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Coal Terminal Management Ltd Partial Relocation of Coal Terminal
Environment Impact Assessment
3 Baseline Environment
3.1 Site Description
3.1.1 Site Location

The project site is located in the District of Port Louis and is found within the
boundary limits of the Port Area. The land earmarked for the relocation is situated
at Mer Rouge behind Fort George. The site is shown in Drawing EIA-001
attached in Appendix B, a reproduction of the local map of the region.
3.1.2 Site zoning

The site falls within the Sector No. 1 of the Mer Rouge Reclaimed Area and was
formerly allocated to the Central Electricity Board for the storage of coal for its
coal-fired power plants.
3.1.3 Site Extent and Ownership

40,000m2 of land is currently being leased to CTML by the MPA. Part of the
existing leased area will be transferred to CNOI for its expansion. The MPA has
agreed to allocate and lease the same extent of land to CTML which is adjacent to
the existing facility and nearer to CEB’s Fort George Power Plant as shown in
Figure 5. The area for the partial relocation of the Coal Terminal is about 1.13
hectares.
Figure 5: Plan showing proposed CNOI expansion and CTML relocation
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J:\CURRENT PROJECT\252405-00 - CNOI RELOCATION OF COAL STORAGE\4.5 - REPORTS AND MEMOS\INFRASTRUCTURE\EIA\(2017-10-09) ISSUE CTMCL EIA
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A copy of the MPA correspondence attached in Appendix C and a copy of the

actual lease agreement between CTML and MPA is attached in Appendix D.
3.1.4 Site Occupancy

With reference to the Land Surveyor’s plan attached in Appendix E, the site
earmarked for the relocation of the Coal Terminal is bounded by a tarred road of
wide 8m on its northern side and Fort George premises on its eastern side.
There are 4 No. existing steel pipelines belonging to Indian Oil (Mauritius) Ltd
which traverse the portion of land earmarked for the relocation, adjacent to the
existing Coal Terminal fence.
Indian Oil pipelines north east of

adjacent existing Coal Terminal facility
3.1.5 Site Topography

The signed Sworn Land Surveyor’s Topography Plan is attached in Appendix E
in pursuance to Claude 18 (1) (c) (ii) of the EPA (2002).
Levels referred to Mean Sea Level plotted thereon have been measured with level
contours at 1.0m interval. The site topography undulates gently with numerous
high and low points and overall flat slopes. The lowest surveyed levels being
above +1.50m AMSL.
3.1.6 Site Boundaries and neighbouring properties

The immediate neighbours of Coal Terminal are:
 To the south and south-east - Chantier Naval de l'Ocean Indien (CNOI)
 To the west and north-west – a port access road and beyond this Petredec’s
Bulk Terminal, Indian Oil Ltd’s fuel oil depot and plots allocated to Beta Oil
Terminal Ltd.
 To the north – land allocated to Alcodis Ltd
 To the east – CEB’s Fort George Thermal Power Plant

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With reference to Drawing No. EIA-001, infrastructure and land uses in the
vicinity of the project site include the following:
 The Mauritius Chemical & Fertilisers Industry Ltd (MCFI)
 CEB Fort George Thermal Plant
 Indian Oil Ltd Fuel Oil Depot
 The Container Terminal
 Alcodis
 Petredec
 MPA Fire Station
 Mauritius Freeport Development
 Cargo Handling Corporation Ltd
 Kolos – Holcim (Mauritius) Ltd
 Lafarge (Mauritius) Cement Ltd
3.2 Existing Built Environment
3.2.1 Building and structures

The various components of the Coal Terminal are shown in existing layout in
Drawing No. EIA-002 with area tabulated in Figure 6:
Components Plan Area (m²)
Coal storage areas 29,700

Administrative building 40
Parking areas for lorries and loaders 66
Settling pond for treatment of runoff 195
Figure 6: Main components of coal Terminal
3.2.2 Roads and Access

With reference to Drawing EIA-001, the site is accessed from the 8m wide, 2
lane Port West Access Road which serves the Freeport Zone 11.
At the Coal Terminal, there are internal roads in between the existing coal stacks
which allow movement of trucks and other coal handling plant and equipment as
shown in Drawing EIA-002. The minimum width is 6m wide. However, there is
no difference in levels between these roads and the existing platforms.

