Heritage Cases

1World Consultants (Pty) Ltd have been appointed by Arup (Pty) Ltd, on behalf of the applicant, Kwa Justice Foods (Pty) Ltd, to undertake the required environmental services for the proposed construction of an abattoir and associated processing plant on a greenfields site located on the P107 road to Nonoti, approximately 8km north of Stanger. The proposed project will entail the construction of an abattoir, meat processing and warehousing facility, and associated supporting infrastructure. The total development footprint of the proposed Agri-project will be approximately 1 hectare (10 000m2). The following has been proposed within the property: • State of the art abattoir buildings which includes: A lairage/ pre-abattoir holding facility; High throughput abattoir; Meat processing and production facility; Parking, workshop, security and ancillaries • Open yards for holding of livestock The area is currently zoned as agricultural; however, the applicant is in the process of applying for special consent for food processing. The proposed site is located within 100m of a wetland, but maintains a 15m buffer from the wetland. The Proposed development will entail the excavation for foundations and the clearing of vegetation with a low conservation status, as confirmed by the specialist. Kwa Justice Foods (Pty) Ltd will be tapping into the local municipality utilities infrastructure. KwaDukuza Municipality will provide the proposed development with water and electricity connection. It should be noted that there will be no commercial raising of livestock on the property. The use of solar energy is also being considered for the proposed facility. Given the very hot and sunny weather experienced on the east coast, it makes good economic sense to embrace this as a responsible green option. The abattoir will process cattle, sheep and goats. The number of cattle processed per day will be between 0 – 50 units, while for sheep and goats the number of units processed per day will be between 0 - 300. Potential rooftop photovoltaic which will be less than 10MW and cover an area less than 1Ha. Additionally, a rain water harvesting component is proposed. The idea behind the proposal for harvesting water is to reduce the use of municipal water to its minimum and avoid any environmental impact from waste water. Stage 1: Clean Hot and Cold-Water System A clean water supply from the iLembe Water Main located on the property boundary has been confirmed by the Municipality. Water will be stored in Bulk storage tanks above ground to provide storage for up to three (3) days if no other supply is available. Fresh cold water for domestic use will be stored in 3 x 10 000 ℓ sub surface tanks. The firefighting water system is contained at the bottom storage of the fresh cold-water tanks. The firefighting water will be constantly maintained at reserve levels. The central hot water plant is located in the plant room within the abattoir facility. The plant room will hold 4 sub-surface tanks with a total capacity of 40 000ℓ (i.e. 3 x 10 000ℓ at 60 degrees and 1 x 10 000ℓ at 90 degrees). Stage 2: Rainwater Harvest and Waste Water Recover The intention of this component is to harvest rainwater for dilution into the water system stage (stage 3). Stage 2 is collection of roof water via drain filters and stored into 3 x 10 000ℓ storage tanks (Jo-Jo tanks) above ground. Stored water will be pumped through sand filter unit directly into harvest water line or to waste water harvest storage tank for dilution to reduce chemical content. Stage 3: Effluent Water Treatment Facility Filtration and Chemical Dosage Waste water from within the abattoir and factory will independently flow from all internal drain points to an external manhole for chemical treatment before entering the filtration point. The chemical used will be M-BAC. M-BAC is a combination of “Live” bacteria and enzymes that rapidly penetrate, digest and liquifies fats, oils, greases, cellouses, protein and starch. Note M-BAL is pathogen free. This product is commonly used at most abattoir’s and chicken farms. The dosage rate for maximum quantities of blood/ water/ fat mixture is 4 litres of liquid product into the drain, 4 times a day by hand or via peristaltic pump connected to a timer. This product can also be considered “Natures Helper” by reducing the Biochemical and Chemical Oxygen Demand. The next stage of flow from these external manhole is into Geo Filtration Bags (“Debag Containers”) that are suspended on rail with a capacity of 1000ℓ per cycle. The Debag is an engineered sludge dewatering container, specially engineered to effectively retain fine pollutant solids whilst allowing dissipation of liquids. The result is a well dewatered pollutant with solids captured within the container, which is designed to facilitate easy handling and assist the disposal process. The debag units will be