December 2013
CONSTRUCTION WORLD
62
Professional Services
C
WINNER
Baia de Luanda
Project information
• Project name: Baia de Luanda Project
• Company entering: SMEC SA
• Project start date: 2003
• Project end date: 2012
• Project value: About USD350-million
• Owner of the project: Baia de Luanda PMG, SA
• Developer and project management until 2008:
Edificio Atlantico
• Developer and project manager from 2009: Finicapital
• Contractor: Mota Engil and Soares da Costa Consortium
• Dredging contract: Dreding International and Draimar
• Leading consultant: SMEC SA
• Architect and Landscape architect (until Dec 2010):
Pintoroux – Architects, Planners & Urban designers
• Marine engineering specialist consultant: Prestedge
Retief Dresner Wijnberg
T
he Baia de Luanda Project is located along the Bay of Luanda
(Angola) and a peninsula known as the Ilha. VelaVKE was lead
consultant since the inception of the project in 2003. Despite
several obstacles along the way, the excellence with which VelaVKE
(now SMEC) coordinated the project culminated into a high quality
product that defined new parameters in the Angolan construction
industry. The project enhanced the lives of the local community and
returned a sense of pride.
The Baia de Luanda Project spans over several kilometres along
the Bay of Luanda. The project is located along the Marginal, a 3 km
stretch of the City bordering the Bay and a 7 km peninsula referred
to as the Ilha.
This first stage consisted of the public works which was split into
two contracts namely the civil andmarine contracts. In order to create
the least disruption to traffic and not worsen the parking problems,
this stage was divided in three phases namely phase A, phase B and
phase C.
Angola was not spared from the World Economic crisis and it did
have an effect on the pace of development. Shareholding in the Baia
de Luanda Company changed as a result of the crisis. Different visions
from new shareholders and changes in the country affected the proj-
ect and the extent of the public works expanded. The increase in the
publicworks phases project size resulted in an increase in construction
costs to USD350-million.
The project is expected to continue for several years as the next
stages commence. These will include hotels, commercial and resi-
dential developments.
Towards the endof last year the project was awarded theCESA Best
International Project award. In its submission to CESA upon entering
the award, the author of the project overview states that it is indeed
impossible to summarise a project that has taken nine years up to this
point in a succinct manner.
Since 2003 the quality of engineering design; ingenuity, original-
ity and innovation; management of planning and technical design;
aesthetics of the project; budgetary compliance; unusual construction
methods; influence of the consulting engineer on the conceptual
design; complexity and sophistication; environmental, social and
economic sustainability; meeting deadlines and logistics of the project
have been hugely impressive.