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3.2.3 Surface Water Management

Storm water within the site is collected via a drainage system comprising
reinforced concrete drains which run along the perimeter of the site as indicated in
Drawing No. EIA-006. The total length of the drains amount to about 800m. The
collected runoff, which is normally contaminated with coal particles and dust is
then discharged into sedimentation tanks where the suspended particles are
allowed to separate from the runoff through a settling process before being
discharged into the adjacent drain which then discharges to the sea some 275m to
the South.
3.2.4 Electricity supply and distribution

Central Electricity Board (CEB) which is the sole organisation responsible for the
transmission, distribution and supply of electricity to the population in Mauritius.
A CEB transformer room is located on the left hand side of the existing entrance.
CTML is alimented from this transformer room. Power is mainly used for lighting
purposes and by the admiration block, pumps and weighbridge. On average the
power consumed per month is about 4500 kWh.
3.2.5 Potable water supply and distribution

The distribution of water in Mauritius is the responsibility of the Central Water
Authority (CWA). CTML is already connected with the CWA via a pipeline
which runs along the Indian Oil-CNOI stretch of road.
On average water usage is around 2100m3 per month. Water is being used mainly
for sprinkling on internal roads and coal stacks and for sanitation purposes by the
workers. There are 6 No. water tanks having a total capacity of 54m3 which is
used in case of water shortage and is connected to the firefighting network.
3.2.6 Sprinkling operations

Some 250m3 of seawater is used per month by 10 No. water bowsers for
sprinkling purposes. This water is sprinkled on roads during unloading process.
3.2.7 Domestic Effluent Management

A total of 8 employees from CTML occupy the site and the total amount of
domestic wastewater generated per day is around 320l. Presently, CTML has a
wastewater retention tank on site which is emptied at regular intervals by licenced
wastewater carriers. The location of the wastewater retention tank is found next to
the administrative block.
3.2.8 Solid Waste Management

Collection and disposal of solid waste, in the Port Area, is under the jurisdiction
of the municipality of Port Louis. Collected solid waste is sent to the Roche Bois
transfer station, from where the waste is sent to Mare Chicose, the only

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operational landfill in Mauritius, situated in the South of the island, some 30km
from Roche Bois Transfer Station.
Solid waste generated from the Coal Terminal is mainly from the administrative
block in the form of domestic waste, that is, paper, plastic, metals and organic
waste. The daily domestic waste generated is less than 10 kg per day.
No industrial solid waste is generated.
3.3 Existing Terrestrial Environment
3.3.1 Climatic conditions

Mauritius at latitude 20oS and its modest dimensions (60km NS x 45km EW) is
submitted to a tropical ocean climate characterized by two alternating main
seasons:
 a hot and rainy seasons from November to April (southern hemisphere
summer)
 a relatively mild, dry season from June to September (southern hemisphere
winter)
The month of October and May are commonly known as the transition months.
Mean summer temperature is 24.7 degrees Celsius and mean winter temperature is
20.4 degrees Celsius. The temperature difference between the seasons is only 4.3
degrees Celsius.
The warmest months are January and February with average day maximum
temperature reaching 29.2 degrees Celsius and the coolest months are July and
August when average night minimum temperatures drops down to 16.4 degrees
Celsius.
Long term mean annual rainfall (1971-2000) over the Island is 2010 mm. The
wettest months are February and March. The driest month is October.
Mean summer rainfall (1971-2000) is 1344 mm, which is 67% of the annual
amount over the Island. Mean winter rainfall (1971-2000) is 666 mm. Although
there is no marked rainy season, most of the rainfall occurs in summer months.
The Island receives 6.5 to above 8 hours of bright sunshine daily. In summer
months around 6.0 hours of bright sunshine are received over the high grounds,
whereas the coastal regions are exposed to 7.5 to over 8.0 hours of bright
sunshine. In winter months, the Central Plateau receives around 5.0 hours of
bright sunshine whereas the coast receives above 7.5 hours of bright sunshine.
This climatic regime is heavily biased by the wind regimes and orography, which
clearly set out two sharply differentiated zones:
 the windward zone to the south and south-east, well exposed to trade
winds
 the leeward zone to the west, relatively well sheltered from the trade
winds.

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The site is well exposed to the S and SE Trade winds.

