As part of the Angolan government’s ongoing efforts to provide improved basic services, such as water to residents, global engineering, management and specialist technical services provider Aurecon is increasingly becoming involved in projects focused on the reconstruction, rehabilitation and upgrading of Angola’s infrastructure.
Aurecon has drawn on its extensive experience in water engineering and infrastructure to assist the Angolan government in the rehabilitation and upgrading of dams as part of its existing water infrastructure, including the Calueque and Quiminha dams.
Aurecon says that a major challenge is a lack of access to water required for urban and rural human settlement and businesses, as well as for mining, industrial and agricultural development.
Calueque dam is located on the Cunene river, in southern Angola. Construction of the dam started before the country gained independence from Portugal and was not completed by the time the Angolan civil war started in 1975, which significantly devastated the dam.
Quiminha dam, which is in the Bengo province, about 80 km from Angola’s capital city Luanda, is a 41-m-high zoned earth-fill embankment dam with a storage capacity of around 1 560-million cubic meters and was initially constructed to regulate the Bengo river.
A source of water for southern Angola and northern Namibia, through the 1964 Cunene River Scheme Agreement, the dam supplies water for a variety of uses such as domestic,industrial, agricultural and hydropower.
Angolan authority Gabinete para a Administração da Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio Cunene(Gabhic) is responsible for the Kunene River basin and manages this resource together withNamibia. Gabhic appointed Aurecon, in a joint venture with global provider of professional technical and management support services Aecom and engineering services providerViaponte, in 2012, to provide project management services for the rehabilitation of the Calueque dam, including technical assistance for the design review and construction supervision.
Aurecon’s previous work on the Calueque dam includes its appointment by Gabhic to provide rehabilitation design andtender documentation services for the dam and infrastructure. Additional services included tender evaluations and contract negotiations with the successful contractors for this 2005 project.
The current Calueque dam rehabilitation project is expected to be completed by July 2015.
Engineering laboratories Laboratório de Engenharia de Angola appointed Aurecon in September 2013 to carry out a condition assessment and compile tender documentation for the rehabilitation and upgrading of the hydro-mechanical and electrical equipment for the outlet works of the dam.
“Quiminha dam was constructed in the period between 1964 and 1975. The dam was well planned, well designed, constructed to the highest standards and configured with long-term foresight, including provisions being made in one of the 4.5 m diameter outlet tunnels for a future 16 MW hydropower station,” says Aurecon Angola business development leader José Cordeiro.
“We are pleased with our appointments on these two dams. Aurecon is committed to leading the developing world, which means that investing in key areas of opportunity is vital for producing lasting growth. We are committed to Angola and to engineering a better future for its citizens,” says Aurecon West Africa regional manager José Miranda.
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