400 kV Transmission Line Belém do Huambo Substation to Lubango Substation (Angola) EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (ESIA) & RESETTLEMENT ACTION PLAN (RAP) 400 kV Transmission Line Belém do Huambo Substation to Lubango Substation (Angola) ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT (ESIA) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. INTRODUCTION Angola is a country blessed with an abundance of natural resources, particularly as it relates to the energy sector and power sub-sector. The power system was developed over time with the main source being hydropower and this will continue to be the main source of electrical energy in the future supplemented with gas, wind and solar. At present the major generations totalize 4,3 GW, being 55% generated by hydropower plants. One of the goals of the Angola’s National Development Plan is to increase the access to electricity from 36% in 2017 to 50% in 2022. On the other hand, the National Strategy for Climate Change (2018-2030) calls for the transition to a low carbon economy and aims to electrify 60% of the rural population by 2025 and increase access to low-carbon energy in rural areas. The Cuanza River Basin (in the north region) was identified as a key area for development of hydropower generation projects to support Angola’s growth development, with potential to achieve a total of 7000 MW of installed capacity. Two hydropower plants are already located in Cuanza River: Cambambe (960 MW) and Capanda (520 MW) and two others are under construction Laúca (2067 MW) and Caculo Cabaça (2051 MW), with Laúca already generating some power. With all the projects in pipeline it is expected to reach a total installed capacity of 5,4 GW by 2022. It is crucial to have an energy transmission network connecting the whole country, to enable this energy to contribute to the country's development. Currently, the Angolan power system comprises four isolated transmission networks: Northern, Central, Southern and Eastern systems and various isolated off-grid systems. The Angolan transmission utility, RNT (Rede Nacional de Transportes), is implementing a long-term master plan for the national transmission system. One of the main objectives of this plan, is to develop a 400kV backbone network that will ensure the connection of all major new generation plants in an effective way to the grid, to ensure optimized evacuation of power produced and to connect the four defined systems in Angola, contributing to achieve the electrification goals. As part of the backbone, the connection between the North and Centre systems was recently established, through a 400kV line from Laúca to Huambo, which included the construction of a 400/220kV substation at Huambo. The present project aims to continue the backbone implementation, connecting the Central to the South system, with a 400kv line of approximately 350 km, from the Huambo substation until Lubango. It will also include the installation of a new 400kv line bay at the Huambo substation and the construction of a new 400/220kv substation at Lubango. The project is located in the provinces of Huambo (municipalities of Huambo and Caála) and Huila (municipalities of Caconda, Caluquembe, Cacula and Lubango). Executive Summary – ESIA of the Huambo-Lubango 400 kV Transmission Line 1 Figure 1 – Project location In 2015, an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for the Huambo to Lubango 400kV transmission line was carried out by EDP Electricidade de Portugal, with the environmental consultancy companies Sistambi Engenharia e Ambiente, Lda and EDETA, Desenvolvimento, Estudos e Tecnologias Ambientais, Lda (registered as environmental consultants with the Ministry of Environment). The project development process was then interrupted due to lack of funding for its implementation. In 2019, four years after the completion of this ESIA, it became necessary to prepare an addendum to this ESIA. The Addendum aims to update information on the legal and institutional framework, environmental and social conditions and small changes to the project, as well as adjust the study to the environmental and social requirements of the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) Integrated Safeguard System (ISS). The Addendum was prepared by the Angolan environmental consultancy company Holisticos Lda, registered in the Ministry of Environment (MINAMB). The present summary was prepared based on the 2015 ESIA and its Addendum prepared in 2019. 