SONANGOL UNIVERSO
Universo www.universo-magazine.com
SEPTEMBER 2013
MUTUAL BENEFITS: Angola’s China links
ON TRACK FOR SUCCESS: The Lobito Corridor
ROOM FOR GROWTH: Sonangol in Asia
Angola wins Biennale gold ISSUE 39 – SEPTEMBER 2013
INSIDE:
oil and gas news
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Universo is the international magazine of Sonangol Board Members Francisco de Lemos José Maria (President), Anabela Soares de Brito da Fonseca, Ana Joaquina Van-Dúnem Alves da Costa, Fernandes Gaspar Bernardo Mateus, Fernando Joaquim Roberto, Mateus Sebastião Francisco Neto, Paulino Fernando Carvalho Jerónimo Sonangol Department for Communication & Image Director Mateus Cristovão Benza Corporate Communications Assistants Nadiejda Santos, Lúcio Santos, Sarissari Diniz, José Mota, Beatriz Silva, Paula Almeida, Sandra Teixeira, Marta Sousa, Hélder Sirgado, Kimesso Kissoka Publisher: Sheila O’Callaghan Editor: John Kolodziejski Managing Editor: Mauro Perillo Art Director: Tony Hill Sub Editor: Ron Gribble Proofreading: Gail Nelson-Bonebrake Production Manager: Matthew Alexander Production Assistant: Sebnem Brown Project Consultant: Nathalie MacCarthy Group President: John Charles Gasser Universo is produced by Impact Media Custom Publishing. The views expressed in the publication are not necessarily those of Sonangol or the publishers. Reproduction in whole or in part without prior permission is prohibited. This magazine is distributed to a closed circulation. To receive a free copy: circulation@universo-magazine.com Circulation: 15,000
Davenport House 16 Pepper Street London E14 9RP United Kingdom Tel + 44 20 7510 9595 Fax +44 20 7510 9596 sonangol@impact-media.com www.universo-magazine.com www.sonangol.co.ao hld.gci@sonangol.co.ao Cover: Getty Images
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Angola’s Chinese signs of success
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hina’s huge contribution to Angola’s development over the past ten years is evident. In this third decade since diplomatic relations were established, a drive along any of Luanda’s major roads and into the countryside beyond reveals China’s industrious presence. Ideogram signposts and huge convoys of construction trucks with Chinese drivers are common sights. Downtown city skyscrapers, numerous suburban residential blocks and leafy condominiums, highways, bridges and railways are just some of the many fruits of Chinese-Angolan collaboration. However, all these advancements are likely to be just the prelude to the progress and prosperity to come. The infrastructure now in place is a scenesetter for the development of Angola’s rich agricultural and mining resources and, via the Lobito Corridor, those of its African neighbours too. As João Garcia Bires, Angola’s ambassador to China, points out (on page 14) the results of China’s contribution to Angola are plain to see. The prospects of much more to come are on the way. Watch this space. John Kolodziejski Editor
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ANGOLA NEWS BRIEFING
Prince Harry visits Angola; M’banza Kongo heritage status change;
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Contents $1.4 billion investment boost; Hub role for Angola; Angola and United States mark 20 years of diplomatic ties; Angola basketball player in Hall of Fame; Bank sees 8.2% growth this year
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ANGOLA-CHINA: MUTUAL BENEFITS
Angola and China celebrate 30 years of diplomatic relations this year.
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16 VENICE BIENNALE: A ROARING SUCCESS
Angola walks away with the prizes at its début appearance at the
Beyond Entropy Press Office
We survey the many facets and future of this dynamic collaboration
Venice arts festival
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ROUTES TO RICHES: THE LOBITO CORRIDOR
Transport corridors are forming across Africa to integrate and develop
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32
Africa’s sun is an asset now being seriously considered as a source
MAKING ANGOLA GREENER
Peter Moeller
economies. The one originating at Lobito is on the cusp of completion
of energy. We look at some projects leading the way
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Angola prepares to host Africa’s first roller hockey world cup
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SONANGOL NEWS BRIEFING
Fairs fair; Sonangol Schlesser win again; Waste management; Sonatrach
FINALS PREPARATION: HOCKEY ANGOLA
Abengoa Solar
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cooperation; PSVM oil peaks early; PetroVietnam talks; Angola LNG; Sonangol accounts approved; Total Angola to launch CLOV
The data centre will meet the needs of the growing domestic market
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43 NEW DATA CENTRE FOR MSTELCOM for date centre services
44 REACHING OUT TO ASIA FROM SONANGOL’S SINGAPORE OFFICE
As Sonangol’s Asian subsidiary celebrates its 10th birthday, we take a look at the work of the Singapore-based office
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Angola news briefing Prince Harry visits Angola
HALO Trust
■ Britain’s Prince Harry
visited Angola to see mine clearance work in August. He was in the country to mark the 25th anniversary appeal for the work of the HALO Trust charity, an organisation supported by his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales. The prince toured the once densely-mined town of Cuito Cuanavale, a scene of heavy fighting during Angola’s 19752002 civil war.
$1.4 billion investment boost ■ Angola’s National Agency for Private Investment
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(ANIP) finalised 24 investment contracts with local and foreign companies worth $1.4 billion in July. ANIP’s chief executive Maria Luísa Abrantes signed the agreements, mostly linked to the industrial sector, services and civil engineering, with companies from countries including Portugal, Sierra Leone, Holland, Kenya, China, India, Denmark and the Virgin Islands.
M’banza Kongo heritage status change ■ The Angolan government designated M’banza
Kongo a National Cultural Heritage city in June. The change in the Zaire province’s capital status is a means of preparing the way to have it listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. M’banza Kongo aims to recover the greatness of its past by rebuilding and modernising its infrastructures. Founded some time before the arrival of the Portuguese, the city was the capital of the dynasty ruling at that time (1483). Temporarily abandoned during civil wars in the 17th century, the site lies close to Angola’s border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Hub role for Angola ■ Angola is aiming to become an internet and technology hub for Africa within
two years, says Angola Cables’ sales and marketing director Artur Mendes. With this in mind, Mendes says the country has two projects underway – a fibre optic link connecting Angola and South America, and from there to North America. Fibre optic cable already connects Europe and and South Africa, but Angola’s intention is to be independent of other African countries for telecommunications, internet as well as voice and video data. Mendes believes the country must have its own cable links to all other continents to act as a hub for Africa.
Angola and United States mark 20 years of diplomatic ties ■ Angola and the United States celebrated the 20th anniversary of the
establishment of diplomatic relations in May. Georges Chikoti, Angolan Minister for Foreign Affairs, highlighted the need for new impetus toward trade agreements between the two countries so that the world’s greatest economic power can contribute more to boosting Angola’s multifaceted development. The two countries have been strengthening relations since the 1990s, especially in oil exploration and trade, as well as in education. In the health sector in particular, the United States has invested thousands of dollars to combat malaria and HIV-Aids.
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Angola news briefing
Bank sees 8.2% growth this year ■ The African Development Bank
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(AfDB) predicts Angola’s economic growth will reach 8.2% in 2013. The AfDB says the oil and gas sector and a public-spending programme designed to encourage economic diversification are driving the expansion. However, the AfDB sees Angola’s GDP declining to 7.8% in 2014. Meanwhile, the structure of Angola’s GDP is changing. Kiala Gabriel, Secretary of State for Industry, says manufacturing contributed 6.5% to Angolan GDP in 2012 but anticipate that this share will rise to 10% by 2017. Despite this good news, Gabriel believes there is still much to be done before industrial production meets the needs of the domestic market in several areas of consumption.
Angola basketball player in Hall of Fame ■ Former Angolan basketball player Jean Jacques da Conceição has been nominated
for the International Basketball Federation’s Hall of Fame. He said the honour was a victory for the Angolan people since it represented the recognition of everything the country had done for the development of the sport. “I am happy for the recognition, but the country should be even happier because it is our flag that is going to be hoisted in the spot,” he said. Besides Angola, Conceição played for Benfica and Portugal Telecom in Portugal, France’s Limoges and Spain’s Unicaja Málaga.
FIGURED OUT
Angola in numbers
$1.4 billion
investment contracts in Angola signed in July
160,000m3
of Angolan liquefied natural gas in first export cargo
$14.5 billion Chinese credit lines granted to Angola
1,343km
Benguela Railway nears completion
2.5 billion
potential Sonangol oil users in China and India
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INTERNATIONAL
ANGOLA-CHINA:
MUTUAL
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BENEFITS
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Beijing at night
Responsible for a large range of projects that have set Angola on the road to greater prosperity, China is Angola’s largest oil customer and its most important business partner. Universo looks at this fruitful relationship
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hina needs natural resources and Angola wants development, said President José Eduardo dos Santos during a visit by China’s then Prime Minister Wen Jiabao to Luanda in 2006. It’s a recipe for a perfect partnership. China and Angola celebrated 30 years of diplomatic relations this year, but only in the last decade have economic relations truly bloomed. Speaking at an anniversary event, Angola’s ambassador to China, João Garcia Bires, said this co-operation has allowed Angola to become a more modern country. Trade drives the China-Angola relationship. Angola is China’s largest individual supplier of oil, and, in exchange, the Far Eastern giant pays for part of the oil by financing and undertaking some of Angola’s infrastructure development projects. According to Bires, Chinese loans offered without conditions and repayable
over long periods kick-started Angola’s vast programme of reconstruction, allowing the country to overcome the effects of war. China has lent Angola more than $14.5 billion to fund large infrastructure projects, says former Chinese ambassador to Angola Zhang Bolun. Funds are released on a project-by-project basis. The main credit channels are Export-Import Bank of China, the China Development Bank and the China International Fund. Ambassador Bires says the results of Angola’s close ties with China “are plain to see”. Indeed the most visible signs of China’s presence is in Angola’s urban landscape where its companies have built skyscrapers, huge suburbs and even a fullsized town at Kilamba Kiaxi. However, China’s largest impact is on Angola’s infrastructure, and this is where it is proving to be the driving force behind the country’s economic rebirth.
Angola’s largest trading partner Business between the two countries rose from $1 billion in 2002 to $25.3 billion in 2008 when China became Angola’s largest trading partner, overtaking the United States which had been Angola’s main oil customer for practically the entire postindependence period. Angola became one of China’s biggest trading partners in Africa in 2006, and these exchanges were worth over $33 billion by 2012. “Co-operation has reached its best point because there is mutual political trust, with notable economic and trade development,” said Gao Kexiang, the current Chinese ambassador to Angola, after a meeting with Angola’s VicePresident Manuel Domingos Vicente in November 2012. The ambassador added that both sides were assessing other great business opportunities.
China’s role in Angola
Mark Clydesdale BZO
According to the Chinese embassy in Angola, there are currently more than 450 Chinese state and private companies involved in the construction or reconstruction of housing, ports, railways, roads and other facilities. These include arge Chinese multinational companies such as the China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC), the China Railway Corporation and Huawei. China has played a major part in rebuilding and expanding Angola’s road network. Chinese workers can be seen throughout the country showing a remarkable work ethic, undaunted by searing temperatures. Angola has been completing the reconstruction of 13,000km of highways in the period 2008-2013.
Key data
Population
GDP
Land area
Oil output
Angola
18.5 million
$118.7 billion (2012)
1.3 million km2
1.75 mbd
China
1.35 billion
$8.23 trillion (2012)
9.6 million km2
4.2 mbd
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INTERNATIONAL Chinese-built housing in Luanda
CITIC and housing One of China’s most visible companies operating in Angola is CITIC. Its high profile stems from its involvement in the residential building sector. The company was responsible for the giant Kilamba Kiaxi housing development in Luanda’s suburbs. Kilamba Kiaxi has 710 blocks, contains some 20,000 flats and will eventually house 485,000 people. It is self-contained and has its own shops, schools and health centres. The first stage of the project was completed in just over three years and, at $3.5 billion, was the biggest-budget Chinese project overseas. CITIC is also participating in a project to build 100,000 homes in ten provinces, its chief executive Chang Zhenming said in April 2013. Half the dwellings have already received finance. The new homes will be in the municipalities of Cabinda,
Angola-China trade US$ billions
Exports: Angola to China
Imports: China to Angola
Total
2003 2.206
0.146 2.352
2004 4.717
0.194 4.911
2005 6.582
0.373 6.955
2006 10.933
0.894 11.827
2007 12.889
1.231 14.120
2008 22.382
2.930 25.311
2009 14.676
2.386 17.062
2010 20.820
1.418 22.238
2011 24.300
1.541 25.841
2012 29.400
4.000 33.400
Sources: China’s Ministry of Trade and from 2010 Banco Nacional de Angola
Camama Stadium, Luanda, built by Shanghai Urban Construction Group
SEPTEMBER 2013 9 Brazuk
The Chinese have also delivered turnkey projects in water supply and irrigation, electrification, bridge building, hospitals, schools and colleges. The China Railway Company (CR-20) has completely revamped Angola’s three east-west railways, supplying locomotives and rolling stock and building attractive new stations. Chinese companies are active in other areas in Angola, especially where speedy delivery to tight deadlines is essential. For the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations football tournament, Chinese firms built three major sports stadia: the nest-like $226 million Camama stadium in Luanda (Shanghai Urban Construction Group); the $116 million Ombaka Stadium in Benguela (Sinohydro); and another $116 million stadium in Chiazi, Cabinda (China Jiangsu International).
INTERNATIONAL
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The raw power of the world's biggest dam: China's Three Gorges
Three Gorges locks: scaling the 185-metre dam
Soyo, M’banza Kongo, Benguela, Namibe, Lubango, Luanda, Zango and Belas, as well as in Kuando Kubango, Lunda Norte and Lunda Sul.
China Railway 20 Bureau Group Corporation (CR-20) China’s CR-20 completed the 424km Luanda-Malange Railway (CFL) in 2010 and has since then largely completed the 907km Namibe-Menongue Railway (CFM) in the south of the country. China contributed $300 million in 2006 to begin refurbishment of the Benguela Railway (CFB). This key railway is currently operational along most of its 1,343km
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length and reached the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo on August 13 this year. The entire project is expected to cost more than $1.5 billion. The CFB and CFM railways are almost ready to again transport copper, iron ore and manganese deposits, a traffic not seen since the 1970s. Angola has plans to build new branch lines and connecting lines between the three main rail routes, and China is likely to be a strong contender for new contracts.
Sinohydro The importance of China’s Sinohydro in global engineering circles is the result of its work at home on the world’s largest dam,
the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River, with an output of 22,500MW, more than 90 times the size of Capanda, Angola’s largest dam. Sinohydro’s dam work in Angola, however, is on a much smaller scale and is designed for irrigation rather than power generation. The company worked on a number of China Exim Bank projects, developing and rebuilding farming areas at Caxito, Gangelas, Luena and WakoKungo from 2007 to 2010, and contributes to irrigating around 32,000 hectares. Sinohydro, like several large Chinese companies, has many arrows in its quiver, and in Benguela it built the 35,000-capacity
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INTERNATIONAL
In 2006 China's then Prime Minister Wen Jiabao visits President José Eduardo dos Santos in Luanda
“Co-operation has reached its best point because there is mutual political trust” – Gao Kexiang, China's ambassador to Angola
Ombaka Stadium. It has also refurbished airports at Luena and Saurimo, while at Kuito in Bié province the company built a water supply system for the 400,000 habitants. The Chinese construction giant has also built hospitals at Lubango (590 beds), Benguela and Huambo (410 beds each) and Namibe (79).
CAMCE The China CAMC Engineering Co. Ltd (CAMCE), a state-owned enterprise in Angola since 2004, signed a $168 million agricultural co-operation contract with Angola’s Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries in April 2013.
The contract includes cultivating 5,000 hectares with soya and maize and also supplying processing plants at Camacupa, Bié province, at a cost of $88 million. Elsewhere, another $79 million will be spent on farming 2,960 hectares. CAMCE will provide irrigation works, farm machines, storage and farm technology training. The company is also developing a $76 million rice farm project at Cuito Cuanavale in Kuando Kubango province. The Longa Agro-Industrial Farm project was agreed in 2010 and is financed by the China Development Bank. The experimental phase of the project will assess the capacity for rice production
in an area of 1,500 hectares of irrigated land in two harvests a year. CAMCE expects the project will produce 15,000 tons of rice over 60 months, using water from the Longa River.
China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) CRBC was the first Chinese corporation in infrastructure rebuilding to enter Angola back in 2004. CRBC has many large-scale projects under its belt such as the $29 million, 808-metre River Cunene Bridge and the $47 million contract for 108km of Highway 211 between Ondjiva and Xangongo. Both were completed in June 2009.
SEPTEMBER 2013 11
Angola’s new parliament takes shape
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China has the world's longest high-speed rail network
Malocha
INTERNATIONAL
One of Huawei Global Headquarters
In May 2011, CRBC’s $3 million, 44metre bridge over the Mponzo River on Highway 210 between Luanda and Mbanza Congo was inaugurated. CRBC has also built roads and bridges in Uíge (117km of Highway 220) and other provinces.
Huawei China’s giant Huawei corporation, the world’s largest maker of telecommunications equipment, is enjoying a successful partnership with Angolan mobile phone operator Unitel. It supplies Unitel’s 8 million clients with state-of-the-art fibre optic transport
technology and other equipment. Unitel is a leading mobile operator and has the largest and most advanced mobile broadband network in Angola.
ZTE Another Chinese telecommunications major, ZTE Corporation (formerly Zhongxing Semiconductor Co. Ltd and Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment), is partnering Angola’s Movicel in a $1 billion upgrade of its system. It has already introduced a 4G mobile phone network that gives Angola a faster communications system than
Luanda's new Chinese-built airport will handle 13 million passengers a year
Major Chinese companies active in Angola CITIC CAMCE ZTE
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Sinohydro
CIF
CR20
CMEC
Jiangsu International
CRBC
COVEC
Huawei
CWE
Sinosteel Sinopec
INTERNATIONAL
Luanda’s new city satellite: Kilamba Kiaxi
many developed countries. Movicel has 3 million subscribers.
China International Fund Limited (CIF) CIF is building Luanda’s new international airport, located 30km from the city. China is financing the project at a cost of $450 million. The airport will have two double runways and the capacity to handle over 13 million passengers and 35,000 tonnes of freight. CIF has also rebuilt the 498km coastal highway from Luanda to Lobito and 1,107km of the road between Malange, Saurimo, Dundo and Luena in eastern Angola. The company has built three major logistics centres in Luanda, Benguela and Namibe. It also has a fleet of 25 ships to carry construction materials to Angola. CIF built its own iconic head office in Luanda, which for many years has given Luandans an impressive LED light show. The company is also developing Angola’s national administration complex in Luanda, which includes a presidential palace, parliament, a supreme court, ministries and museums. The bright red parliament building with its distinctive dome reminiscent of Washington’s Capitol Building is now largely complete and has become a new landmark for Luanda. p
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INTERNATIONAL
Interview with João Garcia Bires, Angola’s ambassador to China
Education and training are going to be necessary for the maintenance of new infrastructures. What is the role of China in this area? The People’s Republic of China has been one of the partners in the training of specialists with a university education for my country. Annually, apart from receiving scholarship students through INABE [The National Institute for Scholarships], a body linked to the Ministry of Higher Education, it also accepts Angolan students that compete for grants given exclusively by the Chinese government. Thus, little by little, the specialists of tomorrow will be able to handle the equipment coming from China and other countries, and at the same time be faithful spreaders of the Chinese language in Angola. It is also our certainty that from among them will come those who will have a role in developing technical and scientific products with the label Made in Angola.
Macaulink
Much basic infrastructure in Angola has been built thanks to Chinese co-operation: highways, railways, water supply systems, airports and homes. What are the future areas of bilateral co-operation? The new areas of co-operation could be in farming, animal rearing, mineral exploration and ornamental stones. In agriculture we would like to develop small and medium-sized processing industries, taking into account that in our soil produce of excellent quality grows. As well as supplying the domestic market and improving our people’s diet, this is also exportable. China has much experience in rearing, breeding and improving animal stock. So, equally, it is in our interest to learn this subject and aquaculture [the farming of fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants]. Mining and ornamental stones are other areas that we can jointly exploit. The international market knows these products very well and values them. It is up to both parties to prioritise the areas and simultaneously train specialists that may in a rational way exploit farming and mineral resources.
“The help China has given our country has served as a starting point, so that Angola might occupy a leading
A decade ago it was difficult to imagine the great changes in Angola, but thanks to Chinese co-operation the country is seen in a different light. What does the ambassador expect from this collaboration and what impact will it have on the Angolan economy over the next five to ten years? The help China has given our country has served as a starting point, so that Angola might occupy a leading position in various areas. This
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position in various areas” help has marked and opened stages of development and that is why China is today our strategic partner. Our vision of increasingly diversifying the areas of co-operation, seeking other facilities and training increasing numbers of specialists, be it in Angola or in China, is a continuous task. Another aspect is that the country may grow and ensure its (economic) independence. Today, above all, it is necessary to consolidate the macro and micro economy. The rhythm and the index of our growth shows signs that we are on the right path and that is why, within five or ten years, we believe we will have a modern Angola. This struggle isn’t easy; we are counting on collaboration with China.
INTERNATIONAL
Chinese inventions China is particularly proud of four inventions: Compass
(221-206 BC)
Modern paper
(105 AD)
Movable type
(960-1279 AD)
Gunpowder
(1044 AD)
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Source: Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding
CULTURE
VENICE BIENNALE:
A ROARING
SUCCESS Defying the odds, first-time participant Angola won the Golden Lion for best pavilion at the 55th edition of the Venice Biennale By Lula Ahrens
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Beyond Entropy Press Office
SEPTEMBER 2013 17
CULTURE
T
he press cameras flashed on Angolan photographer Edson Chagas at the Venice Biennale, the world’s most prestigious art event, as Angola carried off the Golden Lion main prize on its début appearance. The exhibition Luanda, Encyclopaedic City (June 1 – November 24) features Found Not Taken, Chagas’ series of photographic posters of the Angolan capital. His images contrast sharply with the lavish decorations and furniture in the background of the 16th-century Cini Palace, which houses the Angolan pavilion exhibition. Angola’s Golden Lion award underlines the country’s growing prestige in international artistic circles. A five-woman jury which included Africa’s Bisi Silva, curator and founding director of the Centre for Contemporary Art in Lagos, Nigeria, judged the competition. Angola became the first sub-Saharan African nation to win the Golden Lion for best country participation, the biennale’s highest achievable honour, despite rumours the previous week that France, Germany, Denmark, Lithuania
and Romania were the favourites. “It was a complete surprise. We were competing against 88 countries, countries with a tradition at the biennale, with big budgets and big artists,” curator and architect Paula Nascimento told Universo. “This clearly is Angola’s greatest artistic achievement to date.” Nascimento, director of international architectural agency Beyond Entropy, curated the Angolan pavilion together with the agency’s founder Stefano Rabolli Pansera and artist Jorge Gumbe. “The biennale has been very good for Angolan artists. It increases sales of their works and their chances of holding exhibitions abroad,” says Gumbe. Nascimento and Pansera also curated the Angola Pavilion at the 13th International Architecture Exhibition, Venice Biennale in 2012. Angola’s Ministry of Culture commissioned and supported the country’s contribution to this year’s biennale while Angolan banks BAI and Banco Privado Atlântico and insurance company ENSA sponsored the pavilion.
Encyclopaedic Luanda The Angolan collection, spread over two floors in the Cini Palace, forms part of Massimiliano Gioni’s flagship exhibition The Encyclopaedic Palace. Curators Nascimento and Pansera purposefully chose the palace, which is filled to the brim with early Renaissance art and furniture, to exhibit Chagas’ work in the form of 23 mass-produced posters. The posters contain uncaptioned photographs of doorways and discarded objects in Luanda. Central to Chagas’ work is a reflection on how images are used to shape the way people experience the Angolan capital, his home city. “The initial idea was to exhibit several Angolan photographers’ work, but when we saw Edson Chagas’ Found Not Taken series we decided to work exclusively with him,” says curator Nascimento. “His work reveals the urban complexity of Luanda without clichés.” In Found Not Taken, Chagas relocates thrown-away, broken and abandoned objects within the urban context. Each object transforms the context where it is
What is the Venice Biennale? Around 150 artists representing 88 countries are taking part in the Venice Biennale, which has been held every two years for the past 118 years. Since its foundation in 1895, it has been the arena where the elite of the art world have wrestled for international attention and recognition. Some people describe it as ‘the Art Olympics’ as there is such a strong element of competition. As in other international exhibitions, each country sets up its own national pavilion. The 55th biennale’s inspirational theme is the Encyclopaedic Palace. This was the utopian dream of Italy’s Marino Auriti for a 136-storey building in Washington that would house the world’s entire knowledge. Auriti tried to patent the idea in 1955. The 2013 biennale aims to replicate this accumulation of knowledge in the artistic world and, according to biennale president Paolo Baratta, focus “on the intensity of the relationship between the work of art and
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the viewer who seeks in art the emotion of dialoguing with the work... a desire to go beyond. This is what is expected from art.” Edson Chagas’ work certainly creates an intense dialogue between viewer and work of art. “While growing up in Luanda, everything was reutilised, and it was special to me to see how the habits of consumerism were changing,” he says. “I would find old sofas, washing machines and chairs; those were the most common, but other objects too. It was always about the object and how it interacted with the space around it and also what I felt when I looked at it. It was a learning process of the city, its people and its rhythm.” Biennale artistic director Massimiliano Gioni says artists, writers, scientists and self-proclaimed prophets have tried, often in vain, to fashion an image of the world that captures its infinite variety and richness. “Today, as we grapple with a constant flood of information, such attempts seem even more necessary.”
CULTURE
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Edson Chagas with the coveted Golden Lion main prize
View of Venice during the Biennale
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CULTURE
Babylon by Joana Vasconcelos is displayed at the Biennale’s parallel glass-based art event, Glasstress 2013
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Visitors admire the Swarovski installation Perspective, a project in collaboration with British Architect John Pawson
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Green leap forward: Li Wei of China’s pavilion on the Venice waterfront
CULTURE
Italian press reaction located, while at the same time acquiring a new meaning for itself. “There is a beautiful ambiguity in Chagas’ work. On the one hand, it is systematic and precise. On the other, it is poetic and encyclopaedic,” says Nascimento. “Our agency, Beyond Entropy Africa, has been researching Luanda’s morphing nature as a paradigm of urban transformations in subSaharan Africa. We wanted to continue this urban analysis by showing that, through its diversity of forms and energies, Luanda is an open encyclopaedia.” Nascimento loves the subtlety of Chagas’ photographs. “There are no people in his pictures. The feeling of absence is very strong, yet the photos retain the soul of Luanda,” she says.
Unfolding into the city
Angola’s win at the Venice Biennale also won plaudits from the local press. Naples newspaper Il Mattino titled its piece on the bienniale “The lion roars in Angola” and said the prize verdict was broadly backed by the world art community and greeted with a standing ovation at the award ceremony. “A pavilion like this would overwhelm anyone,” raved L’Espresso newspaper, adding that the excellence of Angola’s work made it hard for other pavilions to compete. La Repubblica, the second-largest Italian paper in circulation, described Luanda, Encyclopaedic City as “an impressive installation”. Italy’s largest financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore said that Angola had won because its artist and curator skills reflected the “irreconcilable complexity of the concept of location”. Corriere della Sera, Italy’s biggest-selling paper, also described the Angolan victory in a positive light. Golden Lion prize for the best pavilion awarded to Angola
The curators chose to exhibit Chagas’ photographs as a series of posters to enable the audience to interact with his work in much the same way as he does with the photographed objects. Visitors are allowed to take home copies of the posters. “That way, the exhibition leaves the confined space of the palace and unfolds into the city,” says Nascimento. “One visitor, for example, took a series of posters to decorate his shop window in Milan. “The audience was visibly impressed with Chagas’ images. We shared a space with some rarely seen works from Renaissance masters including Jacopo Pontormo, Piero della Francesca and Sandro Botticelli. Despite that, the visitors’ main focus was on the photographs,” she says.
Chagas not alone
Corbis Images
Although Edson Chagas is the star of the Angolan pavilion at the current edition of the Venice Biennale, it also features other Angolan artists. Upstairs from the rooms containing Chagas’ posters, visitors can see a display of wood sculptures and paintings created in Angola since 1991. A polished wood sculpture abstractly portraying a seated figure by João Domingos Mabuaka Mayembe, entitled Vuata N’Kampa ku Makaya Katekela, has received special attention from visitors.
SEPTEMBER 2013 21
An exhibition visitor helps herself to a Chagas picture
Beyond Entropy Press Office
CULTURE
‘The biennale has been very good for Angolan artists. It increases sales of their works and their chances of holding exhibitions abroad’ – Jorge Gumbe, artist
It won the 2006 Ensarte Grand Prize for Sculpture in Luanda. The pavilion also includes paintings and sculptures by Francisco Van-Dúnem (Van), António Ole, Finesse and Marco Kabenda Teta from the Ensa collection. Nascimento says she hopes Angola’s victory at the biennale will generate more attention for the arts within Angola besides music, and that it will push forward the establishment of art schools, art education, a centre of contemporary arts and serious investment in highquality cultural projects. She also hopes that it will lead to wider national recognition of Angolan contemporary art. “Contemporary art in Angola is always viewed with a slight distrust by those who favour traditional art,” she says.
22 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
“The Golden Lion for Edson Chagas’ project puts the supposed distinction between the two into perspective.”
Ministering praise Rosa Cruz e Silva, Angolan Minister of Culture, who inaugurated the country’s pavilion, said her ministry was doing its best to support Angolan contemporary art and artists. “Despite some difficulties our artists experience, they have shown exceptional talent,” she said after Angola received its Golden Lion. “They make our country proud, and deserve the world’s admiration.” She lauded the Angolan artists and the country’s pavilion team for the work they have been doing in favour of culture in general and the plastic arts in particular.
“This prize shows that we are on the right path. It is also a prize that will add value to the work done by the team that installed the Angola pavilion. We are worthy of this international recognition.” According to the minister, the prize will encourage the Angolan government to work together with the artistic class to do even better in coming editions of the Venice Biennale. “This prize will force us to redouble our efforts, as in the next edition eyes will be turned to see what Angola will present.” Rosa Cruz e Silva said that the prize will also stimulate Angola's art-sponsoring partners sponsoring partners to reinforce their assistance in cultural activities, helping the Angolan government to spread the name of the country across borders through the arts.
African lion pride Many African countries also perceive Angola’s victory at the Venice Biennale as global cultural recognition for their continent as a whole. Nascimento experienced that first-hand. “All the other African countries congratulated us. They feel that this is a bit of an African award as well, and I agree,” she says. This feeling was reinforced by the significant increase of African participants at the Venice Biennale compared to the last edition, when South Africa and Zimbabwe were the only African countries to host national pavilions. This year Egypt, the Ivory Coast and Kenya joined the club alongsides Angola, raising the total to six. “We are definitely at a stage where Africa is establishing its position in the global art circuit, without the traditional African stigma attached to it previously,” says Nascimento. “This summer, for instance, the works of leading contemporary African artists are being exhibited in major galleries in London and New York. “Through contemporary African art at international events we must shift the discourse on Africa from traditional issues such as war, poverty, aid and oil towards ideas and culture.” p
Edson Chagas
CULTURE
Edson Chagas
Edson Chagas was born in Luanda in 1977. After obtaining his degree in photo journalism at the London College of Communication, he studied photo documentary at the University of Wales, Newport. He returned to Luanda in 2007, while still continuing his international exhibitions. Chagas is a globally-recognised photographer who has exhibited at many major art events including the Luanda Triennial 2010, SP-Arte and the SOSO Gallery in São Paulo, Brazil. He also exhibited at a travelling exhibition from the National Museum of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa; the Rheinisches Landesmuseum, Bonn, Germany; Rencontres d’Arts Visuels in Yaoundé, Cameroon; and the collective show No Fly Zone at the Berardo Collection Museum in Lisbon in 2013. In addition, his work has been displayed at the Landscapes exhibition at the Palazzo Gallery in Brescia, Italy.
Edson Chagas
Who is Edson Chagas?
SEPTEMBER 2013 23
INDUSTRY
A new bridge on the Benguela-Lobito highway at Catumbela
24 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
ROUTE TO RICHES:
THE LOBITO
CORRIDOR
SEPTEMBER 2013 25
Peter Moeller
Several African governments have jointly planned a set of transport corridors to speed up trade and boost their economic development. Universo looks at the prospects for the corridor originating at Lobito in Angola
INDUSTRY
T
he Lobito Corridor is the most strategic of the 15 corridors designated by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to boost regional trade and communications in the region, says SADC deputy executive secretary João Samuel Caholo. SADC, an association of 15 countries, aims to better connect their economies through the integral development of road, rail, energy and telecommunications infrastructure. The expectation is that these improvements will provide the synergy necessary to attract investors to their farming, industrial, mining and tourism sectors. The core assets of the Lobito Corridor are the Angolan port of Lobito and the Benguela Railway (Caminho de Ferro de Benguela or CFB). Before 1975, more than 80 per cent of CFB freight carried to Lobito originated beyond Angola’s frontiers, with the most important cargo – copper – mined in Zambia and what is today the Democratic Republic of Congo. The strong business case for resurrecting the CFB's copper traffic underpins the urgency of rebuilding the railway. The price of this mineral has rocketed in the past
decade, stimulating greater output. Copper has risen from $1,500 a tonne in 2000 to around $7,000 today. The Lobito Corridor provides a more direct link to the sea than via eastern and southern Africa, bringing the copper much closer to Atlantic markets in Europe and the Americas (see map on page 29).
Mozambique, on the Indian Ocean, and is southern Africa’s second designated major east-west corridor. Lobito was conceived as an export port, with around 90 per cent of goods handled sent overseas. However, for the past four decades Lobito has reversed this flow, and nearly all its traffic is currently inbound to serve Angola’s massive reconstruction Natural harbour efforts and the population’s food and The focal point of the corridor is the natural consumer needs. Angola aims to reconquer harbour of Lobito, one of the biggest this export market. deepwater seaports on the west coast of An extensive $1.2 billion portAfrica. While identical in form to Luanda, improvement plan has been under with its quays protected by a long spit way since March 2008. Rail and port of sandy beach formed by the prevailing infrastructure is almost ready for a massive southern current, Lobito has deeper access boost in throughput from just under 3 channels. Its dock areas are more extensive million tonnes a year at present to a total of and spacious and have ample room for around 20 million tonnes. expansion, whereas Luanda is constrained One study forecasts 2 million tonnes of by steep hills. copper will pass through the port in 2020. Lobito also enjoys a strategic location, At current prices this would be worth a not only in Angola but also in relation huge $14 billion. to Africa. It is halfway along the northWhen completed, the revamped port south coastal route and is thus ideally will have a total of 7.8km of quays and the placed as an outlet for the east-west capacity to berth 20 ocean-going vessels at corridor at Angola’s ‘waistline’. It is also any one time, move 11 million tonnes of the Atlantic terminus of an extended road general cargo a year and handle 700,000 and rail corridor that connects with Beira, containers. Lobito port can currently accommodate 12 ships at the same time, compared to eight in 2012. So far the port has rebuilt 1,122 metres of quays and has repaved the dock areas. Equipment upgrades include new cranes, container handlers, grain silos and a terminal for refrigerated containers. Additional facilities under construction on a site reclaimed from the sea include a new ore terminal to handle increased copper exports and other minerals. A new container terminal and access bridge provides a rail link with a dry port 3km away. Work has also begun on a specialist terminal for containertransported minerals. Topping off the Botswana DR Congo port’s make over are future plans for an ocean cruiser terminal and yacht marina to Madagascar Malawi attract tourism to the region. Port modernisation efforts are not Mozambique Namibia limited to infrastructure. The dock authorities have also improved staff South Africa Swaziland training to enable workers to use the sophisticated new equipment, as well as
A study forecasts 2 million tonnes
of copper will pass through Lobito in 2020. At current prices this would be worth a huge $14 billion
SADC countries Angola Lesotho Mauritius Seychelles
Tanzania Zambia 26 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
Zimbabwe
INDUSTRY
streamlined customs operations to meet international efficiency standards.
Secil Lobito cement plant now being expanded
The Benguela Railway Starting at Lobito, the 1,343km CFB has historically been a strong unifying factor in the region as it traverses an important trading zone for farm and industrial products. The CFB scales Angola’s central highlands in Huambo and Bié provinces, before crossing the wide-open plains of Moxico to the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Severed in several places since the 1970s, the rail line is now nearing completion of a $1.9 billion revamp contract undertaken by by China Railway 20 Bureau Group Corporation (CR20) begun in 2006. When fully operational with new rolling stock and fibre optic signalling, the line will have capacity to carry 20 million tonnes of freight and 4 million passengers a year. This compares with the CFB 1973 record of just 3.28 million tonnes, half of which was international traffic. Angola signed an agreement with General Electric in February for the supply of 100 new locomotives for use on the CFB, with delivery to begin by the end of 2013. The railway’s reconstruction is almost complete. In August, work reached Luau in Moxico on the border with the DRC. From there it will reconnect with the rail network in the rich copper belt of the DRC and neighbouring Zambia in December. Copper mining in the region amounts to around 1.3 million tonnes a year and
Lobito port movement data
2011 2012
Container movements
106,552
124,243
Cargo handled
2.7mt*
2.9mt*
708
579
1,847
2,129
Ship movements Cars unloaded Source: Port of Lobito Authority
* million tonnes
Potential Corridor cargoes Copper Manganese Cobalt Zinc Sugar Coal
Lead
Timber Maize
Cement
Oil
Construction materials SEPTEMBER 2013 27
INDUSTRY
Attractive new stations are a feature of all Angola's railway lines
rail link will make Zambia and the DRC more dynamic economies, while Angola will reap transport revenues and attract private investment along the route and to the wider region. The CFB will allow copper to travel more efficiently from the mines in central Africa to the coast in just 72 hours, reducing freight costs. Present alternative routes to the coast almost double the distance. The DRC reportedly needs to invest
Kamene M Traça
accounts for 7 per cent of world output. Angola’s CFB serves as a cheaper and shorter link to the coast and markets in the Americas and Europe. Copper exports currently go mostly by road transport, but also by road and rail, to Indian Ocean ports at Beira in Mozambique, and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, as well as via Durban in South Africa, doubling the copper’s distance to Atlantic markets. The hope is that the re-established
28 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
$500 million to reinstate its rail infrastructure in the copper belt, while Zambia requires just $15 million. Given the better state of Zambian railways, Angola is considering building a direct 300km crossborder line. This would bypass the DRC via a junction around Chuaia to the Jimbe border town in Moxico. This would have the advantage of reducing dependence on the DRC for transit and delays caused by border crossings. The CFB is modernising with an eye on economic developments in Angola for future traffic. It is developing branch lines to serve industrial concentrations along the route, such as Caála near Huambo. The scene is now set to change current freight flows. Within a short period, the copper traffic and bulk freight from the coast such as fuel, fertilisers and cement will restart in earnest. In the medium term, farm produce from Angola’s interior and beyond will begin to use the CFB along its entire length, and also for export via Lobito. Eventually, goods produced on Angola’s coast in the Lobito-Benguela region – notably products related to the Lobito refinery now under construction, as well as textiles – will also use the crossAfrica railway link.
INDUSTRY
Mark Clydesdale BZO
Kamene M Traรงa
The Lobito Corridor: A means to tapping Africa's potential
The modernisation of the CFB also has an eye on economic developments in Angola for future traffic
SEPTEMBER 2013 29
INDUSTRY
Mark Clydesdale BZO
Lobito Corridor: The fastest route to the ocean
30 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
INDUSTRY
Road connectivity Rail is not the only transport mode in the Lobito Corridor. As the CFB traverses the ‘waistline’ of Angola, Trans-African Highway 9 shadows it for much of its length. Highway 9 links Lobito to Beira on the coast of Mozambique 3,523km away. Within Angola the road is still being rebuilt for much of its length east of Kuito to the border of the DRC. The highway provides connections to the north and south, giving access to the whole Angolan road network as the major north-south routes cross the Lobito Corridor at the coast and at Huambo, Kuito and Luena. Latest traveller reports reveal the revamped highway north from Luena is in excellent condition all the way to Saurimo in Lunda Sul province and work is under way beyond in Lunda Norte, the heart of Angola’s buoyant diamond industry. Chinese companies connected with railroad builder CR-20 are looking at developing agribusiness concerns in Angola’s fertile interior in Lunda Sul, Lunda Norte and Moxico provinces. This will potentially add more traffic to the CFB and corridor highways. To effectively tap Angola’s economic potential, strategic logistic hubs are planned where roads from the provinces meet the CFB. Private operators are expected to run these multimodal terminals.
Energy network An essential ingredient for the Lobito Corridor’s development is energy. Angola currently lacks an effective electricity supply network despite an ambitious expansion programme for power dams. Sweden’s Eltel Networks is erecting
more than 600 pylons over 250km to carry wires from the Cambambe Dam to Lobito by the end of 2013. The dam’s capacity will rise from its present 180MW output to 960MW in 2014, and the Lobito area will receive up to 200MW in the following year. Work on the transmission line reached the coastal plain near Sumbe in June, allowing a clean run through to Lobito, after having conquered the obstacle of Angola’s central highlands. The extra wattage will ensure the operation of the corridor’s largest industrial project – the $8 billion, 200,000 barrels per day Lobito refinery now under construction. Power supplies will also have a dramatic effect on other industrial developments at the twin cities of Lobito and Benguela. Other dams are feeding energy into the Lobito Corridor. In Benguela province Biopio (18MW) is already operative, while Lumaum (65MW) is scheduled to start up this year. Gove Dam (60MW) in Huambo was reinaugurated in 2012, and this supplies Huambo and Kuito, the two major cities on the highland section of the corridor, while Luena will benefit from the 12.4MW Tchihumbwe Dam planned for 2015.
Process industries Given adequate electricity supplies, processing and manufacturing industries will be able to expand with an eye on the market provided by the Lobito Corridor’s vast hinterland. Secil Cement’s existing Lobito plant produces 400,000 tonnes a year but is investing in a new factory nearby to add a million tonnes a year of capacity. Benguela’s modernised Africa Textil mill producing towels, sheets and blankets is due to restart operations in 2014. There
are also investment opportunities for food cold storage and processing of supplies from Benguela’s extremely rich fisheries, and meat packing in the Corridor’s highland pastures. The Lobito refinery will be a major boost for the corridor. Eventually, the CFB will carry refined products to central Angola as well as on to markets elsewhere in the interior. Planners are also considering building a fuel pipeline parallel to the railway to serve Zambia. Looking further ahead, petrochemicals, plastics and fertilisers may all be produced in the refinery area.
Economic expansion The Lobito Corridor even in its incomplete stage shows signs of the greater economic expansion to come. Operative sections of the CFB are already attracting large numbers of farming families as passengers, often carrying sack loads of excess produce for sale in neighbouring town markets. This ant-like, small-scale carriage of goods will only increase in size as new industries, wholesalers and distributors are attracted to the corridor. Cement from Cimaforte’s new plant at Catumbela is already using the line and has transported over 3,000 tonnes to date. Once investors realise the region’s potential and mobilises, they will have easier access to the western hub, thanks to Catumbela Airport, which lies between Benguela and Lobito. Catumbela was rebuilt and extended in 2012 to handle international flights. It will serve an important role for businesspeople investing in and overseeing projects in the Lobito Corridor, as well as air cargo. It will also aid the region’s tourism industry. p
Catumbela Airport was rebuilt in 2012
SEPTEMBER 2013 31
ENVIRONMENT
MAKING ANGOLA
GREENER
Ambiente 2013, the Luanda-based environmental fair, promotes Angola始s green agenda. Universo reports on the recent event and innovative solar energy initiatives in southern Africa
Shutterstock
By Adam Marshall
32 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
ENVIRONMENT
F
inding common ground towards creating a greener Angola was the theme of Ambiente – Angola 2013, the third Luanda International Environmental Technologies Fair. The Luanda International Fair (FILDA) and Angola’s Ministry of Environment jointly organised the event from May 30 to June 2. Speaking at the fair, José de Matos Cardoso, chairman of FILDA’s board of directors, stressed the importance of integrating clean technologies and production processes. He outlined a future vision for Angola where the public and private sectors placed concern for the environment at the heart of their strategies with the goal of achieving sustainable development for the country. The fair, promoting environmental technologies, was held at the FILDA exhibition site on the outskirts of Luanda. It brought together Angolan specialists, institutions and citizens with prospective technology suppliers and business partners, in particular those related to solid, liquid and gas waste management. “FILDA aims to promote savings, investment and development, as well as to highlight the opportunities that exist to unite the economy and ecology in order to make business both profitable and sustainable,” said Matos Cardoso. Mankind must be aware of the need to preserve the environment in order to accomplish its aims and lead comfortable, dignified lives while not forgetting future generations, he said. Mato Cardoso highlighted the key role that Angola could play in achieving these goals, via public-private partnerships that simultaneously pool skills and promote social responsibility. The third edition of Ambiente – Angola marked a positive step in this direction, he said.
