CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

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1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Project Background Beta Cement Ltd, hereinafter referred to as the promoter and/or proponent, intends to construct a cement storage terminal on premises that has been reserved for that purpose within the Port area near Quay 1. The site location plan is provided in ANNEX 1. The cement storage terminal would comprise the installation of 8 over-ground vertical cement silos of capacity 3500 MT each. The cement silos shall provide a total storage capacity of 28,000 tonnes of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC). The OPC would comply to the requirements of standard MS 36-1:2006, equivalent to BS EN 197-1:2000. In addition to the cement silos, the promoter would construct a bi-directional pipeline that would convey the cement from the vessel berthed either at Quay 1 or Quay 2 to the silos and vice versa. The pipes ends at the quays will have a flexible part that will allow proper connection from the ship to the rigid pipes that would be buried up to the silos. In fact all pipes situated above ground will be flexible and will be connected only during the transfer of cement. The flexible pipes will be detached following the loading/unloading process. Additional pipelines would be constructed internally as part of the infrastructure works so as to deliver cement in bulk to cement tankers and to connect the cement silos to a feeder which is linked to a cement bagging unit. The latter will enable the packing of cement in paper bags of 50kg and 25 kg for retail purposes. The cement bagging plant will have a capacity ranging from 1800 to 2200 bags/hour. The main project components are as follows: o 8 nos over ground vertical cement silos of aggregating a storage capacity of 28,000 metric tons. Each cement silo has an overall diameter of 12.5m and overall height of 28.79m o Associated pipelines for pneumatic loading/unloading of cement from ship to silos o Pipelines for delivery to cement tankers and/or feeder to cement bagging unit. o Cement transfer equipment including screw feeder and air pumping station o Bagging unit of capacity 1800 to 2200 bags/hour and warehouse o Dust filtration systems o Loading/unloading bay for loading of cement bags onto trucks o 2 nos weighbridges 1 P a g e

2 o Administrative office o Security gate posts, internal road, drains, parking facilities, on-site sewer disposal system etc Background on Project Promoter The project promoters, through Betonix Ltd have earned credibility in the construction industry over the years of their existence. As such they are seen as respectable and reliable business operators earning trust and confidence. Betonix Ltd was incorporated as a company in Mauritius in It is a member of the Bhunjun Group which has more than half a century experience in carrying out business in Mauritius. The Bhunjun group started as a construction company and has diversified its activities to include property development, manufacture and sale of building materials, hospitality sector and leisure activities, shipping and logistics among a range of activities. Presently, Betonix Ltd operates a stone crushing plant and concrete batching plant at La Tour Koenig and Nouvelle France, in addition to a selling point in Phoenix. Betonix Ltd has a fleet of 50 vehicles consisting of truck mixers, tipper trucks, concrete pumps and water bowsers, and employs some 200 employees. Its activities are summarised as follows: De-rocking and haulage of boulders to the stone crushing plants Stone crushing and production of aggregates, rocksand, gravels and graded stone of various sizes Manufacturing of concrete blocks Production and placing of ready-mix concrete Now the project promoter wants to move further in this business through the import and distribution of OPC both in bulk and in bags on the local and regional market. The cement storage terminal which will be implemented by Beta Cement Ltd would be similar to the ones currently in operation in the port and owned by the importers and distributors of cement; namely Lafarge (Mauritius) Cement Ltd and Holcim (Mauritius) Ltd. The proposed undertaking will be the first of its kind for the proponent. A copy of the Certificate of Incorporation and Business Registration Card is attached for reference in ANNEX 2. 2 P a g e

3 Beta Cement Ltd has entrusted the services of the following professional partners to carry out the proposed project:- Table 1: Project team Promoter Structural Engineer Environmental Consultant Beta Cement Ltd Servansingh Jadav & Partners Consulting Engineers Ltd VYYAASS Consulting Engineer Ltd Project Brief With reference to the Environment Protection Act 2002, Regulations made by the Minister under Section 96 of the EPA 2002 (Government Notice No. 142 of 2006), Part B Item 29 Manufacture and packing of cement, the proposed undertaking would require the preparation and submission of an Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) for the purpose of obtaining an EIA License. The project proponent has commissioned VYYAASS Consulting Engineer Ltd, hereinafter referred to as the Consultant, to carry out the Environment Impact Assessment on their behalf, so that they may implement the project in a safe and secured manner and without adversely impacting on the physical environment. Therefore this EIA focused on identifying the direct and indirect impacts that the proposed undertaking is likely to have on the physical environment and to provide corresponding mitigation measures for impacts identified. The aims and objectives of the present EIA are listed as follows:- To ensure that it is conducted within the promoter s environmental policy and stewardship. To ensure that the undertaking functions and operates within established regulatory framework To establish and understand the ecological baseline data related to the environment, health and social conditions that exist in the project area. To identify and assess the impacts of the undertaking and to describe the likely impacts it would have during the construction and operation phases. To secure and engage relevant stakeholders participation, regarding the undertaking at its associated environmental, social and health aspects. To list down the actions required for an Environmental Management Plan (EMP). 3 P a g e

4 To prepare a list of critical items required for an Environmental Monitoring Plan (EMoP) during the construction and operation phase. To recommend further investigations as a result of constraints encountered. To provide guidelines for the designers responsible to carry out the detailed engineering designs for the project Project Justification The project has an array of benefits both tangible and intangible. The proposed undertaking will have a positive socio-economic impact in that it will provide mainly for an additional storage capacity of cement. An additional storage mechanism is beneficial in order to increase the already available capacities to safeguard against shortage of supply of cement on the local market. Cement will be imported mainly from Oman, Pakistan, India, Dubai and Vietnam. The transportation of cement gives rise to uncertainties and risks that may adversely impact the supply especially with the growing occurrences of piracy on East African seas. The project promoter intends to charter a vessel to secure an efficient means of transport for the cement cargo. The project promoter also aims at exporting cement in the region to tap into new markets in the African region. The facility would be used to export cement to the neighbouring countries in the South West Indian Ocean territories. The undertaking would thus contribute to generate additional revenue to the Port as well as to the economy through the inflow of foreign currencies. Moreover, the project site is ideally situated given its proximity to Quay 1 and Quay 2, compatible surrounding activities and existing infrastructures. The State Trading Corporation (STC), a parastatal body set up by the Government of Mauritius to be its trading arm, was entrusted the responsibility of importing cement. However, with the liberalisation of cement on the domestic market in July 2011, the STC is no longer importing this commodity. At present, cement is imported only by the two private companies. These two companies have announced their merger on the international level, leaving room to a potential monopoly situation on the delivery and price of cement in the construction sector in Mauritius. Therefore, the proposed undertaking will position itself as a key player in enhancing competition in that business. 4 P a g e

5 This project would bring direct investment through capital expenditure especially related to the construction of the cement terminal and associated pipelines. The project is estimated to cost MUR 500 millions. In this cycle of investment this undertaking would generate job opportunities. This project would contribute towards the creation of direct and indirect employment. It is expected that this undertaking would yield some 15 breadwinners during its operation phase and some 100 jobs during construction phase. The amount of indirect employment cannot be quantified as the product sustains more than 10,000 families in the construction industry. A do-nothing option would tantamount to having an inert site within a prime business zone. It would have a negative impact on the owner in terms of under-utilization of land asset in a zone of high commercial value. It would also give rise to a potential monopoly situation in the import and distribution of cement to Mauritius. Therefore this project has the good and positive qualities that need to be considered during the assessment process. 5 P a g e