The Civil Engineering Contractor August 2018 | Page 17

ON SITE
A one square kilometre
area on the outskirts of
Heidelberg, Gauteng,
is becoming a hive of
economic activity as
home to the depot
of Transnet’s new
multiproduct pipeline
(NMPP). The under-
construction Lesedi
terminal is situated
in the shadow of
Transnet’s adjacent
accumulation facility at
Jameson Park — the
terminus of Transnet’s
NMPP.
In just that single
square kilometre near
Heidelberg one can see
two fuel depots — one
under construction —
as well as farming in
the foreground and
a mining dump in
the background. The
variety of industrial
activity in Gauteng
always
surprises
compared to almost
anywhere else in Africa
— and not a warthog
in sight.
The N3 highway
passes some five
kilometres away from
the site, which is also
located adjacent to
an existing railway
line, making the site’s
logistics a compelling
advantage. The project
is being driven by
growing demand for
petroleum products, as
well as by the outcomes
of the Moerane report
of 2006. This report
was commissioned in
the wake of the 2005
fuel shortage that South
Africa suffered, and
which identified the
need for improvements
to South Africa’s fuel
storage and transport
infrastructure.
It
also
follows
the
commissioning,
by
Transnet, of the
NMPP from Durban to
Gauteng. The existing
depot is in Lesedi,
adjacent to the new one
under construction,
owned by Transnet.
The client
Royal Vopak, the main
client, is a Netherlands
multinational that has
built several similar
fuel storage facilities
in South Africa. It is
one of the leading
independent
tank
storage companies in
the world. It operates
a global network of
terminals located at
strategic
locations
along major trade
routes. It has over 400
years of history and
claims a strong focus on
safety and sustainability,
whereby it ensures safe,
efficient, and clean
storage and handling
of bulk liquid products
and gases for its
customers. By doing so,
it enables the delivery of
products that are vital
to world economies
and daily lives, ranging
from oil, chemicals,
gases, and LNG to
biofuels and vegoils.
Vopak is listed on the
Euronext Amsterdam
stock exchange and
is
headquartered
in Rotterdam, the
Netherlands. Including
its joint ventures and
associates, it employs an
international workforce
of over 5 700 people.
As of 18 April 2018,
Vopak’s website says it
operates 66 terminals
in 25 countries with
a combined storage
capacity of 35.9-million
m 3 , with another
3.1-million m 3 under
development that will
be added before the
end of 2019.
Scope of work
On being awarded
the tender, Motheo
Construction arrived
on site some seven
months ago as civil
engineering
and
earthworks contractor
for the Lesedi Fuel
Depot project. The
contract was awarded
to Motheo by Chemie-
Tech, a Dubai-based
EPCM contractor in the
oil-and-gas industry.
The Lesedi Fuel
Depot will comprise
seven tanks, consisting
of two 26.2m-diameter
tanks
and
five
36.8m-diameter
tanks. The civils work
consists of building
the
foundations
for these tanks, at a
cost that is likely to
eventually top R40-
million, comprising
a new 100 000m 3
inland terminal. This
work is being done by
Motheo Construction
Group. This investment
expands
Vopak’s
infrastructure to help
meet South Africa’s
increasing demand for
petroleum products.
The new depot will
improve the security
of fuel supply by
facilitating the import of
cleaner fuels into South
Africa. In addition to
the seven tanks, the
project scope includes
eight truck-loading
bays with a vapour
recovery system, and
a pipeline connection
to the state-owned
NMPP for refined
petroleum products
in which Transnet, in
its six-month results
to September 2017,
announced it had
already invested R560-
million.
The NMPP runs from
Durban to Gauteng,
where approximately
70% of South Africa’s
fuel
demand
is
concentrated.
The
pipeline reduces the
need to transport
fuel from Durban to
Gauteng by road,
instead
offering
customers a more cost-
effective, scalable, safe,
and environmentally
friendly way to supply
this region.
The entire project
is divided into three
phases. The scope
of work includes the
construction of seven
tank foundations, a
foundation berm wall,
and a 35m × 35m ×
7m concrete manifold
structure.
Motheo
is commissioned to
perform the civils
work, which involves
the construction of
the foundations for
the seven tanks being
installed on site.
Chemie-Tech
is
responsible for the
remainder of the
project, consisting of
mechanical
works,
electrical
works,
piping, tankage, and
instrumentation.
“The construction
method of the tank
walls is new in a local
context,” says Junithan
Moodley, operations
director of Motheo
Construction Group’s
civils division.
Conventionally, a
concrete ring beam is
built, filled in from the
CEC August 2018 - 15