The monthly mean wind distribution at Fort William for the period 1987-1990 is
illustrated by Drawings attached in Appendix B.
3.3.2 Geology and Pedology

The geotechnical characteristics of the site may be compared to previous ground
investigations undertaken at the MCT due west of the site and CNOI to the east.
From Halcrow’s 2009 Report to MPA relating to the MCT site; The soil profile at
the location of the terminal is reclaimed fill of sand and coral down to between -
10 and -15m CD (Chart Datum) overlaying undisturbed very loose to loose
interbedded silty sands and soft sandy silts down to basalt at a depth that varies
from -40m CD to -65m CD.
From a series of reports by McKnight Geotechnical Consulting (Pty) Ltd it is
noted that 25 boreholes were sunk in the vicinity of the CNOI shipbuilding yard
between 1999 and 2001 to inform the design of the quay wall and dry dock. From
these reports the basalt formation varies considerably in quality and in depth; top
of basalt formation between -11m and -33m relative to mean sea level.
A detailed ground investigation within the Site will be necessary to obtain
essential data on the founding strata, prior to undertaking the detailed design of
the foundation works.
3.3.3 Site Hydrology

No rainfall measurements exist for the Site. However rainfall data, under normal
climatic conditions, is available from MMS station at Riche Terre, some 4km north
west of the site and 30m above mean sea level, refer to Figure 7
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct. Nov Dec. Annual
172 188 189 117 71 49 42 35 27 21 42 134 1087
Figure 7: Mean rainfall (mm) recorded at Riche Terre (1951-1980)3

During severe cyclones conditions, the rainfall can be assumed to be quasi-uniform over
the island and data from the continuous rain recorders operated at the MMS may be
assumed to hold for the Site. Refer to Figure 8.
Period 5 15min 35min 1 hr 2 hr 3 hr 4 hr 12 hr 24 hr

min
Precipitation 15 30 61 82 115 150 180 250 490
Figure 8: Extreme rainfall intensities³
3
The Climate of Mauritius, B. M. Padya, 1984

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Due allowance for these precipitation events is required to design the surface water
drainage systems for the site.
3.3.4 Site Flora and Fauna

The site for the relocation is bare land with small shrubs and grass with low
biodiversity. No endemic species of plants and animals were observed on the
project site. Figure 9 shows the site before construction.
Figure 9 View of site for the relocation
3.4 Operational Considerations

The Coal Terminal provides a transfer facility for the offloading of supply vessels
arriving from the Republic of South Africa, mainly for the production of
electricity from sugar-industry based power plants, under the Bagasse Energy
Development Programme set up by the Government of Mauritius.
CTML has increased its import in coal from around 200,000t to 763,000t per
annum over the past ten years to take into account the increasing demand for
power supply of the cogeneration plants of the island. The gradual increase in
annual tonnage since 2005 to the present date is indicated in Figure 3.
3.4.1 Coal handling operations

The main operations of the Coal Terminal are summarised as follows:
a) Discharge of coal from the ships
The coal is normally unloaded from vessels at Terminal II namely at Quays No.1
and No.2 which are shown in Figure 10. It is important to note that this activity is
under the control of Cargo Handling Corporation Ltd (CHCL) who is the sole
operator for container handling activities in Port Louis.
Unloading of coal from the ships is by means of grabs fitted to ships’ cranes
specially designed for the offloading of coal. The grabs empty directly into static
hoppers for the controlled loading of coal into 20t trucks.

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Figure 10: View of Terminal II

The number of vessels used annually for the importation of coal have increase
from 9 in 2005 to around 18 in 2016. During the sugarcane crop season (July to
December), the number of vessel is once per month while during intercrop season
(January to June), the average vessel is twice monthly. The maximum vessel
capacity is around 40,000t which takes about 3 to 4 days to offload (24hrs/day) at
an offloading rate of about 600t per hour.
b) Transport to the Coal Terminal
The coal is transported via the port road to the Coal Terminal, care is made by
CHCL to ensure that the truck are not overfilled and the trucks are covered with
tarpaulins to prevent spillage. CTML has stated that, for a maximum size vessel,
the total number of return trips from Terminal II to Coal Terminal is about 2000
per vessel over 3-4 days. At the Coal Terminal the trucks tip their load onto the
stockpiles.
The offloading process of the coal from the vessel spans over 3 to 4 days during
which the following mitigating measures are enforced on site:
 The operator has been instructed to bring the grab close to the hopper to
prevent any spillage of coal.
 An additional operator has been assigned by CHCL to monitor the loading
of the coal from the hopper-to-truck.
 A deflection plate has been placed on the hopper to direct the coal into the
trucks thus preventing any accidental spillage of coal during offloading of
coal from ship-to-hopper and from hopper-to-truck on the wharves.

