NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION NO 1484
DATE REPLY SUBMITTED: TUESDAY, 08 DECEMBER 2009
DATE OF PUBLICATION IN INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER: FRIDAY, 09 OCTOBER 2009
(INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 20 â 2009)
Mr S B Farrow (DA) asked the Minister of Transport:
(1) What part of the approximately R105 million earmarked for
Environmental Impact Assessment Record of Decision (EIA/ROD) costs at
the La Mercy Airport has been allocated to (a) noise/air quality
monitoring and (b) access road changes;
(2) whether any provision has been made for the relocation or insulation
of the approximately 1330 households identified as possibly affected
by high noise levels; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant
details;
(3) whether any contracts have been finalised in terms of the Dube Trade
Port portion of the project; if not, why not; if so, (a) how many and
(b) to what value;
(4) whether any progress has been made with regard to the establishment
of the proposed Agri-zone, if not, why not; if so, to what extent?
NW1887E
REPLY:
The Minister of Transport:
(1) (a) Noise and air quality monitoring
This will initially involve setting up systems, equipment and forums
to apply the
International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) balanced approach to
aircraft noise as required in the Record of Decision (ROD). R8.3
million has been provided for this purpose. R2.7 million has
been provided for air quality measurement and monitoring systems.
(b) Access Road Changes
An amount of R6.3 million has been provided for the linking of the
access road to
the R102, as required by the ROD.
(2) The ROD did not have any requirement for the relocation or insulation
of 1,330 households and accordingly no provision has been made for
this. The ROD referred to two specific communities for which this
option may need to be considered, but only after the airport is
operational and noise monitoring has been conducted to determine the
actual noise impact. There are approximately 160 households in these
communities.
However, it must be noted that there exists a joint
responsibility by the various tiers of Government as well as the
Aviation Industry as a whole for aircraft noise and mitigation
measures. There are also various noise mitigation measures that will
be considered and implemented as part of the Airportâs Operational
Environmental Management Plan. Local and Provincial Government will
need to incorporate this into their zoning and land use planning.
The Airports Company South Africa Limited (ACSA) is engaging the
Department of Environment Affairs and the various communities and
stakeholders to ensure an acceptable solution is found for all
parties.
(3) (a) and (b)
One contract has been signed between ACSA and the IIembe Consortium
covering the construction requirements of both ACSA and Dube Trade
Port. The construction value of the various components for Dube Trade
Port is as follows:-
⢠Cargo Terminal â R233.2 million.
⢠Trade zone (bulk infrastructure and services) â R135.3 million.
⢠Agrizone (access road) â R19.5 million.
⢠Support zones (roads and bulk infrastructure) â R22.1 million.
Dube Trade Port and ACSA also signed an Agency Agreement that
covers Dube Trade Port components of the construction works to the
values indicated above.
Dube Trade Port has appointed a Cargo Terminal Operator and is in the
process of securing leases with other operators.
(4) The following progress in respect of the Agri-zone has been made thus
far:-
⢠The nursery has been constructed and is being used to fulfil some
of the ROD obligations through the growing of some of the species
required for habitat restoration. Thus far, 200 of the 600 species
have been collected and are being grown at the nursery.
⢠Tenants/operators for the greenhouses, pack-houses and tissue
culture lab have been sourced. Heads of Agreement have been signed
with these tenants/operators, following negotiations.
⢠After extensive negotiations, agreements have been reached with
contractors for building the greenhouses and Dube Trade Port is
finalising the procurement process for the other components.
 However, construction cannot proceed until Environmental Approval
is received. All the public consultation processes have been
completed and specialist studies conducted as part of the Basic
Environment Assessment process. The Basic Environmental Assessment
report was submitted on the 25th of September 2009.