Proclaimed fishing harbours
Proclaimed fishing harbours work package, Western Cape, South Africa
Due to under-investment in the fishing ports in the Western Cape, the Department of Public Works (DPW) obtained financing to a total of approximately USD100 million to reinstate the operational status of all 13 fishing ports. In 2016 Coega Development Corporation (CDC), the implementing agent, appointed Zutari for the Proclaimed Fishing Harbours Work Package 3: Western Harbours.
Zutari was responsible for the rehabilitation and full engineering services for three of the ports, namely St Helena Bay, Laaiplek and Lambert’s Bay. Zutari was responsible for the maintenance upgrade of the marine components of the fishing harbours, which included the slipways, marine infrastructure, coastal infrastructure and navigational basins.
Zutari’s environmental scope of services included environmental impact assessment (EIA) checklists, dredging and heritage permits, and environmental management plans (EMPs), as well as maintenance management plans for dredging, wreck removal, repair of slipways, jetties, shipyards and general quay maintenance.
Zutari also prepared technical specifications and documentation for the refurbishment of ship cranes, slipway winches and slipway rails, and will be completing the refurbishment of these aspects. The project also included site supervision of the wreck removal, slipway rehabilitation and maintenance dredging.
It was humbling to be a part of a project that will benefit the west coast fishing communities.
One of the challenges the project team experienced was the limited information that was available for historical infrastructure. It required considering how to structure the mechanical works procurement and thus these aspects were done as a FIDIC yellow book.
Two of the construction packages have been completed, with the dredging package still ongoing and scheduled for completion later in 2020.
“It has been an exciting project to be involved in. The fishing harbours required urgent upgrades due to the age of the infrastructure and it was humbling to be a part of a project that will benefit the west coast fishing communities. The repair of the slipway winches provides improved support to vessels in the area as it allows for quicker turnaround and thus more fishing vessels can be repaired,” says Marli Geldenhuys, Zutari Project Director.
*The Aurecon Africa business has been officially renamed Zutari as at 21 July 2020. Zutari acquired Aurecon Middle East on 20 November 2020.
