ALCATEL SUBMARINE NETWORKS (ASN) EQUIANO SUBMARINE FIBRE OPTIC CABLE SYSTEM TO BE LANDED AT SWAKOPMUND, NAMIBIA PARATUS TELECOMMUNICATIONS (PTY) LTD (LANDING PARTNER) DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT EIA REFERENCE: APP-002171 ALCATEL SUBMARINE NETWORKS (ASN) EQUIANO SUBMARINE FIBRE OPTIC CABLE SYSTEM TO BE LANDED AT SWAKOPMUND, NAMIBIA PARATUS TELECOMMUNICATIONS (PTY) LTD (LANDING PARTNER) DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT EIA REFERENCE: APP-002171 Compiled for Compiled by Paratus Telecommunications (Pty) Ltd ACER (Africa) Environmental Consultants 104-106 Nickel Street, Prosperita PO Box 503 Windhoek Suites 5 & 6, Golden Penny Centre PO Box 90140 26 Hely Hutchinson Road Windhoek Mtunzini, 3867 Namibia South Africa January 2021 ASN EQUIANO SUBMARINE CABLE SYSTEM NAMIBIA - SWAKOPMUND LANDING DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT DISTRIBUTION The Draft Scoping Report is distributed for public review to key stakeholders for a period of 14 days. The Draft Scoping Report is also available on Geo Pollution Technologies web site (http://www.thenamib.com/projects/projects.html). DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT ii ASN EQUIANO SUBMARINE CABLE SYSTEM NAMIBIA - SWAKOPMUND LANDING PREFACE The proposed Equiano Cable System requires approval from the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT). In this context, ACER (Africa) Environmental Consultants (ACER) and Geo Pollution Technologies (Geo) has been appointed by ASN to take responsibility for the application for environmental authorisation for the construction of the Equiano Cable System on behalf of the Namibian landing partner Paratus Telecommunications (Pty) Ltd (Paratus). This Draft Environmental Impact Assessment Report (DEIAR) has been compiled in accordance with the Environmental Assessment Policy of 1995, the Environmental Management Act (Act 7 of 2007) and the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations of Government Notice 28, 29, and 30 promulgated on 6 February 2012. The activities required for the construction of the proposed subsea cable requires an Environmental Clearance Certificate from the competent authority, namely MEFT. On completion of the Draft Environmental Impact Assessment Report (DEIAR) process, a Final Environmental Impact Assessment Report will be submitted to the MEFT to take an informed decision as to whether the project may proceed on social, economic and environmental grounds. DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT iii ASN EQUIANO SUBMARINE CABLE SYSTEM NAMIBIA - SWAKOPMUND LANDING EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction Submarine telecommunication cables are important for international telecommunication networks as they transport almost 100% of the transoceanic Internet traffic throughout the world. It is widely recognised that access to affordable international bandwidth is key to economic development in every country. As such, the improvement in Africa’s information technology infrastructure via telecommunication cables will remove one of the current key inhibitors to development in Africa and support economic growth and opportunities on the continent. Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) was appointed to execute the installation of a new subsea telecommunications cable system, the Equiano Cable System, which will connect Africa with Europe. It will be located along the West Coast of Africa, between Portugal and South Africa. Branching units along the cable will in turn connect it to African countries, including Namibia, to increase and improve connectivity in Africa. There will be one Namibian landing at Swakopmund, where it will be operated by the Namibian landing partner Paratus Telecommunications (Pty) Ltd. In support to this initiative, ASN has appointed ACER (Africa) Environmental Consultants (ACER) as the Environmental Assessment Practitioner (EAP) to take responsibility for the EA requirements, including identifying environmental aspects relevant to the proposed telecommunications infrastructure and construction of the Equiano Cable System. ACER has in turn partnered with Geo Pollution Technologies a local Namibian environmental consultancy to assist with the drafting of this report and to assist with public consultation in Namibia. Scope of Work The main Equiano Cable System trunk will be located approximately 200 to 500 km from the shoreline in international waters. Branch cables will run from the main trunk to the shoreline through territorial waters to the landing site in each country. The final route of the marine portion of the cable will be identified based on a combination of engineering, environmental and economic factors; however, the general alignment of the Equiano Cable System will follow the WACS cable alignment which was installed in 