Regional co-operation Even before the fair had come to a close,
there were signs that it was starting to bear fruit. Speaking to the press during the event, Osvaldo Abreu, Minister of Environment for the island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe, declared his country’s desire to “boost co-operation with Angola in the areas of environmental technology, with a view to increasing development in the sector”. Minister Abreu also outlined the necessity of strengthening the partnership in areas relating to the management of ports, telecommunications and airports. He revealed that other partnerships with Angolan firms were in the pipeline and would boost existing fraternal relations between the two countries. He noted that the fair was “three days of hard work, but with lots of learning and exchanges of experiences. We leave here with a broader view of what is being done in Angola in relation to environmental protection, and the care to be taken with the environment, so I must thank and congratulate Angola for the invitation to this event.”
Success for Sonangol The fair attracted a 100-strong contingent of exhibitors, representing the full spectrum of Angola’s emerging economy. Those present included the sectors of urban development, construction, farming and forestry, industry, energy and transport. Nine foreign countries flew the flag for four continents: Brazil, China, France, Germany, Nigeria, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe, South Africa and Spain. Sonangol was among the exhibitors, and this year’s fair brought accolades as the company scooped the award for Best Participation-Environmental Technologies. This topped off a successful month for Sonangol; the Angolan oil giant received a Best Oil Company award at the Cabinda International Fair and was honoured for Best National Participation at the Benguela International Fair.
SEPTEMBER 2013 33
ENVIRONMENT The Solucar solar complex, Seville, Spain
Here comes the sun At cold daybreak he has a mind to get firewood. After sunrise he changes his mind saying, “Sending forth the sun, Kalunga (God) has supplied the fuel” – Angolan Umbundu proverb. Angolans have always appreciated the capacity of the sun’s energy to sustain life on earth. In today’s Angola, positive steps are being taken towards harnessing this resource in new exciting ways. Research by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), a US Department of Energy-funded institute, ranks Angola 25th in the world in terms of solarpower potential. NREL calculates that the country has the capacity to produce a whopping 3.9 billion megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity per year from the sun’s rays. To put this in perspective, in 2008 Angolans consumed less than 4 million MWh, meaning that if Angola could somehow harvest all that extra solar power, it would be able to cover its annual energy needs many times over.
A shining example
34 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
Abengoa Solar
If Angola requires inspiration on ways to unlock this potentially bountiful resource, it does not need to look too far from home. Spanish firm Abengoa Solar, one of the most innovative solar technology companies in the world, has a global presence, with operations in Europe, Asia, and the Americas and, crucially for Angola, in Africa. Worldwide, Abengoa Solar has 743 MW of installed solar capacity around the world, 910 MW under construction and a blistering gigawatt (GW) in development. The firm’s African operations are currently focused in Algeria and South Africa. In Algeria it has built and now operates a 150 MW integrated solar combined cycle (ISCC) power plant, while in South Africa it is constructing two concentrating solar power (CSP) plants which, when operational, will have a combined output of 150 MW. Abengoa Solar’s innovation and application of CSP technologies is what makes it stand out from the crowd. CSP
ENVIRONMENT
Towering above the rest In tower systems, a field of mobile mirrors known as heliostats, tracks the sun’s position and reflects the rays onto a receptor located in the upper part of a tower, concentrating it at up to 600 times the rays’ strength. This heat is transmitted to a fluid to generate steam. The steam then expands in a turbine linked to an electricity-producing generator. In parabolic-trough technology covered, trough-shaped reflectors concentrate solar radiation on to a receiver pipe running along the inside of the curved surface. This heats synthetic oil which flows through the pipe, heating water to produce electricity via a conventional steam generator. As with the mirrors, parabolic troughs also track the sun’s
position throughout the day in order to optimise efficiency.
African example South Africa’s Department of Energy picked Abengoa Solar to develop the country’s first two CSP projects, both of which are currently under construction. Abengoa Solar will have a 51 per cent stake in the projects: 29 per cent will belong to the state-owned Industrial Development Corporation – South Africa’s largest development finance institution – while the nation’s Black Economic Empowerment programme will hold the remaining 20 per cent. The South African government has set a target date of 2030, by which time it aims to produce 17,800 MW of the country’s energy needs from renewable sources. It hopes that these projects will help it achieve this ambitious goal. Located in Upington, Northern Cape, Khi Solar One will be the first 50 MW superheated steam solar tower in the world. It will have a thermal storage capacity of two hours, being able to produce electricity for that period after sunset. According to Abengoa Solar, this project “represents an important technological advance in tower efficiency by using higher temperatures and
an innovative dry cooling system”. It has calculated that this technological innovation will reduce water consumption by 80 per cent. Also located on the Northern Cape near to Pofadder, the other project under construction is KaXu Solar One, a 100 MW parabolic-trough project with three hours of thermal storage. The plant will cover 315 hectares and have approximately 1,200 parabolic-trough solar collectors.
Water for all Although Angola has yet to embrace largescale solar projects, there are encouraging signs that it is starting to take solar technology seriously. A governmentbacked solar project has already started to make a huge difference to the lives of ordinary Angolans and is being piloted at Bom Jesus, 50km east of Luanda. This technology uses the sun’s power to supply clean drinking water. The pilot is being delivered through the Angolan government’s Water for All Programme, which aims to provide clean water to 80 per cent, of its rural population and 50 per cent of urban dwellers by 2015, with targets raised to 100 per cent and 80 per cent respectively, by 2020. To achieve this ambitious target, the government enlisted the help of Quest
The Solucar solar complex, Seville, Spain
SEPTEMBER 2013 35
Abengoa Solar
is the concept of concentrating solar radiation to produce steam, which can subsequently generate electricity. One advantage of CSP technology, compared to other renewable technologies is its capacity to store energy efficiently, making it possible to generate electricity even after sunset. This can be achieved using various CSP types. The two projects under construction in South Africa make use of CSP tower technology and parabolictrough technology respectively.
ENVIRONMENT
If Angola could somehow harvest all its solar power, it would be able to cover its annual energy needs many times over
Abengoa Solar
The Solucar solar complex, Seville, Spain
36 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
ENVIRONMENT
photovoltaic solar panels, strategically placed to capture the abundant rays of the sun. This allows the AQUAtap to operate off-grid in remote areas. All that it requires is a water source and sunlight; Angola has an abundance of both. The grateful villagers access the finished product free of charge via two taps situated at one end of the unit. In addition to requiring no mains electricity, the AQUAtap produces zero harmful waste and does not employ any of the chemicals often associated with traditional waterpurification techniques. “We’ve created something that can be run as a business, but be very much a humanitarian effort as well,” says Peter Miele. “At the moment Angolans are paying as much as $30 for 1,000 litres of water which is delivered by trucks. Our water works out at around $1.60 for 1,000 litres, making it ten times cheaper than what is currently on the market,” Balanko says. The entrepreneurs and the government Shutterstock
Water Solutions, an innovative Canadian water-technology company. After seeing first-hand the daily struggles of ordinary Angolans to source safe drinking water, company founders John Balanko and Peter Miele set about designing the AQUAtap, a mobile solarpowered water-purification system. The pilot AQUAtap has been operating at Bom Jesus since March 2012, providing the villagers and people from the surrounding area – some of whom come from 20 miles away – with clean drinking water. Before its installation, they took their water directly, untreated, from the nearby Kwanza River. AQUAtap is able to take water from a source deemed “unfit for human consumption” and purify it to a level exceeding World Health Organization standards. So how does it work? The contaminated water is pumped up to the unit – a brightly painted shipping container situated just 35 metres from the river bank. The AQUAtap’s humble exterior belies a high-tech interior replete with topspecification water filters and ultraviolet lights which clean and disinfect the water, bringing it up to the required standard. The entire system runs off batteries continually charged by 16 rooftop
are currently involved in discussions which could see AQUAtaps distributed throughout Angola. “We’re hoping that we become the de facto system for the entire Water for All Programme for rural populations,” says Balanko. If given the go-ahead, Quest plans to open an AQUAtap factory in Angola. Balanko says this would make the system cheaper to produce, bringing down the final cost of each unit. At the same time it would benefit the Angolan economy by providing jobs for the local population. p
SEPTEMBER 2013 37
AQUAtap
AQUAtap
Secretary of State for Industry Dr Kiala Gabriel inaugurates AQUAtap's Bom Jesus plant
SPORT
FINALS PREPARATION:
HOCKEY ANGOLA
38 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
A
ngola is preparing the ground for hosting the 2013 FIRS Men’s Roller Hockey World Cup from September 20 to 28. This 41st edition of the games will be the first time the tournament has been held in Africa and will take place at two venues – the Cidadela stadium in Luanda and the Welwitschia Mirabilis stadium in Namibe. The teams playing in the World Cup are the first 13 countries at the last World Cup, and the first three countries qualified at the last ‘B’ World Cup. The make-up of each group has already been decided. Angola will be in Group C and will face Chile, Portugal and continental rivals South Africa. In preparation for the competition, the country is spending around $14 million to improve roads, basic sanitation, green areas, parking and public lighting around the stadia. Angola’s hosting of the hockey championship is expected to boost the sport throughout the country. p
Group A Austria Spain
Brazil Switzerland
Group B Argentina France
England Germany
Group C Angola Portugal
Chile South Africa
SEPTEMBER 2013 39
Gordon Morrison
Group D Colombia Italy Mozambique United States
Sonangol news briefing
Fairs fair ■ The Angola LNG project won the prize for best participant in
the energy and oil category at the 30th edition of FILDA, Luanda’s International Fair (July 19–21). Sonangol showcased products and services from subsidiaries MSTelcom, Sonagás and its industrial investments arm SIIND at the event and also publicised its corporate social responsibility work. The company was also awarded a prize in recognition of its contribution to supporting FILDA’s success over the past three decades. In May, Sonangol also exhibited at two
other international fairs: firstly, at Expo Cabinda 2013, where 220 companies representing the industrial, oil, agribusiness and food sectors took part, and second, at the Third Benguela International Fair where 240 companies exhibited. In Benguela, Sonangol’s stand portrayed the size and multiple trajectories achieved since its foundation 37 years ago. The company had displays from several of its many businesses such as gas subsidiary Sonagás, SIIND and fuel distributor Sonangol Distribuidora.
