Any seasoned conference goer will tell you that in essence, a successful conference and / or exhibition thrives off well known formulas that you simply don’t mess with. And this is certainly true. However within those confines there is plenty of room for creativity, and Gold Sponsors Royal HaskoningDHV’s exhibition stand was definitely ahead this year in the quality and creativity stakes. At the beginning of each conference the day thee stand has appeared empty and lost, then an artist appears from nowhere and begins to sketch out different infrastructure scenarios, incorporating the impact of Royal HaskoningDHV and the company’s branding. Not only has this approach drawn much attention, but it has brought a wonderful sense of wonder to the floor each day. IMIESA magazine and Infrastructure News truly congratulates the company on a truly wonderful idea.

IMESA Conference 2013: Nelson Mandela Metro, home to Port Elizabeth, has taken some fantastic strides since the last time IMESA hold its conference here 1o years ago. With visible upgrades to infrastructure and – especially – services, such as the articulated bus transport system, this is a metro with a vision. It also home to institutions that are not afraid of thinking out the box, like the Nelson Mandela Bay University, which just last week staged unsuspected attacks of choral singing in major shopping centres in their student registration drive. This city is alive development and it is heartening to see.

The city also had much to offer when it came to IMESA selecting possible sites for technical tours. Big news yesterday were the technical tours. First on the list was van Stadens Wind Farm which consists of 9 x 3MW Sinovel Wind Turbines which is presently under construction due for commission in February 2014.

This 27MW wind farm is situated some 20km outside Port Elizabeth above the coast line near the Van Stadens River mouth. The project is now 90% complete, and the approach by bus was awesome – to use the word correctly. Seemingly out of nowhere, these huge structures emerge, complete with giant rotors. They add an architectural appeal to the barren landscape and command attention. With nameplate production listed as 27 MW, this R500 million will be making a valuable contribution to South Africa’s energy mix. The project is aligned with the Department of Energy of the Republic of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer procurement programme and Integrated Resource Plan, and will mitigate existing Eskom grid losses in the area, as well as greenhouse gas emissions.

Located in one of the best wind energy areas in South Africa, the project uses state-of-the art technology, and is designed to minimise any negative impacts on the environment and its neighbours. Local community members share in the benefits of the project through a 5% interest held through the MetroWind Community Trust. A further 1.5% of annual revenue will be directed towards socio-economic and enterprise development projects. The wind farm will not only create facilities and jobs, but also increase knowledge and skills and provide a strategic opportunity to foster a community that is uniquely positioned to benefit from the growth of sustainable economic development.

Crossways Farm Village & Green House

The second technical tour was the Crossways Farm Village, is a new rural village consisting of 560 hectares of farmland surrounded by nature reserves. Homes, shops & outdoor facilities
- light commercial units
- a working farm whose profits are shared amongst the community.

The fundamentals of the project include living on a working farm in a safe, unspoilt country environment and enjoy a wholesome range of dairy products produced on site and farm-fresh fruit and vegetables just about all year round, providing a country lifestyle. Natural produce, solid services infrastructure and technology infrastructure have been incorporated from inception. Reports from delegated who attended the tour were highly enthusiastic.

Coega Harbour Tour

Port Elizabeth is the only city in South Africa with two big commercial posts that handle container and cargo ships.

Several spellings exist for Coega. These include Ngqura, the Xhosa spelling which is used in the port of Ngqura Establishment Act and is the official spelling used by the National Ports Authority; Ngqurha, as has been used on occasion by the Department of Public Enterprises; and Coega which is that used by the Coega Development Corporation, the Industrial Development Zone and most other people. Other spellings include Cougha, Coecha, Koecha and Koega. The name is of Khoekhoen origin for the river of the same name and means ‘ground water.’ Coegais pronounced ‘koo-gha’, with a guttural sound forming the last syllable. To pronounce Ngqura correctly requires an ability to sound the click as used in Koekhoe and Xhosa.

The port of Ngqura, which began commercial ship operations (containers) in October 2009, lies some 20km northeast of Port Elizabeth and is South Africa’s 8th and latest commercial port development, situated at the mouth of the Coega River in Nelson Mandela Bay (Algoa Bay). Transnet National Ports Authority of SA is responsible for developing the deepwater port, while Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) has been appointed to handle all terminal operations.

An Industrial Development Zone, known as the Coega IDZ, has been developed over the 12,000 hectare site in the area including the river and port, with a 4,500 ha core development immediately identified. The IDZ will serve as a primary location for new industrial development for export driven industries.

The port is of deepwater construction capable of serving post-Panamax dry and liquid bulkers and the new generation of cellular container ships.

The tour was over-subscribed and feedback elicited nothing but the highest praise.

Gala dinner

Sponsored by Hatch Goba, this year’s Gala dinner was held the highly impressive Nelson Mandela Stadium. Frank Stephens, IMESA’s president, kicked off the proceedings, praising the highly deserving local organising committee for its excellent work. The LOC has indeed done IMESA proud this year, and the gala dinner was packed with top-notch entertainment, excellent food and beverages and the opportunity for the whole fraternity to let its hair down get to know each other away from the pressures of the daily life of engineering.

Tomorrow is the final day of the conference, so look out for our last and final report.