suspended above a concrete trough with an outlet drain which will flow into a surface ground reservoir (i.e. purifier/ Chemical Dosage Plant) with a capacity of 300 000ℓ. This holding tank will be connected to a plant room adjacent to it, for filtration and water treatment. The water from the treatment plant room will be pumped for storage into 3 x 10 000ℓ surface tanks. A booster pump will pump this treated water into a separate piped system. This water will be used for ablution toilet flush, irrigation of lawns and external wash of animal guide way into abattoir. It is important to note that for health and safety reasons, the harvest water will be for external use only. Thus, reducing the risk of any contamination of carcasses or processed products. Sewage Treatment and Evaporation Ponds Sewage lines from the abattoir and meat processing facility as well as ablution facilities will connect to the sewage treatment and evaporation ponds. The evaporation ponds are steel framed sub-surface tanks with a capacity of 80 000ℓ. The evaporation ponds comprise of live digestive bacteria colonies that will deconstruct and erode sewage material, etc. The treated sewage waste and water desludging by outsourced service provider will be taken to Local KwaDukuza Municipality Treatment Works. The remains of the treated water will effectively be consumed by the naturally occurring evaporation process. Based on a completed feasibility study in 2010 (details unknown) which focused on decisions taken regarding site selections, supply and demand of the local and international red meat market studies, operational models and shared research analysis on local livestock populations and producer trends including emerging black farmersand relevant stakeholders in KZN, the very necessary need for a modern high through-put red meat abattoir became vividly evident. This business plan has been developed to represent the well-placed intentions of Kwa Justice Foods (Pty) Ltd to establish an accredited eco- friendly, modern, high through-put, red meat abattoir and meat processing facility within the iLembe District, KwaZulu-Natal. Since the two closest, red meat, rural abattoirs are based in Thornville, approximately 135 kilometers away from Stanger, and Eshowe, approximately 85 kilometers north of Stanger, the need for a regional abattoir came very highly recommended. These two rural, low through-put abattoirs are currently operating at near full capacity and further highlighting the growing demand for a high through-put abattoir. Given the ever increasing local and national consumer demand; the ever increasing national and regional population expansion; and a myriad of other valid supporting variables, establishing an Agri-project of this kind in KwaDukuza is long overdue. This Agri-project will bring with it sustainable economic development into the region, up to 90 employment opportunities, much needed slaughter and process facilities for emerging black livestock farmers within the iLembe District and the greater KwaZulu-Natal. Market Analysis: South African Consumer Trends: Red meat consumption in South Africa has expanded rapidly over the recent decades. South Africa consumes approximately 875,000 tons of beef per annum and while local production is increasing year on year, we still have a current deficit of 50,000 tons. As a result, local production needs to be complimented by the import of between 25,000 and 45,000 tons of beef, mainly from neighboring countries Botswana and Namibia. Boneless frozen beef is the most prominent product being imported by South Africa, representing 64% of all imported beef products. Boneless frozen products are followed by fresh or chilled carcasses representing 12% and bone-in beef representing the 8% balance. However, South Africa maintains relatively high import tariffs for meat products for countries outside the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and the European Union. South Africa upholds a free trade agreement with SADC countries and the European Union. Over the past two decades, steady economic growth and increased average household income in South Africa resulted in the rapid expansion of red meat consumption. During the period between 2003 and 2014 red meat consumption in South Africa increased by 32% making available a wide range of opportunities for South African red meat producers to start profiting from. Following consultations with agricultural economists and academics, the Red Meat Produce's Organization (RPO) forecasts that there will be an increase of between 12% and 15% in the national red meat price by the end of this year, 2017. The overall view and informed opinions of all relevant authorities, economists, academics actively engaged in the red meat industry agree that strong growth in consumption across the board is guaranteed in the South African market for the foreseeable future.