Emerfency Power Infrastructure
Emerfency Power Infrastructure
Original: English
COUNTRY: ZIMBABWE
The objective of the project is to improve the provision of adequate and reliable power supply in
an environmentally sound manner through the rehabilitation of the Hwange Power Plant (HPP)
and the power transmission and distribution facilities in the country.
The envisaged project is situated in Hwange District within Matebeleland Province. Hwange
district lies North West of Harare at the very western part of the country. The district is
predominantly a mining district and the area has, in addition to Hwange Power Station, Southern
Mining Coke Plant, Hwange Coal Gasification Plant, and Hwange Colliery.
(A) Rehabilitation of the Hwange Power Plant facilities: This component shall include the
following activities:
Replace and refurbish slurry pumps, ash pumps, sluicing water pumps, booster pumps,
sealing water pumps, beilge pumps and overflow sump pumps.
Replace 4 discharge lines, 4 clinker grinders, 1 fluid coupling, 500m of 11kV transformer
cable and 500m of 3.3kV 3-core cables.
Procure and install 16 sub-transmission level transformers.
Procure and install 800-900 33/0.4kV distribution transformers.
Procure and install 800-900 11/0.4kV distribution transformers, and
(C) Conduct an Environmental and Social Audit and design of an Environmental and Social
Management Plan; and
Project outputs will be refurbished items in the main generation blocks such as boiler feed pumps
and feed heaters in the boiler plant, turbine auxiliaries, excitation systems and induced draft fans
which will lead to increased plant capacity and reliability. Plant availability will also increase
from around 65% to 90%. Other outputs are refurbished auxiliary facilities such as the Boiler
plant, Ash plant, Coal plant, cooling water pump station at Deka and generator transformers that
will result in an overall improvement in plant operations and allow plant available capacity to
increase from 450MW to 780MW.
The following measures build on the design criteria for the power plant in order to reduce to a
minimal level any further potential negative impacts. Main areas where positive impacts can be
introduced or maximized are as the following.
Conduct an air quality dispersion modeling study to identify the locations of maximum
concentrations of pollutants emitted from the stack (SO2, NOx, TSP, PM10, PM2.5, CO);
Determine the most representative points to locate background air quality monitoring
shelters of an air quality monitoring system composed of at least three monitoring
shelters;
Use the air quality dispersion modeling study to check the existing stack height.
Examination of stack height (around 100-110m for all stacks) should include testing of
elongated stack heights up to the order of 150m;
As a minimum requirement, the World Bank’s ambient air quality guidelines (in g/m3)
for background atmosphere will be followed;
A specialized Engineering Consulting Firm (ECF) is to be selected to undertake a
comprehensive study for identifying the most appropriate cleaning systems (pollution
controllers) for the following abatement measures:
1. Desulphurization system.
2. De-noxing processes.
3. Upgrading techniques for thermal generation efficiency.
Electrostatic Precipitators are to be refurbished for operating at full capacity, where more
than 95% of emitted dust particulates could be captured.
Ash Handling:
Alternative Systems for ash handling, such as dry handling of fly ash, which is capable of
eliminating surface impoundments, will be studied and investigated by a specialized Engineering
Consulting Firm for potential alleviation / elimination of ash disposal related impacts. Methods
of potential economic use of such ashes should be also examined.
Dust Emissions
Coal Handling
Resuscitate the dust suppression system in the local plant;
Monitor quality of coal and control levels of fines; and
Modify/maintain pulverized coal ductwork to reduce incidence of pf leaks.
Ash Disposal
Look at possibility of selling the ash to road construction and cement manufacturing
companies.
For ash dam dust there is need to plant grass on slopes and all exposed surfaces.
Need to compact the ash.
Install an irrigation system.
ZPC is to make an effort to encourage more women to seek non-traditional jobs and take
advantage of existing vacancy rate which stands at 8% within HPP.
Potential relief of women’s and girls’ suffering due to reliable electricity supply at
household level and improvement to their well being.
Potential cut in production costs, carbon emissions and efficient utilization of energy
sources.
Job creation will benefit surrounding communities through employing around 200 people
during rehabilitation phase and 56 people during full operation of the HPP.
Boost to economic activities via securing electricity supply enhances industry, agriculture,
mining and services and maintain jobs, which contributes to poverty alleviation.
Activities related to rehabilitation work take place on the construction site, i.e. on
ZPC/HPP land.
Public and Industry Relations will be maximized through open dialogue between ZPC
(through the Assistant Plant Manager who has direct responsibility for EHS Liaison) and
local authority, public and industry representatives.
The contractors will be responsible for complete adherence to safety and occupational
health and environment management policy of ZPC and adherence to Risk Management
Policies of ZESA.
Mandatory compliance to the set principles as an integral part of special clauses in Sub-
contractor’s contracts.
Waterborne Diseases
Project interventions to eliminate any stagnant water, especially in the ash dam area and
other drainage related activities for combating malaria and other waterborne diseases.
Enhance uninterrupted water supply to water treatment facilities and alleviate possible
catastrophic consequences on health and hygienic practices resulted previous due to
unreliability of power supply.
