MUSINA-MAKHADO SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE DEVELOPMENT FINAL SCOPING REPORT

This Final Scoping Report details the environmental assessment for the southern site of the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Limpopo, South Africa. The proposed development aims to establish a heavy industrial hub focused on energy and metallurgy, including plants for steel, ferrochrome, and thermal power generation. The report identifies significant environmental risks, particularly regarding water scarcity in a semi-arid region, potential biodiversity loss within the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve, and the need for extensive bulk infrastructure. It outlines the regulatory framework, preliminary impact assessments, and a Plan of Study for the subsequent Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) phase.

• The Musina-Makhado SEZ southern site is a Greenfield development covering a designated area of 7,262.691 hectares across eight farms, overlapping the border of the Makhado and Musina local municipalities within the Vhembe District Municipality.
• The proposed industrial complex is designed as a metallurgical and energy cluster. Planned facilities include a coal washery, coking plant, thermal power plant, ferrochrome, ferromanganese, ferrosilicon, steel, stainless steel, and lime plants, as well as a cement plant and refractories plant.
• Water availability is identified as a critical risk factor for the project's success. The total water supply need for the project is estimated at 13,910.5 10k m³ for the 9-year construction period, while permissible surface and groundwater abstraction volumes for the site are estimated at only 0.377 million m³.
• Due to local water scarcity, the project may require sourcing water from Zimbabwe, which would necessitate an international water user agreement. One potential source is the Zhovhe dam on the Mzingwane River.
• The site is located within the Transitional zone of the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve. While it does not traverse any threatened terrestrial ecosystems, it is situated in the Musina Mopane Bushveld, which is the most diverse mopaneveld type in South Africa.
• Preliminary environmental assessments identify several critical concerns, including intrusion into the protected area network, detrimental effects on regional biodiversity assets, large-scale land transformation, and potential increases in pollution pathways.
• The development is expected to have significant positive socio-economic impacts, including the creation of formal employment, skills development, and increased contributions to the national GDP.
• The project is subject to a full Scoping and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, triggered primarily by the clearance of more than 20 hectares of indigenous vegetation (Activity 15 of Listing Notice 2).
• The site is adjacent to the N1 motorway and the R525 road. It is proposed that the intersection of the N1 and R525 be upgraded to a cloverleaf interchange to accommodate increased traffic demand.
• The report identifies a high risk of noise impacts on noise-sensitive land uses (NSD) in an unmitigated situation, recommending buffers of at least 500m to 1000m between industrial activities and NSDs.

APA

Mdungazi, N., & Schoeman, G. (2019). MUSINA-MAKHADO SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE DEVELOPMENT FINAL SCOPING REPORT. Centre for Environmental Rights. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/P17102_REPORTS_1_REV-03-Final-Scoping-Assessment-Report-2019-06-05.pdf?x21779

Chicago

Mdungazi, Nsovo, and Gerhard Schoeman. MUSINA-MAKHADO SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE DEVELOPMENT FINAL SCOPING REPORT. Centre for Environmental Rights, 2019. https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/P17102_REPORTS_1_REV-03-Final-Scoping-Assessment-Report-2019-06-05.pdf?x21779.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mdungazi |first1=Nsovo |last2=Schoeman |first2=Gerhard |title=MUSINA-MAKHADO SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE DEVELOPMENT FINAL SCOPING REPORT |publisher=Centre for Environmental Rights |date=August 2019 |url=https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/P17102_REPORTS_1_REV-03-Final-Scoping-Assessment-Report-2019-06-05.pdf?x21779 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mdungazi2019musinamakhado, author = {Mdungazi, Nsovo and Schoeman, Gerhard}, title = {{MUSINA-MAKHADO SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONE DEVELOPMENT FINAL SCOPING REPORT}}, institution = {Centre for Environmental Rights}, year = {2019}, month = aug, url = {https://cer.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/P17102_REPORTS_1_REV-03-Final-Scoping-Assessment-Report-2019-06-05.pdf?x21779}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }