The Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) co-ordinates the planning, generation and transmission of electricity on behalf of member state utilities in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). SAPP has initiated planning for the Angola-Namibia (ANNA) Transmission Interconnector Project to alleviate the electricity supply constraints in southern Angola and contribute towards long-term security of supply in the region.  

The proposed ANNA Project is a 400kV overhead transmission line, with a total length of approximately 362km, from the Kunene substation in Namibia to the Lubango substation in Angola. The length of the transmission line within Angola is 331km and it will be owned and operated by the national electricity transmission utility, Rede Nacional de Transporte (RNT).

An Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) is required for the proposed project in terms of Angolan law and to meet the international lender standards for environmentally and socially sustainable development.

The ESIA was approved by the Angolan Ministry of Culture Tourism and Environment in terms of the Presidential Decree No. 117/20, of 22 of April, which regulates Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Licensing Procedure in Angola. 

As part of the commitment made by RNT to the financing entities, anyone interested is invited to provide their comments on the project’s ESIA documents. The company Zutari (previously called Aurecon) is co-ordinating the environmental and social assessment process of the project and has prepared the ESIA documents.

The documents that form part of the ESIA are as follows:

• Volume I – Non-Technical Summary (NTS)
• Volume II – Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) Report
• Volume III – Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) which includes the following annexures:
  • Annexure A – Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP)
  • Annexure B – Vulnerable Groups Plan (VGP)
  • Annexure C – Resettlement Policy Framework (RPF)

Hard copy versions of the ESIA Report is also available for review at the Provincial Government offices in Huila and Cunene, and in the Municipal Administrations of Lubango, Chibia, Gambos, Cahama, Curoca and Ombadja.

Comment on the ESIA Report is invited to be submitted between 20 August and 5 October 2021.

All inputs and queries received after this date may not be responded to, but Zutari will seek to ensure that these are properly addressed and responded to at a later stage of the project