Sonangol Schlesser win again
Waste management ■ Sonangol Logística is to build an
■ Jean-Louis Schlesser of the Sonangol Schlesser team was the overall winner of the
Silk Way Rally in Russia’s Volga region in July. The race over 500km in temperatures of 50 degrees centigrade was another tough test for the team, but the Frenchman and his Russian navigator Konstantin Zhiltsov took the spoils and celebrated in Astrakhan, beating Vladimir Vasilyev of the G-Force team into second place. “I built this victory one day at a time,” said Schlesser. “I had to stay in contact with the contenders and never lose my cool and take each stage as it came. I won stage two, and then we remained mindful and paid extra attention not to commit any errors. The battle with Vasilyev was intense, it was a great fight. We won because I am more experienced and have a faster car.”
40 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
oil-waste storage and treatment terminal in Luanda. The aim is to use the facility to deal with any future oil spills. Mondlane Boa Morte, secretary of Sonangol Shipping’s executive commission, announced the move at the Third Seminar on Safety, Protection and Marine Environmental Preservation held in Luanda in June. He said all security measures in line with national and international standards were essential, as risks were high in marine transport and any possible spills might damage the image of Sonangol and Angola.
Sonangol news briefing
Sonatrach cooperation ■ Sonangol and its Algerian
Shutterstock
counterpart Sonatrach announced in July that they will cooperate in oil sector projects. After a meeting with José Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos, Angola’s Minister of Oil, Youcefi Yousfi, Algeria’s Minister of Energy and Mines, said that his country aimed to widen the range of its co-operation with Angola in oil exploration. “We discussed all the possibilities and opportunities for co-operation between our two ministries and between our two state companies, Sonangol and Sonatrach,” he said.
PSVM oil peaks early
Sonangol in talks with PetroVietnam ■ Angola and Vietnam are to set up a joint
Shutterstock
will reach peak production of 150,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd) in December, earlier than previously expected. Martyn Morris, BP’s regional president, said PSVM was currently producing around 100,000 bpd, up from 70,000 barrels earlier this year. The project, which has already absorbed around $10 billion of investment, includes two other partners, Statoil and Marathon Oil.
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venture to explore for crude oil in Angola and Vietnam. A co-operation protocol was originally signed in 2008 and subsequently ratified. Vietnam’s oil major PetroVietnam and Sonangol are now holding talks on the subject. The announcement by Oil Minister José María Botelho de Vasconcelos came during the August visit to Angola of Pham Binh Minh, Vietnam’s Foreign Minister.
■ Sonangol partner BP said in June that its PSVM offshore oil and gas development
SEPTEMBER 2013 41
Sonangol news briefing
Angola LNG delivers ■ The Angola LNG project delivered
its first consignment of liquefied natural gas on July 14 when the cargo arrived at Rio de Janeiro’s Guanabara Bay gas terminal. Angola LNG is a joint venture formed by Sonangol, Chevron, BP, Total and ENI. Gas tanker Sonangol Sambizanga transported 160,000 cubic metres of the gas from Angola’s Soyo facility in Zaire province across the South Atlantic. Artur Pereira, chairman of Angola LNG Marketing, said several sale agreements had been signed with companies around the world, ensuring Angola LNG a stable customer portfolio. The $10 billion Angola LNG project is a trade and environmental solution adopted to reduce gas flaring and pollution. The company will process, sell and deliver 5.2 million tonnes of LNG a year as well as propane, butane and condensed gases. Angola LNG unloading its first cargo in Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro
Sonangol accounts approved
Total Angola to launch CLOV
■ Angola’s Ministry of Economy has certified Sonangol EP’s
operations on the fourth floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel in deepwater offshore Block 17 in 2014. The CLOV project, launched in 2010, consists of four fields – Cravo, Lírio, Orquídea and Violeta. Jean-Michel Lavergne, director of Total Angola, said altogether 34 subsea wells will be connected to the FPSO, which will have a processing capacity of 160,000 bpd and a storage capacity of approximately 1.8 million barrels.
accounts for 2012. Approval was given by Economy Minister Abraão Gourgel gave approval during a formal ceremony held on July 29. This was the second time that the ministry has approved the accounts of public firms with a view to standardising their management and thus effectively contributing to the production and diversification process of the Angolan economy. Twenty-eight other public companies from several sectors, out of a total of 54 firms, presented their reports and accounts for the year.
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■ Sonangol partner Total Angola is preparing to start
Sonangol news briefing
New data centre for MSTelcom
■ Sonangol subsidiary MSTelcom has started work on a $98
million data storage centre. The project aims to provide secure data backup and thus ensure business customers are able to continue operations even in the event of a disaster. It will also meet the needs of Angola’s growing domestic market for data centre services. Located at Zango, Viana, on the outskirts of Luanda, the centre will reduce clients operational risks and guarantee normal continuity of their data services. The new facility will provide the expanded telecommunications infrastructure needed for growing businesses and meet international standards. The data centre will be situated on the Viana industrial estate and has guaranteed basic infrastructure services. The project is divided into four stages. The first stage of civil engineering works for the centre was awarded to Portuguese
firm Grupo Mota Engil which will be responsible for building roads, maintenance buildings, technical galleries and underground installations for water, power, fire services and telecommunications. Work began on June 21. The second stage is the construction of the data centre, and this is currently out for tender. Work is expected to begin in January 2014. Details for the administration and social buildings are still being developed and work on the third and fourth stages will begin towards the end of 2015. The completed data centre is scheduled to be fully functioning by July 2016.
Tier III level rating MSTelcom’s existing data centre has been certified by the Uptime Institute to Tier III level. This means that its backup systems provide close to 99.98 per cent service reliability in the event of a crisis. The highest level is Tier IV, which provides 99.99 per cent availability – this is used for systems with a global economic impact such as financial institutions.
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Sonangol Asia
REACHING OUT
TO ASIA
FROM SONANGOL’S SINGAPORE OFFICE
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Sonangol Asia
SEPTEMBER 2013 45
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Sonangol Asia celebrates its 10th birthday this year. Universo looks at how the company is building its customer base in the exciting, fast-growing Asian regional market
Sonangol Asia
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onangol Asia, Sonasia for short, is the youngest of Sonangol EP’s three international trading and marketing offices, joining operations with London and Houston in 2003. Established ten years ago as a platform to engage in the expanding Asian market, 16 employees, mostly Angolans, work quietly away in the company offices on the 31st floor of the Centennial Tower, a stone’s throw from Singapore’s iconic colonial-style | Raffles Hotel. Luís Pedro Manuel, Sonasia’s president, has been in office for just over 15 months after making the move from his eight-year stay at Sonangol USA, where for the final three years, he was president and chief executive officer. The best part of taking up the Sonasia post, he says, was that when he arrived its operations were already wellestablished; it had a portfolio of clients and enjoyed a very good reputation. Manuel was well grounded in the American environment (he studied at Tulsa University), but the oil trading global village where he spent much of his career in trading and marketing meant he was already familiar with many of the players in Asia. “It was a big plus that it wasn’t completely new to me. I had already dealt with many people from the Asian market. Sonangol has three offices and a global team so there was lots of interaction with colleagues and I had the opportunity to meet most of the Asian clients at international oil conferences such as IP Week and APPEC.” Manuel considers it a great privilege to be in the position of having led Sonangol’s marketing efforts in two of the world’s largest economies – the United States and now China. “China is where the market is shifting to; most new refineries are being built there. Crude consumption has been growing fast in recent times,” he points out. “The US market is already very mature but Asia is growing. Asia is concentrating on building and securing crude supplies.”
