WATERAchievements that reflect an entrepreneurial vision of our most essential natural resource

# 153 vol XXXVIII March/April 2011 English Edition

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WATERAchievements that reflect an entrepreneurial vision of our most essential natural resource

# 153 vol XXXVIII March/April 2011 English Edition

informa

#153

WATERLessons on positive relations with nature

in the lagoon region of Maceió, Brazil

Angola invests in water supply through projects

in several parts of the country

A company that is present (and always welcome)

in the daily lives of 4.5 million people

A water supply project in Peru transforms

a desert into fertile land

In the 1980s and 1990s, an irrigation project takes

prosperity to Bahia’s semi-arid hinterland in Brazil

How technology and creativity are ensuring

the preservation of the Madeira River

The Sabor, Europe’s last untamed river: learn

about its history and contribution

Gabriel Azevedo discusses a subject that has

fascinated him since childhood and led him to become

an expert: water

Aquapolo: advances in water reuse methods

for industry

Cetrel and the Camaçari Industrial Complex:

an essential relationship for sustainability

Harvard University Professor John Briscoe

gives optimistic advice

&PEOPLENEWS Organization

Profile

Odebrecht Foundation

TEO

Subsea engineering

People

6

10

16

20

24

28

34

38

42

46

48cover photo:Vicente Sampaio

52

565860

62

64

English Edition

informa4

informa 5

ater is the subject chosen to mark the debut of a

new phase for Odebrecht Informa. In this issue,

#153, the magazine is presenting its readers with

a brand-new editorial and graphic design.

The main purpose of this change is to spot-

light how the people at Odebrecht deal with issues of particular importance

for the Organization, Brazil and the world, no matter where they may be

located. They always handle these matters on the basis of the principles

and concepts of the Odebrecht Entrepreneurial Technology, setting their

own course of action that is always consistent and coherent, thereby con-

solidating a business culture developed for over 65 years. In the end, it is

this culture that we want to showcase and help maintain.

One of the main features of this new format is even more generous

treatment of photos, which are larger and more succinct. Without giving

up its journalistic DNA, which always keeps it on the path of seeking

meaningful, reliable and qualified information, Odebrecht Informa will

start making its reports more analytical, turning them into calls for re-

flection.

Renewal is the natural course of everything that is done by and for peo-

ple who understand that development takes place from day to day through

a proactive and constructive spirit – the same spirit that is driving the world

to discuss its vital relationship with water (whose day is celebrated world-

wide on March 22) in a “glass half full” scenario, as Professor John Bris-

coe, the author of the “argument” section of this issue describes it while

providing optimistic advice.

People in quest of solutions. People for whom the glass is never half

empty – that is what you’ll find in the following pages of Odebrecht Informa,

a publication that is renewing itself, but whose main theme is always peo-

ple and their infinite capacity to dream and achieve.

The enduring spirit of renewal

People in quest

of solutions.

People for whom the

glass is never half

empty – that is what

you’ll find in the

following pages

of Odebrecht Informa,

a publication that is

renewing itself, but

whose main theme

is always people

and their infinite

capacity to dream

and achieve

EDITORIAL

W

6 informa

6

here is a lot of life pulsing around the

Mundaú-Manguaba lagoon complex in

the Brazilian state of Alagoas, the focus

of the activities of Braskem’s Lagoa Viva

(Living Lagoon) Project. When it was

created in 2001, the project focused on environmental

education at Péricles Silvestre Elementary School and

covered the Pontal da Barra community in a district

on the shores of Mundaú Lagoon near the company’s

Chlor-Alkali Unit. A decade later, in addition to raising

environmental awareness, Lagoa Viva is carrying out

projects to generate jobs and income in 37 counties, in-

volving 481 local primary schools, 230,715 students and

9,502 environmental educators.

Nevertheless, the preservation of the Mundaú-

Manguaba Estuary Complex, one of the most important

of its kind in the country, is still the main focus of the

Lagoa Viva Institute, an NGO created to manage en-

vironmental projects in the region. Despite the work

done to raise awareness there, the two lagoons are still

suffering from the environmental degradation caused

by rapid sedimentation, industrial waste disposal, and

T

7informa

In Alagoas, Brazil, 37 counties benefit from an initiative that – much

more than creating jobs and income – generates a symbiotic

relationship between people and nature

LIFE THAT EMANATES FROM lagoonswritten by Rubeny GoulaRt photos by Élvio luiz

sewage from Maceió and surrounding towns and cit-

ies. That process directly and indirectly affects the ap-

proximately 260,000 people who live near the lagoons,

including 5,000 fishermen.

Partnerships with Alagoas Departments of Edu-

cation and the counties in the vicinity of the Mundaú-

Manguaba complex have allowed Lagoa Viva to engage

in more comprehensive and integrated activities that

include preserves and conservation areas of the Atlan-

tic Forest and its ecosystems, formed by salt marsh-

es, caatinga (thorny brush), mangroves, coral reefs

and part of the São Francisco River. Today, in addition

to contributing to the Continuing Education of Public

School System Teachers in Environmental Education,

Lagoa Viva is working to provide the local community

with job skills.

Averaging 224 events per year Braskem has maintained Lagoa Viva since 2001,

implementing the program through partnerships with

schools, universities and counties. Every year, the in-

stitute organizes an average of 224 events, including

The waters of Mundaú Lagoon meet the sea: impressive beauty that inspires change

8 informa

seminars and lectures focused on environmental edu-

cation, in addition to several courses and workshops on

subjects such as beekeeping, hydroponics, handicrafts

and English as a foreign language. “The program’s goal

is to awaken an awareness in people of environmen-

tal issues and mobilize them to take specific action,”

explains Milton Pimentel Pradines Filho, the Braskem

officer Responsible for Institutional Relations.

The more than 417 projects being carried out through

Lagoa Viva in the form of lectures, workshops and field-

work take each county’s potential and aptitudes into ac-

count. Therefore, while the riverside areas of the Pontal

district are encouraged to engage in subsistence fish

farming and produce lace or “fillet,” as the local craft

is called, beekeeping projects are being implemented

in at least seven rural communities in Teotônio Vilela

county, producing honey from stingless bees native to

Brazil. In Santana do Mundaú, one of the areas hardest

hit by floods in that region, the emphasis is on growing

grafted sweet oranges.

The abundance of water in Maceió, a region encircled

by the sea and lagoons, is the greatest inspiration for

most Lagoa Viva projects. All, in some way, reference

the lagoons, which, given the beautiful landscapes in

the region, are popular venues for sightseeing and wa-

ter sports. Environmental awareness, especially about

the need to preserve the 27-sq.km Mundaú Lagoon

and 42-sq.km Manguaba Lagoon, is directly linked to

the economic survival of local communities dependent

on fisheries and the sale of fish, crustaceans and mol-

lusks typical of the region, such as mussels, clams and

maçunin (a marine shellfish).

The Mundaú-Manguaba Complex is also the setting

of the Braskem Ecovela, an event whose main attrac-

tions are a contest for raftsmen to remove trash from

the lagoons and a race for sailing canoes. The number

of counties involved in the competition, now in its sev-

enth edition, increases every year. In 2010, participants

came from Maceió, Coqueiro Seco, Marechal Deodoro,

Pilar, Santa Luzia do Norte, Barra de São Miguel, Ro-

teiro, Penedo, Piaçabuçu, and even the Brejo Grande

and Neópolis communities in the neighboring state of

Sergipe. Together, they removed over 15 metric tons of

trash from the lagoons during the three-day event.

Farming methods The lagoons are not the only places where water

is a vital resource. Lagoa Viva is carrying out a project

to grow hydroponic vegetables in schools, community

areas and rural settlements in the region, under the

supervision of agricultural technician Robson Araújo,

age 27. Robson joined the program in 2003. In addition

to training teachers and students to develop farming

methods for hydroponic organic and vegetable gar-

dens, as well as growing fruit, vegetables, pulses and

medicinal herbs, he is also experimenting with en-

dangered native plants, such as white sucupira and

murici. “Lagoa Viva is a blessing for nature and a tre-

mendous professional opportunity for many people,”

says Robson.

Fisherman with his net and (next page) a child playing in the water: life around the lagoons

9informa

Lagoa Viva spotlights the link between ecological

awareness and its professional education projects,

since, by definition, all educational activities result in

interventions in the natural environment. Because of

that, everyone who participates in Lagoa Viva projects

must take a minimum of 20 class-hours of the pro-

gram’s lectures and courses. “It’s important to convey

the idea that all this economic activity depends on the

environment, and vice versa,” explains Lenice Santos

de Moraes, President of Lagoa Viva. Moreover, there

is an ongoing effort to bring the project and academia

closer together. Through an agreement between the

Federal University at Alagoas (UFAL), Braskem and the

Lagoa Viva Institute, about 150 public school teachers

have already taken courses in Environmental Manage-

ment and Specialization in the Environment.

The combination of professional education and en-

vironmental awareness can be perceived in the attitude

of Jamile Talita, 25, a member of Lagoa Viva since 2003,

the year she first took the “fillet” lacemaking workshop.

“Our lives, culture and survival are closely linked to the

environment,” she says. By improving the technique

which, according to local tradition, is handed down

from mother to daughter, she has helped to increase

her household production, selling about 50 items per

month in local craft shops. “That extra income always

comes in handy and allows us to take bigger steps for-

ward,” says Jamile, who is also studying English, taking

a course sponsored by the Lagoa Viva Institute and run

by the School of Letters’ British House of Culture and

the UFAL Extension Department.

Until the late 1990s, professional education was not

part of the Chlor-Alkali unit’s environmental initiative

(at the time it was controlled by Trikem, an Odebrecht

Organization subsidiary). The Lagoa Project, as it was

called, specifically targeted the community in the Pon-

tal district, which is home to about 4,000 people. “We

had to broaden the range of environmental education to

include other projects involving the community,” says

Industrial Director Álvaro Cezar de Almeida, who took

part in efforts to introduce the new orientation for the

program renamed Lagoa Viva.

In 2003, the Lagoa Viva Institute was born under the

direction of Lenice Santos de Moraes, who was then

the principal of a local school, and her brother, Jorge

Mário, now deceased. The new management, which is

closely linked to environmental activism, has contrib-

uted numerous suggestions that cover the entire spec-

trum of the program, including the production of events

and professional education workshops focused not only

on teachers and students but the entire community. In

2007, prompted by discussions among environmental

educators from Lagoa Viva, the institute created the

School/Community Intervention and Integration Proj-

ect to systematize the application of the concepts of

environmental education in county schools. A key mea-

sure was the creation of an Environmental Committee

to coordinate the involvement of the schools, teachers,

students and the community in environmental activi-

ties. Because more counties in the Mundaú-Manguaba

Estuary Complex are joining Lagoa Viva every year, the

demand for new projects is also on the rise.

