person: Ms Nicole Wienand
Email: n.wienand@cesnet.co.za
Tel: 046-622 2364

FINAL SCOPING REPORT

APPENDICES