Non-Technical Summary Environmental Impact of Laúca Dam Construction Project Kwanza Environmental Development Office Environmental Impact Assessment for the Laúca Dam Construction Project NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY MAY 2013 Non-Technical Summary Environmental Impact of Laúca Dam Construction Project Credits: Title: Environmental Impact Assessment for Laúca Dam Construction Project Client: Kwanza Environmental Development Office (Gabinete de Aproveitamento do Médio Kwanza – GAMEK). Rua do Massangano, s/n, Luanda. Telephone: +244-222-445072 / 222-675801; Fax: +244-222-447973 http://www.gamek.com Consultants: Holísticos, Lda. – Serviços, Estudos & Consultoria. Rua 60, Casa 559, Urbanização Harmonia, Benfica, Luanda. Telephone: 222 006938; Fax: 222 006435 Email: [email protected] www.holisticos.co.ao Intertechne Consultores, S.A. Av. João Gualberto, 1259, 16º andar – Alto da Glória. CEP 80030-001 Curitiba – Paraná – Brazil Telephone: +55(41)3219-7200; Fax: +55(41)3219-7848 Email: [email protected] Date: May 2013. Non-Technical Summary Environmental Impact of Laúca Dam Construction Project 1. INTRODUCTION This document provides the Non-Technical Summary (Resumo Não Técnico – RNT) of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Laúca Dam Construction Project. The document was prepared pursuant to the applicable laws, specifically Decree No. 51/04, dated July 23, governing the requirements for development of Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) for all projects capable of generating environmental impacts. Odebrecht contracted Holísticos – Serviços, Estudos e Consultoria, Lda. and Intertechne – Consultores S.A. for purposes of preparing the project study. From 2007-2009, the two firms developed a document on the Laúca Hydroelectric Unit based on an original study titled Caculo- Cabaca. As part of the project, in 2012 the partnership issued an EIA report on Diversion of the Kwanza River, which was submitted to the Ministry of the Environment on January 21, 2013. The dam construction EIA was founded on previous studies and included updated information and technical confirmation of the respective data. This updated report encompasses, in addition, a bibliographic survey and new field studies centered on social aspects of the project. The EIA was prepared for the Kwanza Environmental Development Office (Gabinete de Aproveitamento do Médio Kwanza – GAMEK) in its status as project sponsor. GAMEK is a component body of the Ministry of Energy and Water and has a separate legal personality and administrative and financial independence. The nature and purpose of GAMEK are specified in its Institutional Bylaws (Estatuto Orgânico), as approved by Joint Directive (Despacho Conjunto) No. 14/86, dated March 17, 1986. This document was prepared for the purposes of laying out the key issues relating to the Laúca Dam construction project in the Middle Kwanza Basin, specification of the objectives of the Environmental Impact Assessment, and justification of project. The document also examines the location of the project and the scope of the environmental impact assessment. 2. JUSTIFICATION Angola’s long conflict generated profound economic and social disruptions, severely destabilizing key public service sectors, including the energy sector. The Government of Angola has made rebuilding of the domestic infrastructure damaged during the conflict a priority. The growth of gross domestic product and the expansion of non-oil producing economic activities, including farming, civil construction, commerce, and manufacturing has led to a significant increase in energy demand in the country, in addition to a rise in demand by individual consumers, a product of the growth of urban centers, which continue to be subject continuous supply interruptions. According to the Ministry of Industry (2005), nearly 90% of all businesses in Angola have a generator to meet their in-house energy demands and counter the problem of unpredictable energy availability and inadequate supply. Non-Technical Summary Environmental Impact of Laúca Dam Construction Project Hydroelectric power generation is considered sustainable and clean and is the most widely employed method in Angola. The Kwanza River Basin has the largest power generation capacity among Angola’s 48 river basins. Currently 700 MW are produced at the two hydroelectric plants that supply the North System, the Cambambe Hydroelectric Unit, with an installed capacity of 180 MW, and the Capanda Hydroelectric Unit, which generates 530 MW. The electric power and water sector investment Program sets out the 2016 targets established by the Ministry of Energy and Water: • Per capita Increase in Consumption: The key target to be met by late 2016 involves the implementation of a production