The goal is to ensure that, in the future, every county

in the state is included in the project; that students have

a solid environmental education – thereby contributing

to the formation of more environmentally aware citi-

zens – and that more businesses come on board to help

keep Lagoa Viva going strong.

10 informa

written by luiz CaRlos Ramos photos by GuilheRme afonso

Fountains, treatment facilities and distribution systems are examples of projects that are surmounting the water supply challenge in Angola10WATER BRINGS

fter 35 years of independence and

only nine in an actual state of peace,

Angola is making significant progress

in improving the quality of life of its

people who now number around 17

million. The country is embarking on a new cycle of

development marked by the construction of hydroelec-

tric projects, roads, sanitation works and housing. The

government and the residents of the nation’s two larg-

est metropolitan areas – Luanda, with 6 million inhabit-

ants, and Benguela, 2 million – and the other provinces

are united behind this drive.

Alongside the physical aspect of the economic

achievements marked by the entire country’s efforts

and resources derived from oil exports, there is an-

other factor. Almost invisible, but an exciting part of

the new Angola’s image, it is contributing decisively

to improving the public’s quality of life: water. Oil fuels

hope. And water is already reaching more and more

people, bringing new life: it goes from the rivers into

homes after passing through treatment plants and

distribution centers. Odebrecht is taking part in wa-

ter programs for the regions of Luanda and Benguela,

both in the expansion phase, and is carrying on with

its contribution of building dozens of projects since it

arrived in Angola 26 years ago to build the Capanda

hydroelectric plant.

More households are benefiting every month: treat-

ed water is reaching their faucets and showers. In low-

income neighborhoods, which still lack distribution net-

works, residents carry containers to numerous public

fountains to fetch clean water – something that does

not compare with the times when they needed to dig

wells or walk long distances to get water from tanker

trucks that was often tainted.

José Carlos Carvalho, 40, is doubly proud: the An-

golan technician has worked at Odebrecht for 11 years

and lives in a comfortable home in Zango II, in the Vi-

ana district, in the Luanda metropolitan area, where

the arrival of treated water has improved his and his

family’s lives, including his wife, Guilhermina, and their

six children. “Everything’s easier now,” says José Car-

los while drinking water at breakfast with Guilhermina

and their youngest children – Adalberto, 3, Aliony, 6,

and José Lamy, 9 – before leaving for work. “Around

here, the whole neighborhood was thrilled,” he says.

He is working on projects in Zango III and Zango IV,

two other low-income districts where the houses built

by Odebrecht are already finished and equipped with

plumbing and electricity.

Some 510 km away, Maria do Rosário is experienc-

ing the relief of a big achievement. She lives in Catum-

bela, in the Benguela and Lobito region, and like other

housewives, fetches water from a public fountain every

day. Carrying her 8-month-old son Camir on her back,

Maria smiles as she settles a bucket on her head and

takes her leave of her friends. “I’m going to make lunch

for my other five children. The water is good now.”

A

11informa

smilesWATER BRINGS

Maria do Rosário and her son Camir: “The water is good now”

12 informa

Meeting a challenge Luanda has grown over the past 35 years, explains

engineer Pedro Pinheiro, who has been with Odebrecht

for 15 years and spent nine of those years in Angola. He

is currently the Project Director for the Águas de Lu-

anda water supply project: “The city’s growth was disor-

ganized. During times of political tension, many people

came here from other parts of the country to find a safe

haven. Luanda had an infrastructure capable of dealing

with less than 500,000 inhabitants. Today, the popula-

tion has reached 6 million. That growth was very fast

and has made the challenge of bringing water to the

entire population even bigger.”

The Government of Angola has found the answer:

investments. The Ministry of Water and Power is pri-

oritizing funding to avoid interrupting the projects un-

derway in major cities. One example is the Águas de

Luanda Project in the nation’s capital, where Odebrecht

is working on the basis of its extensive track record in

major infrastructure works. The program is linked to

the EPAL, the state-owned company that runs Águas

de Luanda. “Building a project like this in São Paulo or

Rio de Janeiro would be important. But in a country like

Angola, it is paramount. It is a challenging situation for

Odebrecht, and we are making progress,” says Pedro

Pinheiro.

The Southeast Luanda Treatment Plant, which opened

in 2000, receives water from the Kwanza River through

canals, pipelines and pumps. The water is thoroughly

treated before going on to several distribution centers.

Now, Odebrecht is building the Benfica Distribution Cen-

ter and other reservoirs, which are part of the expansion

of water supply services. Pedro Pinheiro explains that

the project involves building two more treatment plants

in the future: “The Bita system, for example, will provide

9 cu.m/s of water, since the river’s flow is big enough.

It is a social necessity. Everything will depend on public

investment.”

There will be no shortage of investments, guaran-

tees Luís Filipe da Silva, the head of the Angola Water

Department, which is part of the Ministry of Water and

Power. He underscores that: “We will continue expand-

ing the works to obtain and treat water and distribute it

to a larger number of people in the Luanda and Ben-

guela regions and in other provinces, on the coast and

inland. This is a process that cannot stop.” The Water

Secretary confirms the Angolan Government’s con-

“My job is much smoother and healthier,” says Márcia Manoel Antonio, who cooks for a living and sells funge, a traditional Angolan dish

13informa

fidence in its capacity to carry out these projects and

hints at ambitious, but achievable plans: “We have

come a long way. Our goal now is to ensure that no An-

golan is without water in the future.”

Homes with piped water Luanda has a busy downtown area with beautiful

scenery along the harbor and bay. In some parts of the

capital, there are urbanized areas with beautiful homes.

However, uncontrolled growth caused by the period of

armed conflict, the housing deficit and the need to re-

furbish the downtown area gave rise to the demand for

the construction of low-income housing.

The Zango Housing Program was designed for the

population living in extremely precarious conditions

without the assurance of minimum living standards

and exposed to hazards such as the constant landslides

caused by torrential rains in Luanda. The program also

aims to allow the reconstruction of basic infrastructure

facilities in parts of the inner city and therefore create

the necessary conditions for their refurbishment.

Maurizio Bastianelli, an engineer who has spent 21

years at Odebrecht and nearly four working in Angola,

is the Project Director for the Population Rehousing

Program. He explains: “The challenge is enormous.

Four thousand housing units were planned for stages III

and IV of the Zango project, which are nearing comple-

tion. Following the contract extension, approved in 2010

by the Angolan Government, we have expanded Zango,

adding the construction of over 3,000 homes and the in-

frastructure required to make 20,000 homes habitable.

Undoubtedly, the houses in Zango, equipped with run-

ning water and electricity, will have a huge social im-

pact and significantly improve Angolans’ quality of life.”

After eight years, a period that includes stages I

and II of the project, life in the Zango community has

been transformed. Most of the low-income residents

are looking forward to these changes, as they still face

hardships with regard to housing, water and power.

Carrying on with the work to resettle populations is

now a priority for the Angolan Government due to the

large number of families that still need better housing,

sanitation and safety.

In the Benguela region, engineer Marcus Felipe de

Aragão Fernandes is the Project Director for the water

supply program covering Benguela, Lobito, Catumbela

Viana residents at their local fountain: making daily life easier

14 informa

and Baía Farta. After working in Portugal, Bolivia, Ec-

uador and Peru, he has taken on a major challenge in

Angola along with his team: “In this region, since 2003

Odebrecht has taken part in urban development, sani-

tation and road construction and rehabilitation projects

as well as building the new airport terminal. We are

also in the third phase of the Águas de Benguela wa-

ter supply project. Water brings quality of life from the

moment it helps prevent the problems caused by poor

supply. Public health has improved.”

Official figures back up Marcus Felipe’s observation.

In the last two years, the Benguela Provincial Health

Department reported just 226 cases of cholera in Ben-

guela and 132 in Lobito, a significant decrease compared

with 2006, when there were 3,850 cases in Benguela and

1,452 in Lobito. The Governor of Benguela, General Ar-

mando da Cruz Neto, reports that by 2012, 95% of the

population of the metropolitan area will have access to

treated water: “The Águas de Benguela water project

benefits about 1.5 million residents in this area, and the

third stage of the project will further expand the system

to substantially increase the number of beneficiaries.”

In a meeting with Marcus Felipe, the governor praised

Odebrecht’s work and observed: “In this third phase

of the program, new fountains will be built and more

household connections will be added, making it possible

to extend its benefits to more distant neighborhoods.”

One of those distant neighborhoods is Alto Niva,

where Alexandrina Agosto Simão sets off every day to

work at the administrative sector of the Odebrecht con-

struction site. An Angolan Odebrecht Member and the

mother of six – baby Aracy, Rosi, Inês, Balbino, Jóia and

Pedro – she, her children and her husband, Professor

Lourenço Maria Antônio, rejoiced when piped water ar-

rived in their home and the entire neighborhood. “Now

the kids are excited at bath time and will have better

health prospects thanks to this water,” says Alexandri-

na, noting her husband’s approving smile. A fan of soc-

cer legend Ronaldo, Laurenço proudly wears the jersey

of Brazil’s national squad.

Engineer Marcus Felipe explains the high quality of

the water in Benguela: “What we have here is the most

advanced there is in purification plants.” The treatment

facility is equipped with huge tanks, where water from

the Catumbela River is decanted to eliminate impuri-

ties such as silt. The system is eco-friendly because it

has a sector in which a portion of the wastewater flows

into a channel to go through an additional step that

15informa

The Southeast Luanda Wastewater Treatment Plant, which opened in 2000, receives water from the Kwanza River through canals, pipelines and pumps. The water is thoroughly treated before going to several distribution centers

leaves it pure. Once separated, the remaining sludge

can be reused to make useful products like bricks.

Controlling water quality Electronic engineer Ricardo Dattelkremer reports

that the Benguela treatment plant was designed in ac-

cordance with standards developed on previous Ode-

brecht projects, and has a state-of-the-art water qual-

ity control laboratory: “The lab plays an important role

because it is often necessary to check the outcome of

the treatment of river water at the plant and recom-

mend the necessary measures.”

As in Benguela, Odebrecht work teams in Luanda

are made up almost exclusively of Angolans who,

alongside the Brazilians, are directly contributing to the

projects’ success. This is the case with Domingos Álva-

res Fonseca Pereira Bravo, better known as Bravo at

the Luanda jobsites. A 14-year Member of Odebrecht

Angola, Bravo is an occupational safety technician. He

says that thanks to the precautions taken at the com-

pany, there have been zero accidents on the water sup-

ply system expansion project. He is also an enthusiastic

advocate of the need for the benefits of water to reach

more people. “For a long time, my wife and six children

and I had no running water at home. I know what it’s

like. Now we have water and the residents of Luanda

have more hope,” says Bravo.