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 During the unloading process, a water bowser is available on site to abate

any potential dust nuisance
 After each truck is loaded, the wharves are cleaned using a bobcat wheeled
skid-steer. The collected coal is stored in a container bin which is emptied
at the Coal Terminal.
 During the unloading of the coal, AEL DDS Ltd has been appointed by
CMTL to ensure that the road from either Quay 1 or Quay 2 to the Coal
Terminal is cleared from all coal particles.
The coal is transported via the Fort George Road to the Coal Terminal along the
route indicated on Drawing No.EIA-004. Care is taken by CHCL to ensure that
the truck are not overfilled and the trucks are covered with tarpaulins to prevent
spillage. At the Coal Terminal the trucks tip their load onto the stockpiles.
Due to the high traffic load during offloading operations from vessels, the
incoming trucks normally have to queue along the Indian Oil – CNOI stretch of
the road before changing lanes from left to right opposite Beta Oil before getting
at the entrance of the Coal Terminal.
c) Stacking of coal at the Coal Terminal
Bucket loaders are used at the Coal Terminal to move the coal into three
stockpiles shown in Drawing EIA-002. For security of supply, the typical
minimum amount of coal stored at the facility is around 40,000t in order to
provide the power plant with a stock for 26 days; but this may reach a potential
maximum of 120,000t immediately after the delivery of a vessel.
d) Reloading onto trucks for delivery to power plants
Front bucket loaders are used to reload coal into trucks for delivery via public
roads to the various power plants. The trucks and drivers are under the supply of
the power plants themselves. CTML ensures that the truck are not overfilled for
delivery via public roads to the various power plants. The delivery of coal is
normally carried out off peak hours that is between 18.00 to 6.00 and 10.00 to
14.00.
Grabs are used to unload the coal in the

trucks

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Operator monitors the loading of the

trucks on from the hopper
3.4.2 Dust nuisance

The cause of dust nuisance is determined by various factors including:
1) The size distribution of the coal supply
The coal supply particle distribution imposed by buyers namely Alteo Energy
Ltd, Consolidated Energy Ltd, Mauritian Coal & Allied Services Co Ltd,
Omnicane Thermal Energy Operations (La Baraque) Ltd and Omnicane
Thermal Energy Operations (St Aubin) Ltd and Terragen Ltd is
Particle Size (Typical) Fraction %
 0 mm to 1.0 mm 10 max
 0 mm to 2.0 mm 15 max
 0 mm to 20.0 mm 85 max
 0 mm to 50.0 mm 100 max
2) Moisture content of the coal

The total moisture content of the coal imposed by the power plants is 9.0%.
Records show that normally upon offloading of the ships the moisture content
is less than 9%.
It is important that the maximum moisture content is not exceeded (i.e. through
excessive spraying to control dust) otherwise CTML will incur penalties by the
power plants.
3) Ship offloading operations
A deflection plate has been placed on the hopper to prevent accidental spillage
of coal dust can occur during offloading of coal from the ship-to-hopper and
from hopper-to-truck on the wharves. This activity is managed by CHCL.

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In addition, an operator has been assigned to monitor to loading operation on

the hopper.
Any spillages on the quay and surrounding are cleared up immediately by AEL
DDS Ltd (appointed by CTML) upon completion of the offloading operation.
4) Transport to the Coal Terminal
Trucks are used for the transfer of the coal from either Quay No.1 or Quay No.2
are covered with tarpaulins.
Any spillage on the road is immediately cleaned by AEL DDS Ltd until the
offloading operation has completed.
5) Tipping, handling, storage and reloading of trucks at the Coal Terminal
Dust is generated during the movement of coal, offloading (tipping) of trucks
and handing using bucket loaders. Additionally, the exhaust from trucks can
exacerbate airborne dust nuisance.
6) Transport from the Coal Terminal
These trucks and drivers are under the supply of the power plants themselves.
CTML ensures that the truck are not overfilled for delivery via public roads to
the various power plants.
7) Weather conditions
Dry and windy conditions are a primary factor with respect to airborne dust
nuisance for obvious reasons.
3.4.3 Mitigation measures already in place

