MBABANE – Construction of the proposed E60 million tyre recycling plant is expected to begin in earnest next month, following its approval by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade.
This was disclosed by Wilsiger Investments Director William Mtetwa yesterday. He said the investment had been stalled by the finalisation of a deed of sale at the farm in Sidvokodvo, a licence to operate the plant and classification of the farm into a commercial site.
“We now have all licences in order and will start clearing the site at the beginning of July. An advert for 34 jobs to be available for site clearance will be issued in due course, since we are now ready to begin operations,” said Mtetwa.
Wilsiger Investments, which tasked IC Development Consultants to collate the EIA and Comprehensive Mitigation Plan (CMP) in accordance with the Environmental Audit Assessment and Review Regulations 2000, also received approval from the Swaziland Environmental Authority (SEA) to construct a tyre/rubber recycling plant about two months ago.
The plant will employ the process of pyrolysis to produce carbon black, steel and fuel oil on portion 39 of 32 Farm number nine at Sidvokodvo, along the road leading into the Swaziland Railway (SR) residential compound.
The production process will involve the subjection of the rubber from tyres to temperatures such as 600 degrees Celsius in the absence of oxygen. These high temperatures will be produced through the use of fuel which will be stored within the project site at a quantity that would ensure that it is always readily available.
It should be noted that consultants had earlier warned that; “the production process will present a probability of human error, which could lead to an introduction of more fuel than necessary to the combustion, such an excess could lead to accidents that may result in fire,” reads the report.
Article source: http://www.times.co.sz/business/103240-construction-of-tyre-recycling-plant-starts-next-month.html