An example of that hope is Denise Correia, who

had not even been born when Angola became an in-

dependent nation in 1975, and experienced hardship

as a child. Denise, 22, lives in the Palanca district with

her sisters Isabel and Lucineide, and is a social worker

on the Águas de Luanda and Special Economic Zone

teams, doing her job on a specially equipped bus that

travels around the region to explain to adults and chil-

dren how important improved water service will be for

the Angolan capital.

“We still don’t have piped water in my house, but

there’s a public fountain nearby, and I store water in a

tank so I can use it whenever I need to.” Denise has a

talent for communication. She uses it to explain how

the water supply project works to local residents and

advises them to be very careful to avoid wasting water.

“This is a wonderful achievement that will soon benefit

the entire population of Luanda. We must value that,”

she says. After working on the bus all day, Denise goes

to night school at Agostinho Neto University, where she

is a first-year Law student.

Enthusiasm about these recent achievements is

now part of life for other Luanda residents. “The wa-

ter we are getting now is of excellent quality com-

pared with our previous situation,” says Edna Sebas-

tiana João. “Now that we have water in Zango, we have

gained more health and happiness,” rejoices com-

munity leader Antonio Domingos, 82. “My job is much

smoother and healthier,” says Márcia Manoel Antonio,

who makes a living by cooking and selling funge, a tra-

ditional Angolan dish.

When he sees the response the works are getting,

engineer Pedro Pinheiro smiles and says: “Being part

of a project like this, which has a social role, inspires

us every day, because we can see how happy people

are with the water.” In his turn, engineer Maurizio Bas-

tianelli points out: “Water and shelter are two achieve-

ments that are becoming increasingly accessible to

people who once had to struggle and wait for them to

arrive.” Engineer Marcus Felipe, a champion of educa-

tion and health as basic civic rights, concludes: “Water

means health, and education helps people conserve

that water. What we are doing here is not just a job. It

is the job.”

16 informa

relationship

16

PERSONAL

informa 17

relationshipThe water supply and sanitation company Foz do Brasil’s services directly benefit 4.5 million people

written by milton GeRson

photos by luCiano andRade

larmist predictions of a world without water,

environmental fads or a simple opportunity to

break into a sector with tremendous poten-

tial were not among the factors that led to the

Odebrecht Organization’s creation in 2007 of a

company that invests in environmental assets and services.

Foz do Brasil arose from the belief that huge investment gaps

and the need for efficient water supply systems presented an op-

portunity to contribute to the conservation of water and the en-

vironment, serving clients through modern, adequate infrastruc-

ture facilities and providing the public with high-quality services,

thereby generating returns for shareholders.

This vision, along with the possibility of growing Foz do Brasil

by making the most of Odebrecht’s geopolitical base and opera-

tional synergies with Cetrel, Braskem, Quattor and the Organiza-

tion’s Engineering & Construction companies, set the direction for

Foz do Brasil’s Action Plan and growth during its first three years

of operations.

In 2009, expansion plans for Foz do Brasil were made feasi-

ble by a partnership with the FI-FGTS (Infrastructure Investment

Fund), which holds a 26.53% stake in the company. Through this

type of investment, the aim is to improve the yield of Brazilian

workers’ resources invested in the Guarantee Fund for Length

of Service. This partnership between Odebrecht and the FI-FGTS

therefore converges with a long-term vision of investment.

Worldwide, there are several areas suffering from water-sup-

ply imbalance – high population density and few available water

sources – while others have a large supply of water and low popu-

lation density. The challenge is to treat, transport and optimize

water within a context of balance. “We don’t envisage catastrophic

prospects of chaos and water shortages in the world. Instead, we

see water as a resource that really needs to be stewarded better.

And with every passing day, Foz do Brasil is increasingly prepared

to meet that challenge,” notes Foz’s Entrepreneurial Leader

(CEO), Fernando Santos-Reis.

The number of private-sector companies active in this indus-

try is still comparatively small in Brazil, given the challenges the

nation faces. According to the Federal Government, it would take

over BRL 200 billion to provide every Brazilian household with wa-

ter supply and sewage collection and treatment services. How-

ever, the greatest contribution Foz do Brasil can make, as one of

the leaders in this industry, is investing in and operating efficient

systems, influencing the industry and the country by example.

In 2011, the company will produce 195 million liters of clean

drinking water per day, treat and reuse 963 million liters per day of

industrial water, and collect and treat 345 million liters per day of

household and industrial sewage. Through sewage collection and

PERSONAL

AFoz do Brasil Member at the company’s Limeira facility: high approval ratings for services

informa

18 informa

One of Foz’s mobile units: informing the community

treatment alone, Foz do Brasil ensures that 110 metric

tons of organic matter daily are no longer discharged

into rivers, lakes and beaches.

Knowledge and synergy The Southern Hemisphere regions that are most

lacking in water investments and still developing their

infrastructure are places where Odebrecht is already

present: Latin America and Africa.

Today, Foz is active at all stages of the water cycle.

The company has assets and businesses that deal

with water collection, storage and distribution; billing;

wastewater treatment; utilizing reused water obtained

from treated sewage for industrial purposes, and the

subsequent final and proper disposal of wastewater in

river basins, waterways and oceans.

In the industrial sector, the prevailing principle is also

water conservation. Foz has the experience required to

operate at all stages, such as utilizing reused water for

cooling machinery and other purposes. “Through differ-

ent contractual arrangements and business features,

as well as varied technologies, we want to be at the

forefront of everything that water resource manage-

ment represents,” says Santos-Reis.

Investments

Since its inception, Foz has invested over BRL 4 billion

in its backlog. Based on its plans for the three-year pe-

riod between 2011 and 2013, the company will invest an-

other BRL 8 billion. According to Ticiana Marianetti, the

company’s officer Responsible for Finance, the planned

investment for 2011 totals BRL 800 million. “These are

long-term investments, and the average payback (return

on investment) period is 15 years,” she explains.

Numbers for Foz do Brasil • services benefit 4.5 million people

• directly employs 1,746 members

• 19 cities serviced in 6 states

• Major private-sector clients: Petrobras,

Braskem, Thyssen, Transpetro, Dow,

Dupont, Rhodia, BattreBahia, Shell

and Klabin.

19informa

Foz do Brasil has a backlog of projects with an av-

erage duration of 24 years. In 2010, the company’s net

revenue reached BRL 804 million, more than double

compared with the previous year. According to Tici-

ana, Foz expects a turnover of BRL 1.3 billion in 2011.

About 60% of that total is based on operations in the

Water segment, 30% on Industrial Plants (outsourcing

utility plants for industries) and 10% in Environmental

Services.

According to Fernando Reis, the main challenge

the company faces is not raising funds, since those

resources are widely available in the financial market.

“The challenge lies in our ability to groom and integrate

new entrepreneur-partners into the company who can

service the communities on the basis of the principles

of TEO (the Odebrecht Entrepreneurial Technology),” he

says. In 2008, when the company began its activities,

it had eight entrepreneur-partners. By 2010, it had 30.

“Over the course of last year, we had to bring in, groom

and integrate 10 entrepreneurs with a base of 20. This

year, we have set ourselves the challenge of integrating

and grooming 10 more,” he adds.

Sustainability While society and the corporate world exhaustively

discuss the issue of sustainability, Foz do Brasil, as

a company whose business is water resource man-

agement, views that subject from a more favorable

position than companies whose activities negatively

impact the environment. This differentiator allows Foz

to have a bolder concept in its Sustainability Policy,

which is based on three pillars: universal access, ef-

ficiency and added value.

“When we are serving 100% of a population by pro-

viding clean drinking water and treated sewage, we

will be fulfilling our commitment to providing universal

services that are directly related to public health and

quality of life,” says Renato Medeiros, Responsible for

Engineering.

Efficiency, he explains, is a sore point in the opera-

tions of water supply and sewer systems in Brazil today.

Average consumption for a household of three to four

people in Brazil is currently 500 liters per day. In this

country, for that amount of water to reach the point of

delivery, 1,000 liters must be removed from the rivers

– in other words, there is a 50% loss of water from the

moment it is collected to the time of final consumption.

“When we attain our standard of efficiency, those

same 500 liters will reach Brazilian homes after collect-

ing just 600 liters. That will save 400 liters per house-

hold every day, so that resource is no longer removed

from nature and more of it is available to serve more

people,” stresses Medeiros.

Renato Medeiros explains that the third pillar of

sustainability, added value, has a broader meaning.

It refers to the value added to society through water

conservation (for public consumption and productive

activities) and added value for the company’s share-

holders, so it can continually reinvest its results in

more projects.

Medeiros also points out the importance of combin-

ing the benefits of sustainability with the client’s satis-

faction and excellent service, whether the client is the

concession grantor or the public. “The quality of care

our utilities provide through toll-free numbers and local

customer service rounds out our operational efficiency

indicators.”

According to Fernando Reis, Foz do Brasil is operat-

ing in the context of optimizing and increasing the dura-

tion of a finite resource. “What is now a relevant public

debate has always been part of life for our programs

and businesses.”

Technological innovations The growing expertise of Foz’s teams qualifies the

company to work with technological innovations such

as water production for industrial purposes through the

reuse of domestic sewage and desalinated seawater.

According to Renato Medeiros, desalination is still ex-

pensive and not widely used because it requires major

investments and involves complex operations, but in the

future it could present a solution to supplying drinking

water in areas that lack fresh water sources.

According to Fernando Reis, in a country like Brazil,

with more than 5,500 counties, the private sector can do

a great deal to supplement the work of the public sec-

tor. And the needs of the segment in which Foz is active

effectively require the natural process of surmounting

challenges that has always gone on within the Odebre-

cht Organization.

“That is why we are continually striving to find new

technologies and pursuing creative, innovative solutions

that get better results for the communities we serve to-

day and those we will serve in the future,” he adds.

20 informa

A water supply project will realize the dream – for many Peruvians, the miracle – of transforming a desert into fertile land

written by Renata meyeR

photos by daRio de fReitas

FROM THE ANDES TO THE

This dam is part of the project: storing water for use during the driest seasons

informa

desertlmos may be the most competitive

area in Peru for pursuing excel-

lence in farming. That might seem

like an overstatement, but it is one

of the few places on the planet

where you can literally grow anything,” observes

agronomist Fernando Cillóniz. Located near the An-

des Mountains, more precisely in the Lambayeque

region, 900 km from Lima, the soil there is fertile,

the sun shines all year round, and the low relative

humidity helps keep pests away.

