Working in collaboration with colleagues from the United Kingdom and Kazakhstan offices, the South African team was appointed to undertake a noise impact assessment (NIA) for a proposed hot briquetted iron facility in Central Asia. The client faced two pressing challenges: understanding the ambient noise impact of the facility on surrounding communities and determining whether the proposed noise abatement technologies would be effective in practice.
SRK’s involvement provided clarity and confidence at a critical stage of project development. By engaging closely with the client’s team, the work included a development of a comprehensive acoustic inventory of potential noise sources associated with the facility. This inventory included both unmitigated and mitigated sound power levels, allowing the client to clearly see the difference that abatement measures could make. Importantly, the efficiency of each proposed noise control technology was assessed to ensure that design decisions were based on realistic performance expectations rather than theoretical assumptions.
To translate technical data into actionable insight, SRK conducted advanced environmental acoustic modelling using SoundPLAN (v5.1). The modelling accounted for site-specific factors such as building geometry, topography, and equipment-specific sound power levels, as well as the complex phenomena of sound reflection and diffraction. This enabled the simulation of operational scenarios and prediction of the spatial extent of noise impacts with precision.
GIS mapping software was then used to generate clear graphical representations of sound pressure levels across the surrounding area. These maps provided an intuitive understanding of how noise would propagate from the facility, and how mitigation measures would reduce impacts. The assessment was designed to comply with national laws and international standards, including the World Bank Group’s Environmental, Health, and Safety Guidelines and International Finance Corporation Performance Standards.
By directly addressing the client’s concerns, the NIA gave the project team confidence the facility design could meet environmental standards while maintaining operational efficiency. In doing so, the client was able to move forward with a technically robust and commercially viable project design from a noise management perspective.
This case study demonstrates how advanced acoustic modelling can support project development by informing design decisions and contributing to broader assessment and engineering studies as projects advance.
