Barra do Dande Integrated Development Free Zone

In the following lines you will be introduced to Barra do Dande’s latest treasure. Ambitious and an authentic vehicle for development. Any ideas as to what we might be referring to? We’ll give you a clue. It guarantees food, energy and fuel security. We are talking about the Barra do Dande Integrated Development Free Zone. Although long, we advise you to memorise the name of the project, it may be useful to you in the near future. Being developed in the province of Bengo, it is located in the heart of Dande and can be described as an important piece in the puzzle of the Angolan commune. The project was officially presented on July 21, this year. A project that has come to stir up the waters of the River Dande and shake the imposing cliffs of the region. It seems that this 1350-km² town saw its prayers heard, when an ambitious vision invested in the creation of strategic national reserves. «The idea stems from the economic vision of the Angolan president,» explains the team behind the project. This plan guarantees food and energy security, fuel security, as well as the economic and industrial development of Dande. And the repercussions? You can’t count them on your fingers, although the capacity to respond to potential fortuitous phenomena such as, for example, economic crises or even pandemics, through, of course, the storage of products that guarantee the regular supply of the population, deserves to be highlighted. The project was conceived and designed for a 30-year timeframe as proof of concept for Angola’s first free trade zone.

We believe there is some debate as to the reasons behind making Dande the stage for this ambition. The hydroelectric potential, the coastline and the industrial development underway are three of the reasons, together with the fact that the region is one of the main road corridors for access and outflow to the consumer centre of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Although without legislative obstacles in its creation, the Barra do Dande Integrated Development Free Zone first needed to meet some requirements that, in general terms, are grouped into an environmental impact study, an assessment of the project’s economic viability, a social impact study, as well as the development of a strategic plan and a land use plan. The second step was to organise and foresee different moments for its development. There are three development phases. Phase I, over a five-year horizon, which aims to attract the interest of investors in the components that make up the project, highlights of which include the maritime port terminal, the silos for grain storage and the vegetable oil refinery; phase II, which consists of the expansion of the industrial hub, residential developments and the start of the development of tourist developments; the last phase is planned for 2032, consisting of the consolidation of everything that had been proposed.
The dream of the ‘Dande Free Zone’ does not belong only to its managing body, the Sociedade de Desenvolvimento da Barra do Dande (SDBD). No. This is one public company, sharing a single passion between many shareholders, such as the Port of Luanda, Sonangol, the Special Economic Zone, the Institute of Asset Management and State Holdings and the Development Bank of Angola. Also on the horizon is the involvement of the private sector, and SDBD confesses that it plans to «identify one or more strategic partners to build, manage and operate some of the project’s components». What is certain is that integrating an ecosystem with different transport components, as well as the supply chain, is an ambitious goal, as it intends to act in terms of maritime services and the handling of various types of cargo, in the logistics terminals, in the industrial zone and in the rail and road links. 

A public domain company, which shares a single passion between multiple shareholders 

Now that the commitments of the Free Zone have been presented, it remains to be seen exactly what Dande can reap from the project. «The Dande Free Zone will foster the industrial development of the country, promote openness to foreign trade and ensure the security of the strategic reserves,» reveals the entrepreneurial group. Apart from this it will act as an instigator for private investment, enable the liberalisation of the economy, cause an increase in the flow of imports and exports of goods and will create the promotion and development of different services in the country. It will provide local people with plenty of jobs, promoting their training and professional growth, and reducing existing regional asymmetries. The Sociedade de Desenvolvimento da Barra do Dande goes even further, stating that, given the volume of investments projected for the development of the Free Zone and the respective turnover, it is estimated that over the next 10 years there will be a contribution of between 1.5 and 2 percent to Angola’s Gross Domestic Product, in phase I. It adds that projects are expected that cost around 1.5 billion, something the group says is the result of a «more attractive, challenging project that encourages real public-private partnerships for the development of different initiatives».

Working in close conjunction with the State and the private sector might well be one of the secrets of success, something the Free Zone group believes must happen. «The path should be taken together, in which the private sector should assume its true role of driving the economy and the State that of creating the right environment for business to grow,» they explain. They also throw out a challenge to the private sector, both nationally and internationally, daring it to be inspiring through innovative projects and to invest in the Angolan country. 
The group is unequivocally aware of the calibre of the project it is developing, positioning it at a high level. Ambitious, the Sociedade de Desenvolvimento da Barra do Dande thinks it is heralding the opening to global routes, stating that it has the potential to fly even higher, reaching a global scale. «Today we are a predominantly importing country, but the Free Trade Zone has potential and will attract a number of industries with the capacity to serve markets in the region, and beyond, where the «made in Angola» seal will begin to conquer a more significant space on the world trading platform».

The creation of 16,000 jobs is the challenge proposed by the group

It will act as a catalyst for Angola’s business fabric 

On a dream course, the project does not pause for rest. When the motive is greater than man, there is nothing to stop it, as the Barra do Dande Integrated Development Free Zone project group says. In difficult hours, it is the love for the home country that prevails and, step by step, Angola gets closer to becoming a country with a promising future, thanks to ambitions such as this, which go beyond the drawing board.