There is a consensus among local peasant com-

munities, agribusiness entrepreneurs and Peruvian

authorities that, when it comes to food production,

Olmos has all the resources it needs to become the

main force driving development in one of the most

deprived parts of Peru. Almost all, in fact. The only

thing it needs is water. Despite the favorable condi-

tions for farming, the Olmos Valley is located in a des-

ert region where rainfall is never more than 215 mm

per year on average. The nearest river, the Huan-

cabamba, collides with the geography of the Andes,

which prevent it from reaching the Atlantic on the

other side of the mountain range.

Faced with this massive irony of nature, over the

years Olmos was limited to subsistence farming

until a bold water diversion project, planned in the

1920s during the administration of President Au-

gusto Bernardino Leguía, brought fresh prospects

for the region. A long-held dream for the Peruvian

Government began to be fulfilled in that decade, but

was interrupted several times because of financial

shortages and technical limitations.

No wonder. The challenge of bringing irrigation

to Lambayeque involves building a 20-km, 5.3-m di-

ameter tunnel through the unstable geology of the

Andes to convey more than 400 million cubic meters

of water per year to the other side.

In addition to the transposition of the Huan-

cabamba River, the Olmos Project, as it is known,

involves irrigating a 43,500-ha area and building two

hydroelectric plants to generate power for the irri-

gated land.

In 2004, the Regional Government of Lambayeque

issued calls for tenders under the PPP (public-pri-

vate partnership) system for the construction and

operation of water supply and energy generation

systems. Odebrecht Peru won the contract for the

first component and is responsible for the entire in-

vestment required to complete the projects.

The transposition part alone will require total

investments exceeding USD 300 million and mainly

includes the construction of the Trans-Andes Tun-

nel and the Limón Dam, which has already been

completed, and can store up to 44 million cu.m of

water for use during peak dry seasons. The com-

pany responsible for this stage of the project is the

Trasvase Olmos concessionaire, the Odebrecht sub-

sidiary that will operate and maintain the facilities

for a 20-year period.

O

21

“

informa

FROM THE ANDES TO THE

22 informa

One of the world’s most complex projects The construction of the tunnel is one of the most

complex engineering projects underway in the world

today, given its depth (as much as 2,000 m below the

surface of the mountain) and the geological charac-

teristics of the Andes. “This is a geologically young

structure that is still in motion due to tectonic shocks,

which makes the rock highly unstable,” explains Engi-

neering Manager Paulo Affonso Tassi.

The project is a challenge for the 200 members

who work in shifts on the difficult task of excava-

tion. Since the start of construction, there have been

more than 12,000 cracks reported inside the moun-

tain range resulting from the release of energy from

drilled rock. “Our challenge is to understand the

dynamics of the rock and work in a process of con-

tinuous improvement and technological innovation

to overcome obstacles and ensure the safety of our

members,” says Tassi. All but 2.3 km of the 20-km

tunnel have been excavated. According to the engi-

neer, the tunnel will be completed by early 2012.

This stage, the transposition of the Huancabamba

River, is the basis for the irrigation project, which

promises to boost the Olmos Valley’s economy. Through

a private concession agreement signed with the Re-

gional Government of Lambayeque, H2Olmos, a util-

ity company owned by Odebrecht Participações e

Investimentos (Holdings and Investments), will be

responsible for the engineering, financing, construc-

tion, operations and maintenance of infrastructure to

distribute the water that flows in from the other side

of the Andes.

“The Olmos Irrigation Project is the result of our

effort to make businesses viable through innovative

solutions such as the conversion of desert land into

sources of food production,” says Project Director

Giovanni Palacios. In 2008, the concession company

submitted a proposal for an irrigation area to the

Regional Government of Lambayeque. It was ap-

proved in 2010 after a process of adjustments and

adaptations.

In addition to installing 50 km of pipelines to sup-

ply pressurized water, the works include the con-

struction of canals, reservoirs, a tunnel, grit cham-

bers, access roads and power lines. The concession

period is 20 years, including construction, and the

overall investment will total USD 250 million.

Olmos Project facilities (on this and the following page): tools for creating an agribusiness hub

23informa

Of the 43,500-hectare irrigated area, 38,000 ha

will be sold at public auction. The land, currently

owned by the Regional Government of Lambayeque,

is called Tierras Nuevas (New Land), and will be di-

vided into 51 plots ranging from 250 ha to 1,000 ha.

The minimum price stipulated per hectare is USD

4,250, which includes the deed to the property and

water rights. Expectations are that these areas will

be used by agribusinesses dedicated to producing a

range of high-quality crops with excellent yields that

are highly competitive in the international market.

The remaining 5,500 ha belong to the peasant

communities of Valle Viejo. Thanks to irrigation, the

approximately 2,000 residents of that village will be

able to make farming an important source of em-

ployment and income. “This project will give a major

boost to the quality of life of Valle Viejo’s residents.

Without water, we were practically unable to pro-

duce,” says community leader Gregorio Morales. In

both cases, the concessionaire will charge USD 0.07

(seven cents) for each cubic meter of water used.

Agribusiness hubThe Chief Investment Officer for the Trasvase

Olmos concessionaire and H2Olmos, Juan Andrés

Marsano foresees that in the medium and long

term, Lambayeque will become an agribusiness hub

by attracting new businesses and a massive flow of

migrants, particularly in the direction of Olmos.

“At a modest estimate, the irrigation project will be

responsible for creating 40,000 job opportunities, but

there is room for many more. Some question whether

there will be enough professionals in the region to

meet the needs of a project of this magnitude,” he

says. According to Marsano, the Peruvian economy is

experiencing a boom following the removal of trade

barriers, and the country’s strategic location allows

easy access to markets in Asia and the West Coast of

the USA. Both are factors conducive to the project’s

success.

Furthermore, according to Juan Marsano, the Ol-

mos Project is a response to an issue that has been

concerning governments and institutions around

the world: food supply. “There are several good rea-

sons why we believe that Olmos has a tremendous

future ahead. The absence of state government in-

vestments in the food industry over the decades, the

steady increase in prices, climate change and water

scarcity around the world are just some of them,”

he argues.

24 informa

Built in the 1980s and 90s, the Formoso Irrigation Project brings prosperity to Bom Jesus da Lapa, Bahia, in northeastern Brazil

wRitten by Júlio CÉsaR soaRes photos by beG fiGueiRedo

24

RECALLING THE futureMEMORy

25informa

ocated on the banks of the São Francisco River in

western Bahia, Brazil, Bom Jesus da Lapa is famous

for being the destination of more than a million Cath-

olic pilgrims per year, who go to the Church of Bom

Jesus da Lapa, built inside the Cave of Good Jesus.

Gradually, the city is also becoming known for something that had

seemed impossible until a few years back: becoming a major ba-

nana production hub. Thanks to the Formoso Irrigation Project,

which Odebrecht built in that region between 1988 and 1999, Bom

Jesus da Lapa is doing just that.

Denivaldo Antonio de Brito has played a part in this story since

its inception in 1988. Besides being a farmer and a staff member of

the Formoso Irrigation District (DIF) – an association of local pro-

ducers – Denivaldo was also a tractor operator on the project when

Formoso was under construction.

“I worked on a farm before I joined Odebrecht in 1988,” he re-

calls. “Once the project was completed, the company invited me

go to work in Angola. But Codevasf offered me a 4-hectare plot

of land and an opportunity to work in the district, and I took it,”

he says. Denivaldo is one of the 910 small farmers on the project,

which also includes 225 farmers with larger plots, known as busi-

ness producers.

THE futureDenivaldo and his wife,

Ildenice: he helped build Formoso as a tractor

operator, and later became a farmer

L

26 informa

Formoso

has introduced

hitherto unknown

farming and

business methods

in the Bom Jesus

da Lapa region

Sligni nobit alique nist, expediore modicim agnitatistii nobit aliquia

More than 1,100 irrigated plots Comprised of two sectors, Formoso A and Formoso

H, the project was fully completed in 1999. In all, it con-

tains 1,165 plots covering 12,000 ha of irrigated land.

Two pumping plants and 29 pressurization stations

make sure the water reaches the fields. It is conveyed to

the plots by an 82.5-km network of irrigation canals and

a 207-km sprinkler system.

André Rabello, now the Odebrecht CEO in Panama

and the former Project Director of Formoso, says the ir-

rigation project has introduced hitherto unknown farming

and business methods in the Bom Jesus da Lapa region.

“Formoso has given a tremendous boost to the local and

regional economies thanks to these methods and the

introduction of an entrepreneurial culture in the agri-

cultural supply chain.” André also stresses the region’s

development through the creation of work opportunities

after the contract was delivered. Formoso currently gen-

erates 7,000 direct and 14,000 indirect work opportunities

and exports 250 metric tons of produce per day.

Becoming self-sustainingThe client for the project was the Companhia de

Desenvolvimento dos Vales do São Francisco e do

Rita de Cássia: “Formoso gave me a chance to make a living from what I love.” Opposite, farmers working on one of the project’s plots: introducing new crops

informa

Parnaíba (Codevasf), a state-owned company run by

the Federal Ministry of National Integration. “Our role

now is to support the DIF in the operation and main-

tenance of infrastructure for common use within the

perimeter of the project,” says Antonio Carlos Mon-

teiro de Andrade, Codevasf’s Regional Manager for

Irrigation Projects. “Ideally, the project will become

self-sustaining, and we’re heading in that direction.”

For that to happen, the DIF comes into play. Be-

sides taking care of the water supply and acting as

a channel of communication between the farmers

and Codevasf, it provides support for associations of

producers that invest in technologies to increase the

number of crops grown in Formoso.

“We are currently working on planting a new type

of crop on some plots. We recently built a nursery to

start experimenting with growing limes, and it’s go-

ing well,” says Antonio Marcio Rodrigues, Chairman of

the Board of the DIF. The initiative has drawn attention

from Embrapa, the Brazilian state-owned company

that promotes agricultural research, whose represen-

tatives recently paid a visit to the project to help the

producers.

At first, Formoso was a grain-exporting hub. Since

the mid-90s, however, bananas have become the re-

gion’s main crop by far, followed at a distance by papa-

yas, watermelon and cocoa. But the project’s benefi-

ciaries do not just make a living from farming.

Rita de Cássia Fontes Teixeira left behind a job

in livestock management to become the President

of the Association of Strong Women, which makes

handicrafts from banana fiber. “I’ve always had a

passion for crafts, but working on farms took all my

time. Formoso gave me a chance to make a living

from what I love,” she says. The association has the

backing of the Bahia branch of the Brazilian Support

Service for Micro and Small Businesses (Sebrae)

and the Amanhã (Tomorrow) Project, organized by

Codevasf to establish a permanent settlement in

Formoso.

