Six months after breaking ground, the construction of the Coega Industrial Development Zone’s (IDZ) first wind turbine manufacturing facility is on track to be completed in record time thanks to innovative and advanced engineering techniques used to fast track the process.

The wind turbine factory is more than 60% complete and the ambitious task undertaken by lead construction firm NMC to buildthe 23 000m² facilityis nearing realisation, the Coega Development Corporation (CDC) said today.

The project is joint initiative between the DCD Group, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and the CDC.

“The aim is to have the facilityup-and-running in under 11 months after construction started in March, so that the DCD Group is able to supply its first two customers by February 2014,” said Bruno Ponzo, CDC infrastructure project manager.

The facility is located in Zone 3 of the Coega IDZ and will be a first of its kind for the Eastern Cape.

Pressure is on

According to Frans Namuhuya of WorleyParsons – provider of professional services to the resources and energy sectors and complex process industries – the next few months will “be tight” as they review the timeline to gain ground on time lost due to the construction industry strike.

“We have had to revise our schedule and increase the man hours and labour force to achieve our targets. We faced some challenges, but we also realised some noteworthy engineering feats that allowed us to fast track the project – such as the design, creation of shop drawings and manufacturing of steel that was cardinal to the successful delivery of the factory,” said Namuhuya.

“The galvanised steel lattice column design used also allowed for a quick construction time considering the high speed nature of the project.”

Economic impact

While work on site is moving at a rapid pace, the economic injection into the regional economy has also been escalating.

So far, the materials used in the construction process amount to 236 tonnes of reinforcement, 1 896 tonnes of structural steel and 8 440 m³ of concrete. The project has also created 250 temporary jobs, with more than 90% of the workers coming from the Nelson Mandela Bay region, the CDC said.

Coega is responsible for the construction of the facility.

“Investors are given a choice whether or not to use Coega’s infrastructure and construction services when they decide to set up shop in the Coega IDZ,” said Ayanda Vilakazi, CDC head of marketing and communications.

“The pace at which DCD is going up is an indication of the quality and speed of Coega’s expert team. In addition, we are able to ensure that on projects such as these that small construction firms also gain a share of the work. The aim is for SMMEs to benefit from 35% of CDC’s procurement.”

Technical skill

Although construction is moving rapidlysafety, health, environmental and quality standards remain a top priority, with a number of successes achieved, namely:

• Compliance audits received from Aspirata;
• Working at heights for the past two months without any reported incidents;
• More than 20 000 working hours clocked without any serious injuries;
• Assisting SMMEs (mall, micro, medium-sized enterprises) and sub-contractors with approval of their environmental health and safety files; and
• No major findings in the environmental impact assessment.

The factory also promotes the green objectives of the renewable energy sector with its green building features. “An example of such is the introduction of natural light shafts in the façade walls and the use of passive natural ventilation elements. The on-site offices will also make use of solar control devices and performance glazing to reinforce the aesthetic aspects of the structure,” added Ponzo.

In the past few months a number of wind farm components have arrived at the Port of Ngqura and made its way in a convoy of abnormal load vehicles to its destination of wind farms across the Eastern Cape.

According to CDC business development manager in the energy sector, Sandisiwe Ncemane, the Coega IDZ – including the Port of Ngqura – is set to become the nexus through which renewable energy parts and sector logistics are coordinated and managed for the entire province.

“We have worked long and hard to create an environment in which renewable energy – from end to end – could both flourish at and be facilitated by Coega. This is becoming a hard-won reality as investment in this sector grows not only within the boundaries of the Coega IDZ, but throughout the province.”

At the launch of the project in May, DCD energy sector marketing manager Henk Schoeman said the manufacturing facility is being established to support the localisation of wind tower manufacturing in South Africa, and that positioning the factory close to the wind farms is vitally important to reduce the transport costs.

Once complete the DCD Wind Tower manufacturing facility will produce complete tubular steel towers, which entails the manufacture of the round steel tower sections from flat steel, welding flanges and assembling the inner parts of the towers. The wind turbine towers will vary in sizes ranging between 80 and 120 meters, with individual sections weighing between 40 to 60 tons.