Communicable Diseases
Subcontractors are obliged to collaborate with district levels National Aids Council to
ensure parallel and long-term programs complementing these efforts on national and local
levels activities funded by agencies such as DIFD, USAID, Global Fund and programs like
“Local Aids Control Efforts (PLACE), etc., which focus on communities including school
going girls and sex workers.
Training programs and health and safety measures will include knowledge about
HIV/AIDS awareness, prevention and treatment.
Good local and international construction practice in Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) will
be applied at all times during rehabilitation and refurbishment activities and account will be taken
of local customs, practices and attitudes.
There is a potential for finding Asbestos Containing Materials (ACM) during dismantling or
rehabilitated processes for reconstruction or re-erection of rehabilitation parts. If found, standard
good practice measures will be implemented as follows:
any ACM present in the superstructures shall be removed before commencement of the
rehabilitation works;
removal of asbestos materials in certain locations may run more smoothly if both asbestos
contractors and civil rehabilitation contractors work in tandem. This is due to the
convenience of the main civil rehabilitation contractor providing access (scaffolding etc.) to
the ACM, for the asbestos contractor and avoiding duplication of effort;
work actually involving the removal of ACM, that involves the handling of the ACM shall
be carried out by a Specialist Asbestos Contractor;
all remaining ACM on the site is not accessible to the general public.
Collection, segregation, re-use, recycling, storage, transportation and disposal measures are
recommended to avoid or minimize potential adverse impacts. The Contractor will incorporate
these recommendations into a Waste Management Plan that incorporates site specific factors,
such as the designation of areas for the segregation and temporary storage of reusable and
recyclable materials
Stack emissions to the air from the Hwange Power Plant are expected to be within the
Zimbabwean, as well as the World Bank guidelines (2), with possible increases of some
pollutants depending on the technology employed.
To the best expectations, the Hwange power plant is intended to operate within the EMA
standards or, at least, the following WB/IFC emission guidelines:
Non-degraded Degraded
Pollutant Airshed Airshed (*)
PM 50 30
SO2 200-850 200
NOx 510 200
(*) DA= Degraded airshed (poor air quality); Airshed should be considered as being
degraded if nationally legislated air quality standards are exceeded or, in their absence, if
WHO Air Quality Guidelines are exceeded significantly.
As described above, ZPC/HPP is committed to rehabilitating the boiler house and the pollution
control systems for achieving lower levels of background concentrations of pollutants.
The design of the rehabilitation works will incorporate measures to reduce impacts on the aquatic
environment.
In order to minimize potential impacts to water quality, ZPC/HPP will ensure implementation of
good site management practices including the following measures:
(1) World Bank/IFC standards are considered international standards that could be used for acceptable reference.
(2) World Bank/IFC Pollution Prevention and Abatement Handbook - Part III: Thermal Power - Guidelines for New
Plants, July 1998, and its updates of 2008.
_ wastewater will be collected and treated before being discharged into the discharge
system;
A number of noise mitigation measures will be built into the design of the plant in order to ensure
that noise levels are minimized and that all items of plant are operating to local and international
standards.
steam turbine generators, air compressors, pumps, and the emergency diesel engines will be
enclosed in sound enclosure, if necessary;
air compressors will be equipped with air silencers; and
noisy outdoor equipment will be reviewed and managed to be within to a noise limit of 90
dB(A) at one meter.
In addition, all personnel working in noisy areas will be required to wear hearing protection.
The mitigation and management measures during rehabilitation described above relate to both the
rehabilitation and operation phases.
Additional mitigation measures include:
Develop a site hazardous chemical register.
Develop a procedure for handling, transportation, storage and use of hazardous chemical.
Develop emergency procedures to manage accidental spillage of hazardous substances i.e
Clean up procedures (SPILL PLAN) .
Acquire PCB test kit to monitor PCBs in transformer oils.
The operational health and safety measures during rehabilitation will be carried forward
into the operational phase of the power plant.
The mitigation and management measures will ensure that the health and safety of staff and any
visitors on and to the site is not jeopardized during operation of the plant.
An Environmental and Social Audit (ESA) will be conducted for the Hwange Power Plant to
provide a systematic assessment of past and present environmental and social liabilities
associated with the project prior to the physical implementation of the rehabilitation program.
The Audit results will constitute the findings, conclusions and recommendations that will be
carried forward into the ESMP and require follow-up actions, namely corrective and preventive
actions. The findings will be used to revise, re-design, and improve the ESMP where necessary.
The ESMP will be a condition of the loan for first disbursement.
Stack emissions will be monitored continuously during plant operation at a representative point
in the stack. Operational monitoring of stack emissions shall comprise monitoring the levels of:
Sulfur Dioxide; Oxides of Nitrogen; TSP; and Carbon Monoxide.
The automatic monitoring system used will be linked to an alarm to warn when emission limits
for each pollutant are being approached.
Concentrations will be recorded as hourly rolling averages and reports on stack emissions
monitoring will compare recorded emissions against determined levels and Zimbabwean and
WB/IFC guidelines. Reports will be submitted to the EMA, the AfDB and any other concerned
authority on an annual basis (or as required).