Most of the handicraft association’s output is sold lo-

cally. “We participate in fairs, usually the ones Codevasf

recommends, and we’re partnering with a furniture

store in Bom Jesus da Lapa,” explains Rita. She plans

to take the association much further. A computer

bought with money earned from handicrafts just needs

to be linked to the Internet so they can showcase the

project around the world. Asked if she misses her life

as a livestock manager, Rita smiles: “Not at all. I am

happier now, and life is much better.”

28 informa

28on the madeira

ALL OF LIFE FLOWS

29informa

Find out about the range of projects aimed at preserving the Madeira River during construction of the Santo Antônio hydroelectric plant

written by Cláudio lovato filho

photos by RiCaRdo de saGebin

on the madeirahe main character in this story is a river. Its

name is the Madeira (“wood” in Portuguese).

An Amazon tributary, its waters are fulfilling

the dream that a powerful new development

vector will emerge in the Brazilian state of

Rondônia and the entire country: the Santo Antônio hydro-

electric plant, which will start producing power by Decem-

ber 2011.

Bordered by streams and born in the Andes mountains

and the Parecis highlands in Mato Grosso, Brazil, this river

is also the setting of unprecedented environmental projects

aimed at its preservation. Working in the Amazon rain for-

est, teams from the Santo Antônio Construction Joint Ven-

ture, formed by the Santo Antônio Civil Consortium (CSAC)

– whose partners are Odebrecht and Andrade Gutierrez –

and Odebrecht Engineering & Construction (responsible

for electromechanical assembly), are tasked with building a

gigantic plant equipped with 44 turbines while maintaining

T

30 informa

the river water’s quality. The work done to overcome

this challenge of preservation, experienced in the day-

to-day construction of the project, is making Santo An-

tônio a benchmark for future hydroelectric projects in

Brazil and worldwide.

Begun in September 2008, the plant’s construction

was the subject of one of the most comprehensive and

advanced environmental impact assessments (EIAs)

ever carried out for the implementation of a hydroelec-

tric project, which has made it a role model in Bra-

zil. The research involved experts and scholars of the

Amazon region, who devoted themselves exclusively to

this project.

The results provided a tremendous advance in knowl-

edge about the environment of the Madeira River Ba-

sin and guidelines for its preservation. The use of bulb

turbines is one example. This type of turbine, which

can work with high flows and small falls, allows the

construction of low dams and, consequently, smaller

flooded areas (in Santo Antônio, they will be virtually

nonexistent), resulting in the smallest possible envi-

ronmental impacts resulting from the venture’s execu-

tion. The natural characteristics of the Madeira, a river

with a large water volume most of the year, made it

possible to use these turbines.

Due to its size, importance and location, a project

like Santo Antônio requires a sense of urgency from

the builders that leads to the constant pursuit and

identification of new and better solutions. When it

comes to the environment, in the case of Santo An-

tônio, urgency – no matter how good the results have

been – is a trademark.

“Before breaking ground, back during the plan-

ning stage, we identified all the processes that would

be carried out during the plant’s construction, as well

as their environmental impacts,” says the CSAC’s En-

vironment Business Manager Nelson da Costa Alves,

who has been with Odebrecht for 11 years. “As for

water, we carry out an integrated monitoring system

here. We provide support and follow up on all the work

fronts and their relations with water resources on both

sides of the river.”

Monitoring water quality One of the highlights of the preservation programs

for the Madeira River is water-quality monitoring in real

time, carried out continuously at three stations, one

upstream and the other two downstream of where the

dam is being built, known as the Santo Antônio Falls.

Implemented in partnership with Ecology Brasil,

the monitoring system is composed of sensors that

provide data on the following parameters via satel-

lite: water temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen,

oxygen saturation, pH (hydrogen-ionic potential), ORP

(oxidation reduction potential), dissolved solids and

turbidity. In addition to real-time monitoring, quarterly

samples are collected for laboratory analyses of 121

physical, physicochemical, chemical and biological

variables.

The data is sent to a mobile floating lab that keeps

track of the performance of all the jobs being done on

the left and right banks that might affect water quality.

This was one of environmental preservation initiatives

that weighed decisively in obtaining ISO 14000 certifi-

cation for the project in September 2010.

“The Santo Antônio hydroelectric plant is being built

without affecting water quality on the Madeira River,”

says José Bonifácio Pinto Júnior, CEO of Odebrecht

Energia. He joined the project in 2001, when the first

feasibility studies were carried out for harnessing the

Madeira’s hydropower potential. “We’ve always known

it would be this way,” he adds.

Bonifácio’s words are backed by the argument of

Paul Varella, Director of the National Water Agency

(ANA). “In the second half of 2010, I accompanied the

then-Executive Secretary of the Ministry of Environ-

Water quality monitoring is done continuously in real time at three stations

31informa

ment, José Machado, on a visit to the Santo Antônio

construction site. I had the impression that I was see-

ing a project being built at a fast pace, not only using

the very latest in technology but putting the concept of

sustainability into practice.” Varella adds: “The Ama-

zon has vast hydroelectric potential, but it is also a vi-

tal ecosystem that needs to be developed in a rational

and sustainable way. I believe Santo Antônio is a global

benchmark that shows it is possible to preserve and

develop at the same time, with a sense of social and

environmental responsibility.”

Organic reagent There are currently about 14,000 people working on

the Santo Antônio project – the population of a city. At

the construction site, 100% of the sewage is processed

at two treatment plants (STPs), modular structures in-

stalled on both banks of the river.

Water for human and industrial use is purified at

five treatment plants (WTPs) – three for drinking water

and two for water used for industrial processes. Ten

counties in Rondônia, including the state capital, Porto

Velho, are adopting the model for water and wastewa-

ter treatment used at the Santo Antônio jobsite. “When

the company’s programs ‘leave’ the perimeter of the

jobsite and generate a very positive interface with the

community, it is very gratifying,” says Nelson Alves.

The process of designing, building and operating

water treatment plants at the Santo Antônio jobsite

has been described in a paper titled “Eco-Friendly

Closed-Loop WTP: Treatment with Organic Reagents

and Reuse of Water from Sludge,” the winner of the

Odebrecht Organization’s 2010 Highlight Award in the

Environment category.

Written by Anelisa Cantieri, a member of Nelson

Alves’s team, the paper presents an innovative solu-

tion: using a low molecular weight cationic polyelec-

trolyte produced from tannin extracted from the bark

of black wattle trees instead of aluminum sulfate. It is

marketed as Veta Orgânica.

Used in most water treatment facilities in Brazil,

aluminum sulfate is a chemical reagent that, when

discarded in the environment, is hard to degrade be-

cause it is a heavy metal, presenting a threat to plant

and animal life.

The decision to treat water without producing waste

that could harm the environment and reuse wastewa-

ter led to the introduction of the organic reagent based

on tannin. The effluent (sludge) produced by washing

filters and clarifiers is recycled in treated industrial

water storage tanks after passing through a system

of landforms and porous pockets that trap sludge and

release clean water. This cuts down on the need to use

natural resources, especially water. Because an or-

ganic reagent is used, the sludge can be turned into

compost for the reforestation of the construction site.

The five WTPs at the Santo Antônio jobsite all use

this system. They can treat up to 560 cubic meters

On this page, the floating lab and one of the water quality monitoring stations Opposite, a member of Ecology Brasil with one of the probes installed at the stations

32 informa

of water per hour, including 400 cu.m/h of industrial

water and 160 cu.m/h of drinking water. “What we

have here is a city that doesn’t depend on the city,”

says Nelson Alves, referring to the construction site

and Porto Velho, which is 7 km from the project.

At the concrete batching plant on the left bank,

water reuse is also imperative. Part of the wa-

ter treated at the WTPs is used to make concrete,

and after cement trucks are washed, the water is

treated in five decantation pools and reused to clean

regular trucks.

“We’ve tried to make our environmental manage-

ment system simple, flexible and light, so it is easy for

all the workers at the jobsite to understand and prac-

tice. That is how we have achieved the expected out-

come of raising awareness on a project where 80% of

the Members had never worked on an engineering and

construction project before,” observes Nelson Alves.

“We have had an excellent response, and the nearby

communities, where most of the workers at Santo An-

tônio are from, are all benefiting, because people are

sharing what they learn here with them.” The Santo

Antônio Plant Environmental Program team, led by

Nelson Alves, is made up of 75 people, including the

technical-operational people. Seventy of those profes-

sionals are from Rondônia.

“The environmental protection measures put into

practice as part of the construction of the Santo An-

tônio hydroelectric plant are very positive and exemplify

the best practices worldwide,” says Environmental and

Sustainable Development consultant John Redwood, a

former Sustainable Environmental and Social Devel-

opment Director at the World Bank. “This set of proj-

ects should undoubtedly be considered a benchmark

and merits careful and detailed study and widespread

dissemination.” Redwood adds: “Odebrecht has accu-

mulated knowledge over many years of experience in

water-related projects, and is putting into practice the

best of what it has learned.”

Scale models Several other projects are playing an important

role in preserving the environment in the vicinity of the

project, particularly on the Madeira River. The river’s

name, incidentally, is a reminder of one of the biggest

challenges of this project: one of the characteristics

of the river is the large concentration of solids in the

water, mainly wood (tree trunks and branches) and

sediments, a phenomenon linked to its origins on the

erodible slopes of the Andes.

The management of these solids has been the fo-

cus of the largest studies conducted at Santo Antônio.

The decision reached was to deploy pipe-shaped buoys

to convey trunks and branches into a canal running be-

side the dam.

This and other features – such as the fish pas-

sage system (FPS), which allows aquatic life to swim

upstream and ensures optimal breeding conditions –

33informa

have been tested with scale models in Rondônia and

Rio de Janeiro.

The FPS was tested with a scale model built in

the Teotônio Waterfall, 20 km upstream from the

Santo Antônio hydroelectric plant construction site.

A BRL 10-million model reduced at a scale of 1:80

(one to eighty) reproduces the entire plant. It was

built at the São José de Furnas substation at Belford

Roxo, Rio de Janeiro. It covers a 4,000-sq.m area and

can be used to test all the activities involved in the

construction project, verifying the functionality of

the concrete structures and assessing the behav-

ior of sediment. The diversion of the Madeira River,

planned for July 2011, is also being simulated with a

scale model designed by the PCE Engenharia engi-

neering firm.

“Here we can foresee situations that will come up

during construction and offer alternative solutions,”

explains engineer Edgar Fernando Trierweiler Neto,

from Furnas (the company that, along with Odebre-

cht, controls Santo Antônio Energia, which is respon-

sible for operating the facility for 30 years). Edgar

shares responsibility for the scale model with en-

gineer Pedro Ernesto Souza Albuquerque, from the

Engevix company.

