IFC?s assessment considered the Project?s compliance with environmental requirements, optimization of resource inputs, including energy efficiency and waste minimization practices, as well as the storage and handling of hazardous materials used in the construction and operations of facilities.

Resource Efficiency
The proposed clinker production and cement grinding facilities have been designed for low energy consumption and good emission controls with continuous monitoring of key pollutant emissions (particulate, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide).  The limited amounts of wastewater generated will be treated and used for irrigating greenery around the plants, and no significant amount of solid or hazardous production waste, except for broken cement bags, canteen, office, domestic and laboratory waste, and maintenance wastes (used refractory bricks, lubricants, etc.) will be generated. 

The clinker production plant will consume approximately 375 tons/day or 112,500 tons/yr of coal imported through the port of Matadi.  The coal will be consumed exclusively in the calcining process ? no coal will be used for electricity generation as all electricity required for the plant?s operations will be sourced from the grid. The clinker plant is to be equipped with a five-stage preheater with a pre-calciner having a predicted thermal energy efficiency performance of 740 Kcal/kg of clinker and an electrical power consumption of 65kWh/ton of clinker, which is within industry standards established by the European Union.  The Project?s cement grinding plant will also source its estimated 45kWh/ton of cement from the national grid to power the plant?s three grinding mills and bagging operations. The Company estimates that the combined electricity consumption per ton of bagged cement, including clinker production, grinding, blending and bagging, will be 100 kWh per ton of cement, which compares favorably to an industry standard of up to 105 kWh/ton cement.  

The Project requires the installation of a new 13 km, 220 kV power line from the Kwilu substation to the plant site; this will be done by the public utility company and will not require passing over settlements or sensitive areas. IFC has reviewed this Project component as an associated facility and not identified any critical elements at this stage.  The plant will also be equipped with emergency backup diesel generators. 
 
The plant is based on a dry process with water only needed for cooling purposes, dust suppression on roads, and domestic water usages.  The estimated water consumption is 1200 m3 per day.  This consumption can be met by either deep-well extraction, or from local rivers.  A hydrology and water study is underway for the determination of the best method of sourcing the water needs without causing aquifer drawdown or too low flow in the local river. 
 An interim sewage treatment facility will be installed for the construction camp, while for the operational phase a permanent sewage treatment plant will be constructed to receive wastewater produced by the plant and the staff facilities. The design of the permanent sewage treatment plant is still under consideration, but it will at a minimum treat the wastewater to be suitable for use as greenbelt irrigation or for release to an evaporation pond; in the event that release to a water course is deemed appropriate, it will be designed to meet the World Bank Group EHS Guideline for discharge of wastewater.

Pollution Control
Particulate emissions will be controlled at the quarrying sites and in the general material handling systems by designs requiring minimal material drops during handling and covered conveying systems with bag filters installed at transfer points. Water-based dust suppression will be used where evacuation and filtration systems are not practical, such as road transport within the quarry operations or between the quarry and the crusher located at the plant site.

The plant is located in a non-polluted part of DRC with minimal industrial activities.  The ambient air has therefore been deemed good, and it is not likely to be affected by the plant?s operations within the limits of the World Bank Group EHS Guidelines. Nevertheless an air emissions baseline study in and around the plant will be needed and is included as part of PPC's further preparation process. In addition this study will take into account potential cumulative impacts associated with the other new cement plant also being established in the broader region (though given that the latter is located some 20 km away, this is currently not considered an issue). 

All plant units will have dust control measures installed at all emission points (e.g., bag filters at all emission points, except for the clinker cooler, where ESP filters will be used). These filters are all designed for maximum emissions of 30 mg particulate/Nm3.  

Apart from particulate emissions, other major point source pollutants in the cement manufacturing process are sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, which are related to the operation of the clinker kiln. Sulfur dioxide emissions will be low, as the alkaline conditions in the clinker kiln will result in the absorption of the majority of the sulfur entering the systems either through the raw materials or the fuel. The sulfur dioxide emissions will not exceed the WBG EHS Guidelines value of 400 mg/Nm3.