2010. Project Activities The proposed Equiano branch to Swakopmund will include the installation and operation of the following project components: Laying of the cable in the offshore environment on the ocean bed, including cable burial to a water depth of 1,500 m. Within the shallow water environment, the cable will be buried in sediment wherever possible and the route will be adjusted to avoid obvious visible rock. The aim is to bury the cable to a depth of 1 m where possible. Excavations within the intertidal zone to bury the cable before it being anchored into the Beach Manhole (BMH) which will be constructed directly inland of the beach at the preferred landing point. On the beach the cable will be buried to a depth of 2 meters, substrate permitting. Construction of a BMH at the preferred landing point. The BMH will be constructed underground and will have the following dimensions: length (approximately 4.0 m); breadth (approximately 2.0 m) and depth (approximately 2.0 m). Installation of the onshore cable section between the BMH and the preferred Cable Landing Station (CLS) Construction of a Cable Landing Station near the (Hage Heights WACS Co-location Facility) which is currently operated by Telecom Namibia. The terrestrial cable will be installed DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT iv ASN EQUIANO SUBMARINE CABLE SYSTEM NAMIBIA - SWAKOPMUND LANDING underground by trenching. Typically, the trench required for cable burial will be 1 m in depth and have a width of approximately 0.5 - 0.7 m depending on the excavator bucket width. Legal Requirements There are many legal requirements (National, Provincial and Local Government spheres) to which the project proponent must adhere for the proposed Equiano Cable System. A review of this legislation and guidelines applicable to the proposed project are provided in Chapter 3 of this report. The proposed Equiano Cable System requires an environmental clearance certificate from the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT). In addition to the environmental authorisation, the following permissions and licences will be or are likely to be required: No. Permit Title Description Environmental Clearance Certificate as stipulated in the (Environmental Management Environmental Ministry of Environment, Act, 2007). Based on findings during the 1 Clearance Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) screening exercise it is ACER teams opinion Certificate that the certificate will be issued following a Scoping process and will not require a full EIA Ministry of Education, Arts and Heritage Permits Onshore heritages resources in project's area 2 Culture/National Heritage (Terrestrial) of influence (unlikely to be required) Council of Namibia Ministry of Education, Arts and Heritage Permits Offshore heritage resources in project's area 3 Culture/National Heritage (Offshore) of influence (unlikely to be required) Council of Namibia Ministry of Agriculture, Water Based on observations on site and along the Protected Tree and 4 and Forestry/Directorate of proposed fronthaul alignments, no protected Plant Permits Forestry plant and tree permits will be required Ministry of Works and Based on discussions with MoWT, no permits 5 Maritime Permits Transport/Directorate of are required for the installation of the Equiano Maritime Affairs Cable The portion of the beach south of Platz am Meer shopping mall (preferred landing site) is 6 Land Use Permits Ministry of Land Reform state property and an application needs to be made to the state for the landing of the cable at this site A wayleave from the municipality will be 7 Building Permits Municipality of Swakopmund required for land-based installations and construction Based on information obtained from the WACS cable installation, it was determined Sea Floor Lease Office of the President that a lease agreement for the use of the 8 Agreement seafloor must be concluded. This lease agreement must be signed by His Excellency the President of Namibia Need and Desirability Submarine telecommunication cables are essential for international telecommunications as they currently transport almost 100% of transoceanic Internet traffic throughout the world. It is widely recognised that access to affordable international bandwidth is key to unlocking economic development in every country. DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT REPORT v ASN EQUIANO SUBMARINE CABLE SYSTEM NAMIBIA - SWAKOPMUND LANDING Today, Africa relies primarily on satellites with few marine cables to provide its international communications. Improvement in Africa’s information technology infrastructure via telecommunication cables will remove one of the current key inhibitors to development in Africa and support economic growth and opportunities on the continent. Installation of the proposed Equiano Cable System