Consolidating activitiesInvestments like this are part of a very complex sce-

nario that highlights not only the expectation of future

power generation of 3,150 MW, which is essential for

Brazil, but also a genuine concern for the protection

of a rich ecosystem that is crucial for Brazil and the

world.

Professor Henrique Chaves, from the University of

Brasilia (UNB) School of Forestry, is also a consul-

tant who has authored a scholarly paper that shows

how the various water-related activities in Santo

Antônio come together. “Odebrecht has sought, in

a rational and integrated way, to reduce environ-

mental impacts on the watershed, which effectively

contributes to preserving the quantity and quality of

water in the sphere of influence of the construction

works.”

At Santo Antônio, the measures that particularly

attracted his attention were the rational use of water

to supply the construction site, sewage treatment, re-

cycling of solid waste and protection of water sources

through the replanting of the slopes at the jobsite and

dump sites. “These activities contribute to the preser-

vation of water quality on the Madeira River, as well as

the soil and vegetation in the construction site’s sphere

of influence.”

According to Henrique Chaves, the environmental

preservation program implemented at Santo Antônio

has made it a benchmark for future hydroelectric proj-

ects in Brazil. “It involves innovative, high-impact ini-

tiatives that are unprecedented for major projects in

this country.”.

Going fast on the Madeira: river residents travel in small motorboats called “fliers”

34 informa

34The lasT unTamed

Twelve programs covering a range of environmental mitigation and compensation measures are preserving the waters of the Sabor River in Portugal

35informa

The lasT unTamed river

written by fabiana CabRal photos by holanda CavalCanti

36 informa

n the mountains alongside the Sabor River,

António Augusto Salvador, 62, whistles to

guide his flock to green pastures. Using a

bamboo pole as a walking stick, he strides

through the region every day, together with

110 sheep and two dogs. “I’m a shepherd and I was

born for this life. It’s all I know,” he says, smiling.

A few miles away, Paula Cristina Lopes Sendas

Costa, the owner of the Tic Tac Cafe, zips back and

forth to greet her customers. “In the mornings, a

lot of people come for breakfast, and in the eve-

nings they get together to chat and play cards. It’s

become a gathering spot,” she says about her first

business.

António and Paula live in Torre de Moncorvo in the

Bragança District in northern Portugal. Established

in the thirteenth century, the mountain town of about

10,000 inhabitants lies near the Spanish border and

the confluence of the Sabor and the Douro, which

rises in Spain.

The stretch of the Sabor that flows through Torre

de Moncorvo is the area where the Complementary

Group of Companies (ACE) formed by Odebrecht-

Bento Pedroso Construções (BPC) and Lena Con-

struções has been building the Baixo Sabor hy-

droelectric plant since 2008 for EDP – Gestão da

Produção de Energia S.A.

The project is part of the National Program for

High Hydropower-Potential Dams (PNBEPH) estab-

lished by the Portuguese Government in 2007. “The

construction of this and other dams and reinforce-

ment of existing power supplies guarantees the

autonomy of power generation in Portugal, whose

capacity will rise from 60% to 76% by 2020,” ex-

plains Project Director Gilberto Costa. “In addition

to minimizing dependence on foreign energy, these

projects will enhance the electrical supply system.

Reversible dams like Baixo Sabor can store water

for periods of increased consumption, using surplus

energy from wind turbines,” adds EDP Representa-

tive Carvalho Bastos.

The Baixo Sabor hydro will consist of two dams,

upstream and downstream of the Sabor River,

equipped with reversible systems – generators and

pumps – to balance energy consumption and waste,

and store water. Its reservoirs, which will be located

among the towns of Torre de Moncorvo, Alfândega

da Fé, Mogadouro and Macedo de Cavaleiros, will

create the most significant water reserves in the

part of the Douro River Basin that lies in Portu-

guese territory. “This will double water storage on

the Douro,” says Gilberto Costa. Carvalho Bastos

agrees: “The Baixo Sabor hydro will also increase

the capacity of other dams already installed along

the Douro.”

Not only that, but the dams will help reduce

greenhouse gas emissions, regulate water distri-

bution in the region (especially in times of drought),

prevent floods and make surplus energy from wind

turbine parks profitable.

Turbines and pumping systems will recoup the

operating losses of the wind turbines on “both sides.”

In certain periods, instead of using turbines to gen-

erate electricity from water, wind power will pump

the water and store it in tanks for use during peak

consumption periods. “The main downstream activ-

ity will be water storage, while the main upstream

activity will be electricity production. The pumping

will be done from the Douro River to the Sabor, and

the turbines will operate from the Sabor in the di-

rection of the Douro,” says Carlos Matos, the officer

Responsible for downstream construction works.

Shepherd António Augusto Salvador: “I was born for this life”

I

37informa

Untamed river Unlike the Douro, which has six dams on the Por-

tuguese side and seven in Spain, the Sabor is known

as the “last untamed river in Europe.” It has never

been subjected to human influence, except for the

activities of small farmers.

To preserve the waters of this “untamed river”

and the plant and animal life on its shores, ACE

Baixo Sabor is carrying out several environmental

mitigation and compensation measures with the

support of the EDP and partner institutions. There

are 12 programs related to fauna and flora, aquatic

ecosystems, air and water quality and the preserva-

tion of historical and cultural heritage in the region,

with 140 environmental technicians involved in the

Construction Project Environmental Management

Plan (PGAO).

According to Augusta Fernandes, the Coordinator

of the ACE’s Integrated Management System – QSE

(Quality, Safety and Environment), the main goal is

to avoid contaminating the river. “Through the Wa-

ter Quality Monitoring Program, we conduct monthly

tests at 23 different points along the 80-km water-

way. We have 27 evaluation parameters such as

acidity, organic load and biological contamination,

and also evaluate the animal life around the entire

river. The documentation is reviewed by the EU Envi-

ronment Commission.”

The implementation of measures to control ero-

sion and sediment – barriers, slope protection and

maintenance of the riparian gallery vegetation (plant

life typically found on the banks of rivers and lakes)

– and the installation of water and sewage treatment

plants for the jobsites are also part of the program.

“In the course of three years of work, we have not

seen any change in water quality,” observes Augusta.

The Baixo Sabor hydro will begin generating elec-

tricity by the second half of 2014. However, the EDP

will carry on with all environmental programs for

another 75 years, as stipulated in the contract.

Local development Preventing floods and maintaining a balance be-

tween energy production and consumption are not

the only benefits that the Baixo Sabor hydro will bring

for local residents. “Thanks to the large body of wa-

ter formed by the reservoirs, it will create irrigation

zones, as well as areas for water sports, encouraging

tourism and economic development in the interior of

northern Portugal,” says António Monteiro, the Ad-

ministrative and Financial Manager of the ACE.

Even when viewing the works from afar, António the

shepherd and Paula the cafe owner can already see the

changes they will bring. “Things are getting better be-

cause there’s more work,” says António. “I expect more

business and more tourists,” says Paula.

ACE Baixo Sabor Members monitoring water quality: strict protection for the river

38 informa

38

T HINKING

informa 39

he Brasilia office is just a reference

point for this native of Salvador, Ba-

hia, who has worked for the Odebre-

cht Organization – specifically Ode-

brecht Energia – for three years. Luiz

Gabriel Todt de Azevedo, 46, never stops. Besides

the capital of Brazil, where he lives with his wife

and two sons, Bernardo and Victor, ages 12 and 15,

the civil engineer divides his time between Rio de

Janeiro, São Paulo, where this interview was con-

ducted, and the cities where the company has pow-

er projects. Sometimes he teaches and lectures at

universities like Harvard, in the United States. And

he often plays an active role in discussions around

the world on issues related to sustainability, espe-

cially one that fascinates him and he has known he

would work with since childhood: water.

fluidlywritten by KaRolina Gutiez

photo by bRuno veiGa

INTERVIEW

38T

informa

T HINKING

40 informa

That is his routine, and that is how it has always

been. Before joining Odebrecht, Gabriel, who has

a Master’s degree in hydrology and a PhD in wa-

ter resources from Colorado State University,

the top institution in the US in that field, spent

14 years at the World Bank, devoting himself to

projects involving the main natural resource of

more than 20 countries in Latin America, Africa

and Central Europe. He has also held the posi-

tion of Vice President of the WWF (World Wildlife

Fund), the top international nature conservation

network. At the World Bank, he financed Odebre-

cht projects, several

of which were related

to water resources,

so he already knew

many of his future

co-workers when he

joined the Organiza-

tion.

His personal interest

in issues related to de-

veloping countries and

communities explains

his long experience of

working at a multilateral

agency. “Today, however,

I feel that I can contrib-

ute more to development at Odebrecht than at the World

Bank. The Organization builds iconic projects worldwide,

and that is highly motivating.”

Odebrecht Informa – What roles does Ode-

brecht play when it comes to water?

GABRIEL AzEVEDO – The Organization has

four key roles. First, we are major water us-

ers, but we are increasingly seeking excellence

and efficiency in that regard. Through Foz do

Brasil, we are providers of water supply, col-

lection and treatment services for household

and industrial waste. We also build infrastruc-

ture facilities related to water, such as hy-

droelectric dams, irrigation projects, outfalls,

pipelines, etc. Finally, we invest in large water

projects, such as the Santo Antônio hydroelec-

tric plant in Rondônia and the irrigation project

in Olmos, Peru.

OI – If you were to draw up a scenario for

this natural resource in Brazil and world-

wide, what would it be?

GABRIEL – The situation is not yet alarming, but

it is very complex. What will happen in the next 20

years is up to us. And by us, I mean governments,

businesses and society. The global demand for

water is currently at 4.5 trillion cubic meters per

year. Seventy percent of that is allocated to farm-

ing, and the need for food will only increase. The

planet can renew this resource at a rate of 4.3 tril-

lion cubic meters per year. That is, we are already

using a little more than

our renewable poten-

tial, but even so, a bil-

lion people worldwide

don’t have access to

water and 2 billion lack

basic sanitation. If the

current trends don’t

change, by 2030 the

demand will increase

by 40% to 6.9 trillion

cubic meters per year.

This scenario poses

challenges for the plan-

et, but it also offers fan-

tastic opportunities, es-

pecially in our field. Odebrecht can make an enormous

contribution to building alternative scenarios in Brazil

and other countries.

OI – Has the Organization scored any goals?