4.2.2 Ambient Air Quality-Continuous SO2, NOx, C.
TSP / PM10 / PM2.5 Analyzers
The use of a continuous SO2, NOx, CO and TSP/PM10/PM2.5 analyzer allows for baseline air
quality monitoring on a continuous basis. The provision of three continuous monitors will
provide the basis for “validating” the calculations made via dispersion modeling and conditions
set in the ESMP. The monitors will also include a weather station (embedded in the station that
will be placed at the power plant site) providing data on air temperature, wind speed, wind
direction, wind direction variability and mixing heights on a continuous basis.
Monitoring of impacts of the power plant on the aquatic environment will include monitoring of
the quality of the effluents discharged from the power plant.
The operational monitoring of cooling towers and effluent discharge will include the parameters
summarized in Table-6 below.
Monitoring data will be analyzed and reviewed at regular intervals and compared with
Zimbabwean and World Bank guidelines. Records of monitoring results will be kept in a suitable
format and will be reported (in summary format with any exceptions identified) to the responsible
government authorities and the AfDB or any other concerned authority as required. As a result,
the project company, in discussion with the ZESA, EMA and the AfDB, in addition to any other
concerned authority, will review the need to implement any additional mitigation features, such
as provision of further water treatment facilities on site and also on the need to continue
monitoring.
Wastes generated on site and collected for disposal by skilled firms will be referenced, weighed
and recorded. Environmental audits will be undertaken which will assess the quality and
suitability of on- and off-site waste management procedures.
Environmental Management Units (EMUs) at all levels: ZPC/HPP, ZESA and MoE
receive support and enhancement to undertake environmental management and
monitoring activities on a continuous basis.
Induction, specific and refresher training for all employees on good operation
management practice.
EMA (as part of their regular activities), will be involved in the monitoring of the
rehabilitation and operation activities in order to ensure that proper environmental
mitigation measures are employed.
The supervision missions of the Bank will validate and crosscheck whether the agencies
responsible for environmental management and monitoring have ensured that the
mitigation measures have been carried out.
Suitably qualified and experienced contractors will be responsible for the detailed design
and rehabilitation works of the power plant. Rehabilitation workers will be required to
demonstrate appropriate skills, qualifications and/or experience prior to employment.
During rehabilitation, HPP/ZPC/ZESA will ensure that all contracts with Contractors and
sub-contractors stipulate all management measures (as given in this ESMP), operational
design criteria and environment, and health and safety standards which must be
implemented at the project site.
Implementation of these measures will be enforced and supervised by the Assistant Plant
Manager, who will have direct responsibility for the Environment, Safety and Quality
Assurance program on site during rehabilitation and operation. The Assistant Plant
Manager is responsible for ensuring that rehabilitation works comply with the
requirements of the ESMP and all environmental permits.
The training will include induction courses when staff are first employed at the power plant, with
specialist and refresher training as required by the job role. Training will be updated annually and
occupational health and safety procedures will be included within the Operations Manual for the
power plant.
In order to ensure that the views and interests of all project stakeholders are taken into account, a
Public Consultation was undertaken in accordance with EMA and AfDB requirements as part of
the Environmental and Social Examination process. This also included coordination with other
government agencies involved in the project, obtaining views of local people and affected groups.
The objectives of consultation and disclosure are to ensure that all stakeholders and interested
parties, are fully informed of the rehabilitation project, have the opportunity to voice their
concerns and that any issues resulting from this process are addressed in the ESMP and
incorporated into the design and implementation of the project.
The adopted methodology for the public consultation comprises basic elements, namely:
discussions with local stakeholders and interested parties during preparation of the
environmental documents for First Examination and any local permitting requirements,
including EMA requirements;
discussions with local stakeholders during Audit process and preparation of the Audit
Report;
on-going consultation through an “open-door” policy during rehabilitation and operation of
the power plant.
As far as public disclosure is concerned, major initiatives to inform the public and interested
parties about the rehabilitation project include the following:
During the preparation for Audit and the ESMP-Report, consultations are to be undertaken with a
variety of organizations to assist them in further identification of environmental and social
concerns and the overall development of the project. These stakeholders include the Zimbabwe
Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA), Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution
company (ZETDC), Zimbabwe Power Company (ZPC), Zimbabwe Trust Fund (Zim-Fund),
Ministry of Finance (MoF), Ministry of Energy and Power (MoEP), Ministry of Water Resources
Development and Management (MoWRDM), Hwange Power Station, Environmental
Management Agency (EMA) of Zimbabwe, and local population leaders.
The purpose of these consultations was primarily to provide information regarding the project,
identify published and non-published sources of relevant data and information relating to the site
and surrounding area, obtain views on the scope of the project, and open channels for ongoing
discussions.
7. ESTIMATED COSTS
Since many of the mitigation measures presented are considered an essential, integrated
component of the rehabilitation and operation works, it is not possible to separate the specific
costs of their implementation from the overall construction and operation costs. However, an
attempt for best estimate the relevant cost is presented in the ESMP tables. The total envisaged
costs is around 3.62 million US Dollars.