Existing measures to mitigate the impacts of coal dust nuisance, currently adopted
by CTML include;
a) Spillage
 Trucks shall not be overfilled.
 All trucks transporting coal from the quay to the Coal Terminal are
covered using tarpaulins which are appropriately secured to prevent
spillage of coal.
 During the vessel unloading process, AEL DDS Ltds ensures that the
roads and drains along the roads are free from any spillage of coal.
b) Dust
 During the unloading of coal, at the Coal Terminal, a water bowser is
available on site and water spraying is carried out along the internal and
external access roads.
 Water sprinklers are operated during dry and windy climatic conditions.
This is concentrated at locations where activities that increase dust

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nuisance are taking place e.g. where trucks and bucket loaders are
operating.
 All trucks / vehicles leaving the Coal Terminal have to pass over a shaker
grid set over a pit with the aim of removing as much coal dust from the
vehicle as possible before it leaves site.
 There is a green barrier consisting of a row of filao trees along the western
boundary of the Coal Terminal to reduce the impact of high level
windblown coal dust escaping from the site.
 Manual monitoring of the stockpile moisture is being carried out
frequently by trained personnel
 The coal is being stockpiled in layers and to a height of 8m. Each layer is
being compacted by means of a roller
 The sides of the stockpiles are being sloped to an angle of repose of
30o/40o are covered, as far as practical, with plastic sheeting or geotextile
membrane
 CTML, as far as practicable, manage the coal stack height by regulating
the demand and supply of coal.
Mobile water sprinkler
Row of filao trees on western side of Coal

Terminal acting as green barrier

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Water Bowser spraying water over coal

platforms and roads
Shaker grid for wheel cleaning located

before ramp to weighbridge
3.5 Fire-fighting and emergency response plan

The Coal Terminal is operated in compliance with Fire and Safety Regulations
and as part of its emergency response plan, Coal Terminal should immediately
alert the Fire Brigade unit in the Port Area in case of fire.
The Fire Certificate for the Coal Terminal is attached in Appendix F.

REPORT.DOCX

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Coal Terminal Management Ltd Partial Relocation of Coal Terminal

Environment Impact Assessment

3.1 Site Description

3.1.1 Site Location

3.1.2 Site zoning

3.1.3 Site Extent and Ownership

Figure 5: Plan showing proposed CNOI expansion and CTML relocation

| Issue | 9 October 2017 Page 11

A copy of the MPA correspondence attached in Appendix C and a copy of the

3.1.4 Site Occupancy

Indian Oil pipelines north east of

3.1.5 Site Topography

3.1.6 Site Boundaries and neighbouring properties

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3.2 Existing Built Environment

3.2.1 Building and structures

Components Plan Area (m²)

Coal storage areas 29,700

Figure 6: Main components of coal Terminal

3.2.2 Roads and Access

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3.2.3 Surface Water Management

3.2.4 Electricity supply and distribution

3.2.5 Potable water supply and distribution

3.2.6 Sprinkling operations

3.2.7 Domestic Effluent Management

3.2.8 Solid Waste Management

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3.3 Existing Terrestrial Environment

3.3.1 Climatic conditions

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The site is well exposed to the S and SE Trade winds.

3.3.2 Geology and Pedology

3.3.3 Site Hydrology

Figure 7: Mean rainfall (mm) recorded at Riche Terre (1951-1980)3

Period 5 15min 35min 1 hr 2 hr 3 hr 4 hr 12 hr 24 hr

Figure 8: Extreme rainfall intensities³

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3.3.4 Site Flora and Fauna

Figure 9 View of site for the relocation

3.4 Operational Considerations

3.4.1 Coal handling operations

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Figure 10: View of Terminal II

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 During the unloading process, a water bowser is available on site to abate

Grabs are used to unload the coal in the

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Operator monitors the loading of the

3.4.2 Dust nuisance

2) Moisture content of the coal

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In addition, an operator has been assigned to monitor to loading operation on

3.4.3 Mitigation measures already in place

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Mobile water sprinkler

Row of filao trees on western side of Coal

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Water Bowser spraying water over coal

Shaker grid for wheel cleaning located

3.5 Fire-fighting and emergency response plan

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