GABRIEL – I should point out that Odebrecht had

already built important projects before I joined

the Organization, but I was familiar with them as

a consultant, early in my career, and during my

tenure at the World Bank. The construction of

Seven Oaks Dam in the US state of California in

the 90s for flood prevention was criticized at the

time, but reopened the debate about large dams

in the American West and demystified the verdict

on that issue (Odebrecht later won awards for

that project, including Contractor of the Year in

1999, in the United States). The Integration Canal

(where sections 4 and 5 are nearing completion,

and on which Odebrecht was responsible for sec-

The situation is not yet alarming, but it is very complex. What will happen in the next 20 years is up to us. And by us, I mean governments, businesses and society

41informa

tion 3 as a joint venture) is a complex of pumping

stations, canals, siphons, aqueducts and tunnels

that will use the waters of the Castanhão Dam to

bolster the supply of 4 million inhabitants of 13

counties – including the Fortaleza Metropolitan

Region. It is the biggest infrastructure project

underway in the state of Ceará. It has gained in-

ternational visibility,

since it brings to-

gether a major in-

frastructure project

with the public’s wa-

ter needs. Another

example is the Ponto

Novo Dam, built in

the semiarid region

of Bahia to perenni-

alize the Itapicuru-

açu River, allowing

the installation of

three integrated wa-

ter supply systems

that benefit a total of

70,000 people. The

project was funded

by the World Bank, which has made it a bench-

mark, despite its small size.

OI – What can the Santo Antônio hydroelectric

plant teach the world about water?

GABRIEL – I’ve worked on several hydroelectric plants,

and I’ve never seen one that was so well planned in

terms of sustainability in all its aspects: the physical

environment, the social environment, biodiversity, etc.

Although we are interfering with the river, when I see

the project I get the impression that the Madeira and

the plant have a harmonious relationship.

OI – What should an organization do to stay at

the forefront of this issue? And what should

it not do?

GABRIEL – Is shouldn’t underestimate or overlook the

importance of this subject. After all, no economic ac-

tivity can do without water. In addition to implement-

ing best practices internally, organizations should also

influence the formulation of policies to promote its ef-

ficient and sustainable use. For example, we include

modules on water in Acreditar, the Ongoing Profes-

sional Education Program. We must lead by example

and influence others.

OI – What are the global trends for handling

this issue?

GABRIEL – We are starting to see a discussion of virtual

water. We must account

for water that is con-

sumed when producing

industrial and agricul-

tural goods. Brazilian soy

and beef, which are major

exports, include the water

used to produce them. The

same goes for the plastic

resins Braskem exports

around the globe. As a

result, Brazil is one of the

largest exporters of em-

bedded water. Attention

has been focused on the

climate change debate. It

is indeed a complex issue

that has global impacts

and needs to be discussed. However, water is just as big an

issue but it has not been analyzed to the same extent.

OI – How do you deal with water in your per-

sonal life?

GABRIEL – My father was an engineer and worked on

water projects all his life. Therefore, I always knew that

my future was working with water. It’s part of the life of

any human being, but in my case, it has interested me

since childhood. In addition to my work, even my hob-

bies are water related. My favorite is fishing. And just

as I was influenced, so I try to share my professional

life with my children. They always visit the projects I’m

working on, from the shantytowns of Africa to the San-

to Antônio plant, where I plan to take them this year.

It’s a way of explaining why my work keeps me away

from them, which is justified by the fact that I’m do-

ing something good for others and the environment.

They raise concerns and ask questions. Today, they are

much better informed and more aware than the youth

of my generation. But their challenge will certainly be

much greater.

We must account for water that is consumed when producing industrial and agricultural goods. Brazilian soy and beef, which are major exports, include the water used to produce them. It’s called virtual water

42 informa

42

Aquapolo’s facilities in São

Paulo State: new quality paradigm for

water reuse in Brazil

43informa

A milestone for industrial water use in Brazil, the Aquapolo Project was designed to service companies at the Capuava Petrochemical Complex in São Paulo State

written by eliana simonetti

photos by bRuna RomaRo

he Aquapolo reused water production project

for the Capuava Petrochemical Complex is well

under way in the ABC region, an industrial re-

gion of Greater São Paulo. When completed, it

will solve some serious problems. The main

obstacles to the complex’s development are increasing pol-

lution in the Tamanduateí River, water shortages during the

dry season, and the current need to use clean drinking water

for industrial purposes. Aquapolo will provide the reused water

the São Paulo petrochemical sector needs for growth.

The industries at the Capuava Petrochemical Complex, also

in the ABC region, play an important role in São Paulo State’s

economy: they collect 27% of the ICMS (VAT) collected in that

state, directly and indirectly employ about 25,000 people, and

produce materials for domestic consumption and export –

such as ethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene, raw materials

for the manufacture of resins, synthetic rubber, paints and

plastics. However, to avoid damaging their machinery, they

rely very heavily on steady supplies of water – and from that

standpoint, face a lack of sustainability.

The complex obtains most of its water supply from Cór-

rego dos Meninos, a tributary of the Tamanduateí River. That

resource is under severe stress, and cannot be relied on meet

current needs – let alone in the future, as the companies at the

complex plan to expand their operations.

Cutting-edge technology Aquapolo Ambiental, a Special Purpose Company (SPC)

created by Foz do Brasil (Odebrecht’s environmental engineer-

ing subsidiary) and SABESP (the São Paulo State sanitation

company), has contracted Odebrecht Infraestrutura to build an

T

THE LOGIC OF

reuse

44 informa

Industrial Water Station (EPAI) using cutting-edge tech-

nology to provide water for industrial use in the vicinity of

its Sewage Treatment Plant (ETE ABC) on the border of

São Paulo City and São Caetano do Sul.

Currently, the sewage treated at the ETE ABC is re-

turned to nature. When the new EPAI is up and running,

after undergoing the usual treatment sewage will be con-

ducted to a tank containing bacteria that feed on organic

waste (when that waste is in short supply, ETH, the Orga-

nization’s bioenergy company, will provide the materials

needed to keep the colony of bacteria alive and active).

From that point, the water will pass through a maze-

like oxidation ditch called a TMBR (Tertiary Membrane Bio-

reactor) equipped with ultrafiltration membranes, whose

design won a European award. After that, the treatment

system involves processing in equipment fitted with reverse

osmosis membranes that uses pressure to extract liquid

with high conductivity, as well as solids, ammonia and oth-

er elements that make wastewater unsuitable for industrial

use. “The Aquapolo project is establishing a new quality

paradigm for water reuse in this country,” says Ivanildo

Hespanhol, an expert in that field and a professor at the

University of São Paulo Polytechnic (Poli-USP).

The reused water will pass through two pumping sta-

tions before going on to the complex through a pipeline

made of 900mm-diameter pipe covered with a triple

layer of polyethylene (for durability) bearing the Braskem

brand. The thick polyethylene coating makes touching the

pipe more like handling a car tire, except that each 12.30m

section of pipe weighs 17,721 kg.

At the complex, reused water will be used to produce

steam and cool boilers. Four large reservoirs that the ETE

ABC is not using are being covered to ensure that clients get

a steady supply of reused water, even in times of drought.

The project and city lifeThe implementation of this project involves an added

challenge. The ABC region is densely occupied by homes

and businesses, and its soil contains large quantities of

sand and gravel. Installing a pipeline in that environment

is no easy task. Today, walking through the streets of

São Caetano may require a certain amount of patience.

There are huge holes, both wide and deep, every 100 yards

where workers in safety equipment are digging horizon-

tal tunnels shored with concrete before the steel pipe is

installed.

But all around them, life goes on: people walk by car-

rying grocery bags, trucks maneuver in company yards,

children leave school for the day. “Odebrecht’s work was

planned to avoid interfering in the lives of the cities and

their residents,” says Emyr Costa, Project Director for

Aquapolo.

So wherever there is a built-up area and heavy foot

and vehicle traffic, they use the method described above:

the pipes are installed in small sections, which are then

welded together. When the soil permits, the drilling is

done with equipment that looks like miniature versions of

the tunnel boring machines used to build subways. And

in other areas, such as the Tamanduateí River, the pipe is

laid in open trenches.

According to data from Sabesp, the São Paulo Metro-

politan Region is one of the driest in the country, similar

to the semi-arid areas of the Brazilian Northeast – about

201 cubic meters per person annually. That is well below

the amount of water recommended by the UN, which is

about 2,500 cubic meters. Even if indirectly, Aquapolo will

help increase the supply of clean water and improve pub-

lic health. “There is no doubt that this is a key venture for

the sustainability of the Greater ABC and Capuava Petro-

chemical Complex,” says Aquapolo Ambiental Operations

Director Guilherme Paschoal.

Sustainability and savings The Aquapolo plant is the largest of its kind in the

Southern Hemisphere and the fifth-largest in the world.

Its most important client is Quattor, a Braskem subsidiary

that will consume over 60% of the project’s production,

but companies like Cabot, Oxiteno, White Martins and

Oxicap, all located at the complex, will also benefit. Be-

sides gaining sustainability, these companies will garner

savings, since reused water costs 30% less than the con-

ventionally treated kind. “This is a pioneering project that

represents a milestone in industrial water use in Brazil,”

said Celso Luiz Tavares Ferreira, Vice President for Basic

Chemicals at Quattor, which reported a 40% production

increase in 2010.

But there’s more. Although the project is focused on

the petrochemical complex, the plant’s capacity will ex-

ceed the current demand. That means there are pros-

pects for more companies and municipalities in the vicin-

ity of the pipeline to benefit from reused water. Through

Aquapolo, everyone stands to gain: businesses, govern-

ments, the public (through maintenance and a possible

increase in the job supply in that region) and the environ-

ment, because the quality of the wastewater disposed of

after industrial use will be better than it is now.

45informa

The Aquapolo project in numbers

• Contract for water supply management for the

Capuava Complex lasting 34 years until 2043

• Industrial water plant with capacity to produce up to

1,000 liters/second of reused water

• 17km pipeline made of 900mm pipe running

through three cities (São Paulo, Santo André and São

Caetano do Sul)

• The industrial complex will no longer consume up to

1.6 billion liters per month of treated drinking water

46 informa

Cetrel ensures environmental sustainability at the Camaçari Industrial Complex

OF SUPPORT

46Cetrel, in Camaçari, Bahia: the company connects and centralizes wastewater treatment for the 90 plants at the industrial park

elem ent

47informa

uilt on one of Brazil’s largest aquifers, the

São Sebastião, the Camaçari Complex – the

nation’s biggest industrial park – would not

be environmentally sustainable if it weren’t

for Cetrel. In studies for the creation of the

complex in the 1970s, it was decided, for the first time in the

country, that instead of each company having its own envi-

ronmental protection system, a single state-owned company

would be responsible for the operations of a collective envi-

ronmental management system. This ensured lower costs

and greater efficiency.

