Athlone Power Station site to be stripped

Decommissioning process

THE decommissioning process of the Athlone Power Station will range from stripping of disused electrical infrastructure and equipment from within buildings to the rehabilitation of contaminated material including the soil on the site, the contract signed by the City of Cape Town and Aurecon South Africa reads.

The contract came into effect in May following a Constitutional Court ruling that ended years of legal battles between the City and the company over alleged irregularities in the tender process.

Mayoral committee member for Informal Settlements, Water and Waste Services; and Energy, Xanthea Limberg, said the company was awarded R11.1 million to provide professional services for the decommissioning process.

“The tender for the decommissioning includes a survey of the structural integrity of all infrastructure on the site; conducting the necessary environmental processes in compliance with the National Environmental Management Act; conducting heritage assessments in compliance with the National Heritage Resources Act; and obtaining all necessary approvals, among others,” Limberg said.

According to the contract, the decommissioning will allow alternate use and development of the site which will enable the City to secure a significant future capital investment and derive a significant financial economic benefit.

“It is not foreseen that this portion of the project, the professional services, will have an impact on the future tariffs and revenue of the City,” the contract reads.

Last week, Weekend Argus reported that it would be another five years before any development takes place on the Athlone Power Station site, almost eight years after the cooling towers, which were a significant part of the Cape Flats skyline, were demolished.

Previously, announcements were made earmarking the site for mixed-use development which would include commer- cial, residential and a cultural corridor.

Stellenbosch University dean of the faculty of engineering, Wikus van Niekerk, said decommissioning of coal power stations was necessary. “Many of them are old and do not comply with the current South African legislation regarding gas emissions,” he said.

“To make them compliant will cost too much money and makes no sense at this time. In addition, some are older than 50 years, and hence make use of old, inefficient technology.”

Van Niekerk said the power station was “for all intents and purposes already decommissioned”. “The only issue that may remain is if there are contaminated areas, such as the coal yard, that need to be cleaned up,” he said.

“The equipment still inside should be sold as scrap when the building is either demolished or refurbished for a different use. My guess is that if the building will be demolished then removing the remaining equipment and demolishing the building should not take more than a year,” he said.

“If the building is to be refurbished for a different use, say a shopping mall or office complex, then the entire project from planning, to obtaining the necessary permissions and finance, construction can easily take more than five years,” Van Niekerk said.

Xanthea Limberg.