MOST OF the millions of people in rural Angola who fled the violence of civil conflict sought safety in the capital Luanda and the province that bears the same name. The sudden arrival of so many refugees placed a strain on Luanda's infrastructure, stretching energy grids, water treatment systems and supplies to the limit. While electrical power shortages are not as common today as they were just several months ago, the capital is still struggling to keep up with the growing demand that comes with increased economic activity and day-to-day city life. As the population mushroomed, supplying clean water and sewage systems required immediate attention.

At the state-owned company Empresa Provincial de Agua de Luanda (EPAL), a well-run agency under the Ministry of Energy and Water, there was never a moment's hesitation to invest heavily to expand the supply, transportation and distribution of quality water to meet the needs of a growing Luanda. "Last November we completed the first stage of a new water system in which the government invested US$67 million and which covers a population of more than 600,000 inhabitants," EPAL's general director and Luanda's deputy governor, Mr. Diógenes de Oliveira, proudly notes. "Concerning sanitation, the Luanda provincial government is carrying out a full appraisal of our drains and sewage network to enable us to attract possible partners to the rehabilitation of the entire net-work."

As concessionaire of water in the province of Luanda, EPAL follows the strict quality standards set down by the World Health Organization. "We make sure that the water supplied to the people does not spread ill-ness. We not only carry out lab-oratory analysis every season in Luanda, but also at the international level in order to make comparisons," Mr. de Oliveira explains. The EPAL chief says the company's supply will remain larger than the demand of Luanda's four million inhabitants in order to guarantee a steady supply of potable water at reasonable costs. "With the first stage completed, we plan to begin work on the second, which will increase the supply from 43,000 cubic meters a day to 160,000 cubic meters. The third stage will boost that amount to more than 216,000 cubic meters per day," says Mr. de Oliveira. Water supply is no problem, he notes, and there is no lack of infrastructure development projects. The challenge is finding the means to improve the province's distribution network considering the country's current macro-economic shortcomings.

"We have a good working relationship with the World Bank and with international private operators. We have already put the projects together, we are just waiting for the opportunities to implement them," he says, adding that several private U.S. and European investors have shown keen interest in taking part in the province's promising infrastructure development plans. One successful example of private initiative is the prize-winning urban development company Empresa de Desenvolvimento Urbano (EDURB), a joint venture between Brazil's Odebrecth External Services Corp. and the provincial government of Luanda. EDURB is behind the ambitious Luanda Sul Project that was launched in 1994 by the Angolan government and aims to address the infrastructure demands of some 50,000 homes per year until the year 2010.

"EDURB is the executor of infrastructure, that is, water, drains, power and access roads, with a social commitment to set up urban resettlements and the rehabilitation of the city," explains Claudio Melo Filho, director of the Luanda Sul Project. Thanks to the project, some 2,190 homes have already been built, meaning that now 15,000 people are living in improved conditions. "This has been a major social project. These families didn't even have a place to live before," Mr. Melo stresses. "Today they have a home with water, electricity, roads, urban transportation, schools and markets with refrigeration facilities."

PUTTING LUANDA'S HOUSE IN ORDER

WORKING IN cooperation with the provincial government of Luanda, the private urban development company EDURB has almost single-handedly resolved the urban explosion that the capital Luanda experienced with the arrival of some three million people from the interior of the country. "Living conditions were quite precarious as war conditions worsened in 1994 and displaced families began pouring into the capital," recalls Claudio Melo Filho, director of EDURB's internationally recognized Luanda Sul Project for urban development. "Luanda was designed for only 500,000 inhabitants. So as the city ballooned to four million, the provincial government was pressed into finding a solution which resulted in EDURB being granted 90-year surface rights to develop an area of 9,800 hectares just south of the capital."

From the start, the Luanda Sul Project received generous sup-port from U.S. companies operating in the country, such as Chevron, which helped with the project's feasibility process. More than 2,000 homes later, the project continues to provide displaced Angolans with decent living standards and the self-respect that comes from being productive citizens. In recognition of the innovative project's success, last year the UN and the City Council of Dubai presented the prestigious Dubai International Award for Best Practices to Angolan Minister of Public Works and Urban Affairs Antonio Henriques da Silva and to EDURB directors.

"An important consideration for the award was the fact that we are not using public resources to develop an urban resettlement project," Mr. Melo notes. "Buying homes through a state bank is a system that doesn't work in a country like Angola, where the government faces a shortage of financial resources. The involvement of the private sector shows there is an initiative along with a political will to develop projects."