Construction World April 2016

To this end, construction and engineering group GAST was awarded the contract

to manage the geosynthetic requirements of the Kusile Power Station. The contract

was awarded via WBHO, based on GAST’s incredible record of 11 500 successfully

completed projects and its accreditation from the United Nations and the World Bank, both

achieved through its trademark quality and performance across the board.

The Kusile Geosynthetics project, which is entering its closing stages, has been seen as

one of the largest and most complex geosynthetic projects in the Southern Hemisphere due

to its volumes and intricacy, providing an environmentally friendly and secure platform for

Kusile ash and coal over 6 ha of geosynthetic solutions.

A project of this size and complexity required the expertise of a company with an

exceptional track record and vast experience, as explained by GAST Group CEO, Kevin Gast:

“Geosynthetics has become the standard solution in relation to environmental protection

over the last ten years in South Africa, taking guidance from International Standards and the

hard work of organisations like the Geosynthetics Interest Group of South Africa (GIGSA).

GAST, as one of a handful of entities specialising in this field, is proud to have been involved

with such a significant project, assisting Eskom and various other entities in completing

such a challenging project.”

Over the past four years, GAST has supplied and installed a significant amount of advanced

geosynthetic solutions to help minimise the environmental impact of the power station.

Geomembranes, geotextiles and various drainage layers were required to help create a barrier

between the environment and Kusile’s multiple ash dumps and dirty dams.

GAST employed over 50 community members during this project and transferred much

needed skills in this specialised field. As new legislation calls for geosynthetics in most

environmental protection systems, the Kusile Ash Dumps have provided a much needed

springboard for future job creation.

“Kusile was a complicated project not only from a technical perspective but also from a

commercial perspective, we are looking forward to handing over the keys to Eskom on this

R180-million project in due coursem,” said Gast.

Thanks to the geosynthetics project and GAST, the Kusile Power Station project, which

has been fraught with delays and various other problems, has experienced much-needed

impetus as it moves towards operational status, and will be able to function with a minimal

environmental impact.

PROJECT NEARING COMPLETION

The Kusile Power Station has been under pressure to be in

commercial operation by 2018 in order to start contributing

much-needed power to the South African economy.

However, the construction of any power station comes with

environmental implications, which can only be neutralised

through geosynthetics.