In a significant boost towards the finalisation of Karpowership SA’s Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (RMI4P) projects, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) dismissed the green lobbyists’ appeal challenging the condonation granted to Karpowership SA for the late submission of its final environmental impact assessment report (EIAr) in Richard’s Bay.
Karpowership SA said yesterday that this followed a similar decision where the department had upheld the appeal of Karpowership SA against the refusal of its Section 47C application for Saldanha Bay on May 23.
“Karpowership SA will now move forward with its public participation process followed by the submission of the final EIAr,” it said.
Karpowership SA is a South African company jointly owned by Powergroup SA, a 100% black-owned, women-empowered South African company, and Karpowership, which owns and operates 5200MW floating power plants across Africa, the Caribbean and Asia
“In light of these decisions, Karpowership SA will continue to work on finalising its EIAs through public participation processes that will include a generic environmental management programmes (EMPr) as directed,” it said.
Throughout extensive engagements with Transnet National Port Authority (TNPA), TNPA and Karpowership SA had jointly agreed on five out of the six vessel locations across the three project sites.
For the Port of Ngqura (Coega), after being notified that the initial Powership location was unavailable because of TNPA’s proposed port expansion and liquid bulk terminal plans, Karpowership SA and TNPA were undergoing an extensive process, including regular engagements to reach an amicable solution in TNPA allocating another suitable location for the Powerships to be moored, it said.
“Karpowership SA will work together with TNPA to make all the projects happen and believes that these projects will bring tremendous economic development to the area. Due to the change in Powership location, Karpowership SA will re-start the environmental application process for the Port of Ngqura for the new vessel positions in keeping with the regulatory requirements,” it said.
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