Gecko heat dies down

GECKO Namibia has pledged not to go ahead with a multi-billion- dollar industrial park and port development at Swakopmund if it is proven that the health of people and the environment will be compromised.

During a public talk held in Windhoek on Wednesday night, Gecko Namibia, which is in the process of investigating the viability of developing three chemical acid plants, a harbour, salt mine and desalination plant in the Erongo Region, vowed to undertake the “most comprehensive” environmental impact assessment ever undertaken in Namibia. 
The proposed plans for the controversial development have caused widespread concern that the industrial park will permanently scar and destroy Swakopmund’s skyline and its surrounding area, in particular the recently proclaimed Dorob National Park. Concerns are that tourism and the unique biodiversity of the region will suffer as a consequent of squeezing in a major chemical plant in an area renowned for environmental integrity.
While the site and the size of Vision Industrial Park’s (VIP) proposed development is highest on the discussion list between Gecko and those opposed to the project, other issues clock in closely behind.
These issues include fears of the toxic by-products produced by the planned plants, which will harm the health of people and the environment, both on land and in the Atlantic Ocean.
Philip Ellis, Gecko’s managing director for Namibia, told a large group of residents concerned with the more than N$12 billion development, that the company “can assure you we will not take short- cuts” during any of the preliminary scoping and assessment phases which are required by Namibian law.
Peter Tarr, Executive Director at the Southern African Institute for Environmental Assessment (SAIEA), the company which is independently investigating the impact the planned VIP project will have on the environment, including the towns and people in the vicinity of the plant, said at the meeting that “Gecko have stated they will walk away from the process if the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) shows the negative impacts cannot be mitigated”. Tarr said it is vital that the public hold Gecko to that promise.
According to a participant of the Wednesday night meeting, hosted by the Namibian Environment and Wildlife Society (News), the emotional heat with which the project has been criticised and questioned to date is shifting and growing less volatile.
“It was very controlled and it went very well. People were not up in arms. There was a certain amount of integrity”, a participant said. 
The participant pointed out that the debate is calming down because “people now understand better. The problem was, they didn’t understand.”
Peter Cunningham, a member of News who chaired the meeting, said that the process around the development, including the fact that the plans still need to undergo extensive impact assessments before any green light will be given, has calmed people down.
“It is not a done deal. People are starting to understand it.” Cunningham welcomed the heated debate around the VIP, which he says has opened up a vein of discussion around environmental issues causing people to lose their “apathy”. 
“People are just not involved enough. This is making people aware of environmental issues. That is a good thing”, he said.
Many argue that the industrial park belongs in or close to Walvis Bay, which is already viewed as an industrial hub – plus the fact that it is home to Namibia’s biggest port.
But Pine Van Wyk, the head of engineering and project director of Gecko Namibia, explained at the meeting that “if you run financial models for Walvis Bay, we don’t have a project. At those sort of expenses, we simply don’t have a project”.
According to Gecko, the most viable sites for the proposed 4 000 hectare property lie north of Swakopmund. 
Essentially many want to know whether the benefits of the park will outweigh the possible negatives, or vice versa.
According to Gecko, the “uranium rush” lends itself to an enterprise which locally produces and supplies essential chemicals needed to process raw uranium ore.
“Vision Park is linking itself to the uranium rush as a service provider and value adder,” Tarr said.
In addition, Gecko has stated that the construction and post-construction phases will create massive employment. In view of the fact that Namibia has a reported unemployment rate topping 50 per cent, Ellis said “if Namibia needs anything, it is jobs”.
Gecko Namibia stated that 95 per cent or more of the close to 2 500 permanent jobs the completed plant will be able to offer, will be filled by Namibian citizens.