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“There's a lot of space indeed for growth” - Luís Pedro Manuel, president
China is where the market is shifting to; most new refineries are being built there – Luís Pedro Manuel, president
“One must understand and respond to Asian cultural sensitivities” - Sonasia's operations manager, José Fonseca Coelho
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Sonangol Asia “Sonasia's philosophy is to be a reliable supplier and open partner” - Alex Tan, trading and marketing manager
Singapore site For Manuel, Singapore was chosen as the site for Sonasia’s operations for much the same reasons as the city itself was established: it is in the heart of an economically important region and has easy access to almost all Asian markets. Strategic position was paramount. “Placing Sonasia in a large country such as China or India may distract us and limit our attention away from the rest of the Asian market,” he says. Singapore-born Alex Tan, Sonasia’s manager for crude oil trading and marketing is an eight-year company veteran. While most of Sonasia’s staff members are fluent English-speaking Angolans, Tan has a key role as a speaker of Mandarin and as a cultural ambassador. He understands the nuances of doing business with the company’s largest client, China. Singapore’s lingua franca is English. Local Malays, Indians and Chinese speak to each other in this international language of business.
Asian promise Tan says the potential for oil sales growth in Asia is enormous as there are 2.5 billion people in China and India alone in a region
The complete Sonangol Asia team at the Singapore office
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with relatively lower per capita energy consumption and very high economic growth rates. “The only way is up,” he chuckles. “Singapore is THE place to be. We need to be near our customers and be Sonangol’s face to the Asian market.” Before Sonasia started up in 2003, the company had no representation in Asia and sales were negligible, but since 2005 they have expanded massively largely thanks to burgeoning Chinese demand for crude oil. A decade ago volumes were small and Sonangol EP had altogether only 12 cargoes a month globally. Now there is a very different picture. Sonangol EP manages more than 22 cargoes and the number of oil grades has risen from fewer than 10 to around 14. In the past eight years the Chinese market has grown tremendously. Most business is still conducted with state oil companies but now includes other clients in China. Market coverage has become wider. Besides China, the company now has also a very important presence in India, an achievement that is a source of great pride among the staff at Sonangol’s Singapore office.
Sonangol Asia Cultured club Manuel is keenly aware of the importance of cultural understanding in Asia, and this has been a learning curve after his long experience in the US market. Building trust with Asian clients is vital , he explains, and trust takes time to develop. But once established, it leads to a solid business relationship. Alex Tan says more and more Chinese oil companies, including privately-owned ones, are moving to Singapore. Although he has Chinese language skills, Tan says that they alone are not sufficient to bridge the gap in understanding. Oil marketers in Asia need to be cultural translators, develop personal trust and have a cultural affinity with clients. “Sonasia’s philosophy is to be a reliable supplier and open partner with a longterm perspective. It has built a very good reputation for reliability and fairness with customers in Asia,” he says. Sonasia seeks out platforms to meet existing and potential customers to promote interaction and understanding. It uses opportunities such as international conferences and exhibitions to meet and reinforce client connections. José Fonseca Coelho, Sonasia’s
operations manager, agrees. “Networking is very important and you need to visit customers to build up and consolidate it. You need to join the voice to the face. It is always easier to find paths to solve problems once the face is known,” he explains. “One must understand and respond to Asian cultural sensitivities and be flexible with customers. Trust takes time to build up.” “It’s also important to offer a quality service and be readily available. Our clients prize this availability. The Indian market is expanding, says Tan; refining until recently was a state monopoly but now new private refiners are emerging so there are lots more opportunities for Sonangol. Sonangol Asia is already established in China and India and is now working on developing other Asian markets. “Senior crude oil trader Óscar Brito believes that although Sonangol is a company with an African cultural background it has managed to mingle and blend in and is “now nicely established”. “We’re in the market and we try to do our best for each sale. Our potential is the whole Asian market,” he says.
“Our potential is the whole Asian market” - Óscar Brito, senior crude oil trader
Work-life balance The consensus among Angolan staff is that Singapore is an easy city to live in. It offers a good standard of living and services. English is spoken. Amenities are good. International schools – American, Australian, French, British and Chinese – are available for the highly mobile international business community. Many parents are seeing the benefits of giving their children an understanding of Mandarin. Vanda Assis, Sonasia’s senior finance, says Singapore has a high standard of living, is good for education, health provision and safety, and the climate is summer all year round, so she is happy to bring up her two children there. Assis found it easy to adapt to the city-state and her colleagues, who echo her views, helped make it a welcoming place.
SEPTEMBER 2013 49
Sonangol Asia “We provide the vital support service” - Januário Jorge Chivangulula, senior finance officer
Januário Jorge Chivangulula, Sonasia’s senior finance officer when explaining the role of Sonasia’s finance department, says: “We provide the vital support service to trading and operations. We make sure payments are made accurately and in a timely manner.”
Future expansion The huge Chinese and Indian oil markets still have great potential for growth. However, Luís Pedro Manuel sees a lot of space for sales elsewhere in the region too. Tan agrees that well-established major oil consumers must not be overlooked in Sonangol’s quest for a wider range of clients. “Let’s not forget that Japan is still one of the world’s largest economies and Korea is also very important too.” Manuel would also like to grow Sonangol’s business in Taiwan and Thailand while at the same time look for an opportunity to enter new markets such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines and Vietnam.
“There’s a lot of space indeed for growth,” emphasises Manuel. Nevertheless, he is well aware of the big challenge new markets represent as many are already tied into longterm Middle Eastern supply contracts. Manuel sees a need to expand operations and employ more staff at the Singapore office to deal with the existing and future workload. “Thanks to company policies, Sonangol already has many capable, trained personnel within its ranks ready to step up to the challenge,” he notes.
Sonaci adds value The subsuming of Sonangol’s three marketing offices – London, Houston and Singapore – under the umbrella of Sonangol Comercialização Internacional (Sonaci) management is positive and will improve efficiency, Manuel believes. “Sonaci will concentrate on strategy and the mission of bringing greater value to our shareholder, Sonangol EP,” he predicts.
Singapore’s Asian air access Capital city > 8 hours
Flying time (hours - minutes)
Tokyo......................... 7.06
> 7 hours Beijing........................ 6.40 Lahore....................... 6.45 Seoul.......................... 6.17
8
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> 5 hours
Taiwan....................... 4.19
> 4 hours Hanoi......................... 3.13 Hong Kong................ 3.42 Manila........................ 3.28 > 3 hours Bangkok.................... 2.16 Yangon...................... 2.52 > 2 hours Phnom Penh............. 1.54 Jakarta...................... 1.37 Kuala Lumpur........... 0.53
50 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
Sonangol Asia Well connected Singapore is one of the world’s most advanced cities in terms of infrastructure, and also in environmental care. It is an excellent air-transport hub and has good public transport. The city also boasts one of the busiest container ports in the world. The government provides a very favourable and welcoming environment for business, making it easy to establish new offices.
Strategic location The port city of Singapore was founded in 1819 by Sir Stamford Raffles, the British East India Company agent, because of its key location in the narrow Malacca Straits on the main shipping route between India, Japan and China. Raffles was largely responsible for the creation of Britain’s Far Eastern empire. Sonasia’s Alex Tan describes Singapore as “a big city in a small country”. Business and commerce on Singapore’s river was the starting point of the former British colony. It developed into a major transport hub and warehousing facility where large bulk cargoes were parcelled off into smaller quantities by middlemen for selling on to regional markets, he explains. Indians, Chinese and the local Malay populations settled at this junction of seaborne goods traffic and have continued to trade here with enthusiasm ever since. Tan says there is a pioneering spirit in Singapore’s population similar to that found in highly functional entrepreneurial and immigrant societies elsewhere, such as New York. The people are naturals at commerce with a strong urge to create and build businesses. Today the city is truly an international, multicultural and multiracial society with a population of over five million. Gone are Singapore’s original warehouses – in their place are modern, glass-fronted skyscrapers clustered along the waterfront serving multinational companies and banks, dedicated to investment and trade finance. Foreigners and locals alike still fill Singapore’s waterfront, where merchants once sat at their storeroom gates, but they are more likely to be jogging along the bay side or having a drink in the busy bars, perhaps chatting to tourists breaking their journey on a stop-over from a long-haul flight. p
Key support Finance, administration and human resource manager, Clarisse Figueira, says that Sonasia serves an important role in covering and representing Sonangol’s name in the Far East region. She added that the department that she is heading is also critical as it contributes by looking after Sonasia personnel. “We contribute by looking after Sonasia personnel” - Clarisse Figueira, finance, administration and human resource manager
SEPTEMBER 2013 51
Supplying the world‌
SS Sonangol Sambizanga leaves Soyo, Angola, with the first cargo of LNG bound for Rio de Janeiro
ANGOLA LNG Liquefied Natural Gas was always going to be an intelligent move and Angola LNG has begun the first of many shipments to the world of this precious, clean and reliable fuel. One that will not just fuel the Angolan economy but the world at large. To learn more about Angola LNG and the biggest investment that has taken place in the oil and gas industry in Angola, visit: www.angolalng.com