Formation of nitrogen oxides (NOx) is caused by fuel burning at high temperatures in the kiln. To minimize the formation of nitrogen oxides, the kiln will be operated following advanced combustion principles, including the use of low-NOx burners, which by controlling the flame shape are able to ensure a relative low core flame temperature. By applying these techniques the NOx emissions will be kept below the 600 mg/Nm3, as stipulated in the WBG EHS Guidelines.  PPC will use all efforts to optimize the burner operations and achieve these results within six months of plant commissioning.  An alternative way of lowering the NOx emissions is through the application of Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction (SNCR).  This technology does, however, require a supply of concentrated ammonia, and the transport of concentrated ammonia on the roads of DRC is not considered a safe practice at this time. Should the plant therefore experience difficulties in achieving the 600 mg/Nm3, the first corrective actions will be to explore further burners and staged-combustion optimizations, to be followed by ambient air studies for acceptability of the achieved emissions, and only as a last resort the inclusion of SNCR.

IFC will require PPC to continuously monitor particulate emissions from the plant, namely sulfur oxides (SOx), and nitrogen oxides (NOx), while other pollutants including possible mercury emissions will be tested for at least once per year.  In addition, an ambient air quality monitoring program will be developed and implemented with a specific focus on communities. The results of the monitoring will be included in the Annual Monitoring Report to IFC.

Noise and Vibration
Blasting, stone crushing, and vehicle movement will be the main sources of noise and vibration from the quarry and clinker manufacturing operations. Quarrying operations will be restricted to a two shift operation typically from 6AM to 10PM, and blasting will typically be restricted to one main blasting every fortnight and minor boulder blasting during the week between.  Blastings will be set in sequences that include micro-delays between the blasting of the individual charges thereby reducing the vibrations in the ground. 

Crushing, loading of clinker, and dispatch of trucks will be restricted to a two shift operation typically from 6AM to 10PM.  Apart from the resident workforce, the nearest receptors to operations noise and vibration ? residents of the Zamba village ? are 2 km distant from the site.  As such, no significant adverse impacts from noise or vibration are anticipated on human populations. 

Management of Solid and Hazardous Waste
The solid and hazardous waste generated by clinker plant operations will either be recycled (e.g., used refractory bricks) or disposed. As there is no organized waste handling in the area, disposable waste from the operation and ordinary domestic waste (including damaged cement bags) will be handled by PPC in accordance with the outcome of the ongoing studies to be completed during 2014.  The plant will not have a bleed, and will therefore not produce any waste streams that are in need of disposal. Overburden and top soil from the quarry opening and operation will be stored and reused for quarry reclamation as the quarry operation proceeds where applicable.

Quarry Management and Reclamation
PCC will prepare a quarry management and rehabilitation plan including the following distinct items; a) a tentative full quarry utilization plan including tentative final contours, with overburden and top soil application and vegetation (this plan is to be ready before production usage of the quarry starts); b) an overburden and top soil storage and reapplication plan for the full operational life of the quarry (this plan is also to be ready before the production usage of the quarry starts); c) a five-year rolling quarry management and rehabilitation plans including quarry contours, overburden reapplication and top soil needs, and replanting goals; and d) one-year rolling detailed quarry utilization, contouring, overburden and top soil application plans, including re-vegetation details and targets. These plans are included in the ESAP for the project.

Green House Gas Emissions
PPC plans to produce cement with an average clinker content estimated at 84% with the use of gypsum and limestone as additives. As such, the CO2 emission from PPC?s annual cement production will be around 690 kg/ton cement or a total of 759,000 tons CO2 from annual production of 1.1 million tons of cement. Coal imported via the port of Matadi will be used for firing the clinker kiln as no other fuel source is available to the Company.