capacity of 7,000 MW, or 95,000 GWh, based primarily on renewable sources, with a view to ensuring per capita consumption of 4,000 kWh; • Increase in the number of household connections and access points, estimated at 2 million; • Interconnection of all isolated systems and establishment of the National Energy Transport Network (Rede Nacional de Transporte de Energia); • Increase in the use of new and renewable energy sources (wind and solar) as a share of the Angolan energy grid, set at 1.5%. Among the objectives of the Long-Term Development Strategy, Angola 2025 (Estratégia de Desenvolvimento a Longo Prazo, Angola 2025), is ensuring the efficient and integrated use of all energy sources in the Angolan energy grid to foster sustainable development and promoting the increased adoption of renewable natural energy sources and energy self-sufficiency throughout the country. In addition, the Angolan government has proposed a set of strategic recommendations for energy generation to promote sustainable development. Based on the information above and given the country’s energy needs, the government’s incentives to the production of clean energy through construction of the Láuca Dam is fully consistent with its strategic proposals, a project which is certain to provide the country with innumerable benefits in energy generation and distribution. 3. LOCATION The project site is located in the North System’s power generation and distribution area, part of Angola’s largest river basin with remaining available potential for the implementation of additional hydroelectric units. The dam will be built on the Malanje, Kwanza Norte, and Kwanza Sul provincial boundaries in the Middle Kwanza River Basin (Km 307.5), approximately 47 km downstream from the Capanda Hydroelectric Unit, near Nhangue Ya Pepe (Figure 1 – Non-Technical Summary). The project site is reached via the principal Access Road. The access road runs approximately 7 km from the main highway (Figure 2 – Non-Technical Summary). Non-Technical Summary Environmental Impact of Laúca Dam Construction Project Figure 1 – Non-Technical Summary: Geographic location of Laúca Dam. Legend Mapa de Localização = Location Map Legenda = Legend Capital Nacional = National Capital Cidades = Cities Limite de Província = Provincial Boundary Rios = Rivers AHE Laúca = Laúca Hydroelectric Unit Estradas = Highways Estradas Terraplenadas = Unpaved Roads Non-Technical Summary Environmental Impact of Laúca Dam Construction Project Figure 2 – Non-Technical Summary: Detailed view of access roads to Dam and project site. Legend: TABELA DE DISTÂNCIAS = TABLE OF DISTANCES ACESSOS DEFINITIVOS = PERMANENT ACCESS ROADS LARGURA = WIDTH EM FASEDE OBRA = UNDER CONSTRUCTION Subtotal = Subtotal ACESSOS PROVISÓRIOS = TEMPORARY ACCESS ROADS LARGURA = WIDTH Subtotal = Subtotal TRECHO ASFALTADO = PAVED SECTION ESTALEIRO = CONSTRUCTION SITE BOTA FORA = WASTE DISPOSAL SITE SUBESTAÇÃO = SUBSTATION ESTOQUE ROCHA GINAISE = GNEISS GRANIT DEPOT ESTOQUE ROCHA ARENITO/SILIFICADO= SANDSTONE/SILICIFIED ROCK DEPOT OMBREIRA ESQUERDA = LEFT ABUTMENT MBREIRA DIRITA = RIGHT ABUTMENT Rio Kwanza= Kwanza River Non-Technical Summary Environmental Impact of Laúca Dam Construction Project NOTAS = NOTES OS ESTUDOS AQUIR APRESENTADOS SÃO PRELIMINARES E PODERÃO SOFRER ALTERAÇÕES DURANTE O PROJETO EXECUTIVO ↓ THE STUDIES PRESENTED HEREIN ARE PRELIMINARY AND MAY BE AMENDED DURING PREPARATION OF THE EXECUTIVE PROJECT Documentos de Referência = Reference Documents AH – LAÚCA = LAÚCA HYDROELECTRIC UNIT ESTUDO OBRA PRINCIPAL = PRINCIPAL PROJECT STUDY GERAL = GENERAL ACESSOS PROVISÓRIOS E DEFINITIVOS = TEMPORARY AND PERMANENT ACCESS ROADS ARRANJO GERAL = GENERAL LAYOUT [remaining text unreadable] 4. PROJECT OBJECTIVES AND DESCRIPTION The purpose of the project is the construction of a dam for the Laúca hydroelectric unit. To this end, open-air and underground construction work will be required. The hydroelectric unit will be implemented along a stretch of the Kwanza River Valley in which the river’s course is significantly embedded, forming a “Z” shape configuration marked by a natural slope of 100 m distributed along a two (2) km extension. Figure 3 – Non-Technical Summary lays out the general schematic of the construction work. The construction work provides for closing off the valley with a compacted concrete cylinder dam rising 132 m with a crest extension of approximately 1,100 m, built under cofferdams running across the river bed. Deviation and control of the river will be accomplished through construction of two (2) tunnels excavated on the right abutment. The tunnels will be equipped with concrete control structures and closing devices composed of three (3) gates each. As mentioned above, the tunnels are under construction and a corresponding EIA