2. PROJECT DESCRIPTION In the scope of the ESIA, environmental and social constraints were mapped, which allowed the definition of a route, avoiding sensitive areas and consequently mitigating environmental and social negative impacts. The main determinants were ecological aspects, current land use, land use planning and socioeconomics, as well as biophysical and urbanistic constraints. The defined route corridor is 800 m wide, allowing for alignment adjustments during the detailed design phase. Therefore, at this phase the alignment is not defined yet and cannot be considered as final. In the following project stage, after alignment definition, a safety area (right-of-way) will be established along the TL line, with 22,5 meters for each side. This area will be used during construction works, for cables Executive Summary – ESIA of the Huambo-Lubango 400 kV Transmission Line 2 stringing and vehicles circulation, and for maintenance works, during operation. As per the Land Law it will be established a servitude of 30 meters per each side of the line, where no land rights can be obtained. In total, approximately 870 towers will be erected with about 400 meters between towers. Each tower will have four cement foundations, occupying permanently an area of 7mx7m, requiring a temporary area of about 25mx25 during construction works. Wherever possible, existing access roads will be used to access the towers sites, however there may be a need to open new access roads during the construction phase. RNT Technical Specification establishes that there shall be a minimum 8 meters vertical distance from the line to buildings or trees. During the detailed design the engineering team, jointly with social and environmental specialists, will seek to find possible solutions that prevent loss of structures and trees. Trees within the safety area must be cleared or pruned, following detailed RNT’s technical specifications aiming to minimize the clearing area and to ensure that the work is carried out safely. The new Lubango 400/220/60 kV substation will be built at about 68 km NE from the city, close to the N280 road to Lubango city, although far from the urban or peri-urban areas. This substation will have about 62.000 m2 area, comprising a control building and external equipment, such as transformers. It will be fenced with access restricted to authorized persons. Three alternative sites for the Lubango substation were considered within a radius of 5km. The site identified in the 2015 ESIA was dismissed because it was allocated in the interim by the provincial government for the future Lubango industrial pole. Two alternative sites were analysed southwards of the road: a first one located in a flatter area than the initial site and without houses, although close to a school and a church, a second one at a bushland area (already modified), with the latter being selected due to less social negative impacts. A number of construction ancillary infra-structures will be required including structures for workers’ accommodation and temporary storage sites for equipment and materials. Considering the length of the transmission line, the need to establish more than one construction camp is foreseen, besides additional camps for the construction of the Lubango substation and installation of a new line bay in the Huambo substation. The number will depend on the number of contractors, who will be responsible to propose its location, to be approved by RNT and local authorities. Additional work areas will include borrow pits to provide aggregates and inert material for construction. These sites are not yet identified and will be selected by the contractor, with the approval of RNT and local authorities and will be subject to the required environmental licensing process. It is estimated that the construction works will take about 30 months and will employ a total of about 400 workers, 60% of which will be local. The number of campsites will depend on the number of involved contractors, which is yet to be defined. 3. INSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK 3.1 Institutional Framework The Ministry of Environment (Ministério do Ambiente – MINAMB) is responsible for the development and coordination of the country’s environmental strategies and policies, promotion of natural resources conservation, environmental awareness and the environmental licensing of activities likely to cause negative environmental and social impacts. MINAMB comprises national directorates and institutions. The responsibility for ESIA falls under the National Directorate for Prevention and Evaluation of Environmental Impacts (Direcção Nacional de Prevenção e Avaliação de Impactes Ambientais – DNPAIA), which consists of two departments, namely the Department of Impact Assessment and Licensing (Departamento de Avaliação de Impactes e Licenciamento) and the Department for Impact Prevention and Audits (Departamento de Prevenção de Impactes e Auditorias). DNPAIA is responsible for the review of ESIA reports and the public consultation at the end of the EIA process (if it is considered necessary). The decision Executive Summary – ESIA of the Huambo-Lubango 400 kV Transmission Line 3 on environmental licensing is based on the ESIA review report prepared by DNPAIA. A review committee is established for each ESIA, comprising representatives of the ministry responsible for licensing the activity, other MINAMB directorates, the environmental provincial cabinet and other relevant institutions for the activity under licensing. It should be noted that environmental licensing of activities throughout the country is centralized in the DNPAIA, creating a huge challenge, given the limited staff and training (mainly on social issues) and the lack of articulation with other ministries responsible for social issues.