That company was created and called the Central de Eflu-

entes Líquidos do Polo de Camaçari (Cetrel). Today it is Cetrel

S.A., a Braskem subsidiary. Located 45km from Salvador, Ba-

hia, it interconnects and centralizes the wastewater treatment

of all 90 plants at the Northeastern Brazilian industrial park.

At full production, the Camaçari complex consumes 12,000

cu.m/h of water and disposes of approximately 1.2 to 1.5

cu.m/s of treated wastewater through its outfall. That is half

its rated flow capacity.

Cetrel, which operates in partnership with Foz do Brasil

in Camaçari, handles two types of effluents: uncontaminated

water, mostly rainwater, and industrial wastewater contami-

nated by all kinds of organic and inorganic compounds, such

as sulfates, nitrates, ammonia and other products that would

be harmful to the environment if not properly treated.

“This is nothing more than polluted water. Our job is to

treat the effluent thoroughly in order to minimize the risks

when we return it to Nature,” explains Sérgio Tomich, Busi-

ness Development leader for Special Materials and Waste

Management at Cetrel.

Marine outfallDue to the expansion of the complex in the early 1990s,

the construction of an outfall to dispose of wastewater in

the ocean became necessary to ensure good environmen-

tal management. Odebrecht was responsible for that proj-

ect. Before the effluent reaches the sea, 4.8km from the

coast, 97% of biodegradable waste is removed, a rate that

exceeds the requirements of Brazil’s environmental legis-

lation.

“We carried out a monitoring campaign to determine

the conditions in the natural environment before the out-

fall went into operation and after disposal began. We have

signed an agreement with the Federal University at Bahia

and organized two annual monitoring campaigns, issuing

reports assessing the environmental quality in the marine

ecosystem,” explains Eduardo Fontoura, Responsible for

the Laboratory and Monitoring. He points out that: “During

the 17 years of the outfall’s operations, Cetrel has never

had any problems with the community, or with the vigilant

fishermen of Arembepe.” The environmental indicators for

the marine ecosystem are highly positive.

Today, Cetrel is responsible for managing water resourc-

es throughout the industrial park, both groundwater (the

water table and aquifers) and surface water. The company

also conducts georeferencing (monitoring and production)

for over 1,000 wells – essential in a region where several

companies extract mineral water for human consumption.

Sérgio Tomich explains that since Braskem took con-

trol of the company, Cetrel is longer just an “end-of-pipe

manager” and has begun prospecting for new business in

the area where it has recognized expertise. In addition to

the treatment of contaminated wastewater and ocean and

river monitoring, Cetrel also operates pilot water treat-

ment programs for industrial reuse, which the company is

carrying out in partnership with Braskem.

During the COP 16 Conference, held in December 2010

in Mexico, with the main theme of Biodiversity Conserva-

tion, the World Business Council for Sustainable Develop-

ment selected the cases with the best practices for envi-

ronmental sustainability. “The Conservation of Biodiversity

in the Marine Ecosystem in the Area of Influence of the

Cetrel Marine Outfall” was one of the cases selected from

Brazil.

In January 2011, the State of Bahia, Petrobras, and

some industries outside the complex signed a letter of in-

tent to put an end to emissions in Bahia’s Bay of All Saints.

“In addition to these industrial emissions and waste from

the Landulfo Alves oil refinery, almost 90% of domestic

sewage from Camaçari and Dias D’Avila will be connected

to the Cetrel outfall,” says Sérgio Tomich, visibly pleased.

The waters of the largest bay on the South Atlantic thank

them in advance.

written by válbeR CaRvalho

photos by aRtuR iKishima

B elem ent

48 informa

ARguMENT

In the face of water scarcity, the glass may seem half empty. But a closer relationship between business leaders and policy makers to help develop better policies and apply new technologies can tip the balance in the world’s favor

WatErsecurity and

the private sector

48

informa 49

ater insecurity looms as one

of the great challenges of

the twenty-first century, and

it is one that policy makers

and business leaders must

face together. Policy makers recognize that the

private sector must play a major role in building

the water infrastructure for the future and that

technologies developed by leading companies are

critical tools for managing scarce water supplies.

But business leaders must do more to shape the

understanding of how good policies make it pos-

sible for the private sector to invest and to in-

novate.

Public-sector leaders and NGOs have long dom-

inated the debate on water policy, but recently, a

number of progressive companies have started

to focus on how best to effectively manage water.

These companies have begun by paying much more

attention to the water environment in which they

function.

One group of companies has found that grow-

ing water scarcity constitutes a “threat to their so-

cial license to operate.” In response, some have

made large donations to activist groups. Others

have asked for water standards that they can then

meet. The most far-sighted of these companies,

however, recognize that while they have to man-

age water efficiently within their factory, society

needs an equitable, efficiency-stimulating, and

predictable regulatory environment that governs

all water uses. These companies believe that busi-

nesses have useful and legitimate inputs into the

policy-making process, and that good business

practices can guide effective implementation in

the public sector.

A second group of companies is developing

technologies that can enable society to get more

product per drop of water. For example, the de-

velopment of productivity-enhancing seeds and

agricultural technologies. Because agriculture

accounts for more than 80% of water used in the

developing world these innovations are vital for

better water management. Other companies are

developing new technologies for treating water

and wastewater. The cost of desalination will soon

fall to a level where most cities and industries in

coastal areas can turn to it as an important part

of their portfolio of supplies. There are also com-

panies that provide users with just-in-time and

just-what’s-needed information – such as on the

probability of rainfall and on soil moisture – thus

increasing efficiency of water use.

Executives at these companies know that prog-

ress depends on linked advancement in technolo-

gies and policies. They have seen instances where

policy shortcomings mean that existing technolo-

gies that make more efficient use of water are not

being fully employed. This has prompted them

to engage with political leaders to ensure that

key policies are implemented. Corporate lead-

ers highlight examples like the Murray-Darling

Basin, in Australia, where an enabling policy en-

vironment means that a 70% reduction in water

availability has had virtually no impact on the val-

ue of agricultural output.

The glass is thus half full, not least because

progressive business leaders understand that

water scarcity is an issue that will affect their

industries, and their communities, and they are

engaging with policies that help shape solutions.

In turn policy leaders have begun to understand

how the private sector can contribute to more ef-

fective policies and implementation. More busi-

ness and policy leaders need to follow the lead of

their progressive colleagues. That is how we will

secure further development of new technologies,

the formulation of a new generation of water-

management policies and the achievement of a

water-secure world.

John Briscoeis the Gordon McKay Professor of the Practice of Environmental Engineering at Harvard University in the United States

W

informa

50 informa

“Water-resource management

is one of the world’s greatest

challenges”

John Briscoe

Vald

ir c

ru

z

52

56

58

60

62

64

the following stories are reports on the recent accomplishments of odebrecht organization teams in Brazil and worldwide, and sections on the day-to-day experiences of company members

odebrecht General meeting: the past, present and future come together

Building technician and author Krishnamurti dos anjos is publishing his fifth book

in the Southern Bahia lowlands, young people (literally) build their civic spirit

three young american members discuss their practical experiences with tEo

ooG diversifies its businesses and begins working in the subsea engineering segment

the daily lives of Gabriela rocha, Juliana monteiro and nadja fontes: odebrecht people

&PEOPLENEWS

Southern Bahia Lowlands resident

Denise Batista

informa52

am thankful to the genera-

tions that preceded us, the

people who came before us

and afforded us the conditions to

do what we are doing now. It was

they who consolidated TEO, our

greatest legacy, with which we are

building the present and will build

the future.”

With these words, Marcelo Ode-

brecht, President and CEO of Ode-

brecht S.A., concluded his pre-

sentation at the Odebrecht Annual

General Meeting, held on Decem-

ber 21, 2010, at the Organization’s

Salvador headquarters.

During his hour-long talk, he out-

lined the main achievements of Ode-

brecht’s companies as a whole in

2010, and gave an overview of the Or-

ganization’s current stage of growth.

reflections on a journey

At the Organization’s Annual general Meeting, Marcelo Odebrecht underscores the importance of TEO as the pioneer generations’ greatest legacy

ORgANIzATION

written by JosÉ enRique baRReiRo

photos by beG fiGueiRedo and ÉlCio CaRRiço

“I

informa 53

He highlighted, among other things,

the increasing the number of mem-

bers – Odebrecht is now made up

of about 120,000 people of over 60

nationalities, working around the

world – observing that the number

of members in Brazil grew by 71%

in 2010 (from 45,000 to 78,000).

Marcelo also presented data on

the Organization’s increasingly inter-

national and diversified operations,

underscoring the recent arrival of

Braskem in Mexico, Odebrecht Lat-

in America & Angola in Cuba, Ode-

brecht International in Guinea, and

Odebrecht Oil & Gas in South Korea.

“In the course of these increas-

ingly international and diverse op-

erations, our main challenge is to

continue applying the same, con-

sistent entrepreneurial culture,” he

said. “In that culture, the key word is

trust, because that is what enables

delegation, decentralization, part-

nership and all our other entrepre-

neurial practices.”

Marcelo Odebrecht also under-

scored various projects the Orga-

nization’s companies are carrying

out in the field of Sustainable De-

velopment, which in 2010 benefited

450,000 people in 550 communities.

To continue the Organization’s

growth and achieve its Vision for

2020, he urged the leaders pres-

ent to carry on “dreaming our cli-

ents’ dream, giving them integrated

and innovative solutions and being

the choice of each and every one of

them.”

In the larger picture, Emílio, Marcelo and Norberto Odebrecht, and in this photo, the Annual Meeting plenary session

informa54

Sustainability practices The Odebrecht Annual General

Meeting was attended by sharehold-

ers, members of the Board of Di-

rectors of Odebrecht S.A., advisory

board members and key leaders

of the Organization. The results for

each company were presented by

Maurício Medeiros, from the Ode-

brecht Foundation; José Carlos

Grubisich, from ETH; Paul Altit, from

OR; Fernando Reis, from Foz do

Brasil; Roberto Ramos, from OOG;

Carlos Fadigas, from Braskem,

Henrique Valladares, from Ode-

brecht Energia; Márcio Faria, from

Odebrecht Engenharia Industrial;

Benedicto Júnior, from Odebrecht

Infraestrutura; Luiz Mameri, from

Odebrecht Angola & Latin America;

Euzenando Azevedo, from Odebre-

cht Venezuela and Luiz Rocha, from

Odebrecht International.

The Honorary Chairman of Ode-

brecht S.A., Norberto Odebrecht,

read his annual message, in which

he urged the Organization’s leaders

to increasingly understand and ap-

ply the Odebrecht Entrepreneurial

Technology: “Only then you can take

our Organization to ever-higher lev-

1

7

els of development,” said the founder

of Odebrecht.

Emílio Odebrecht, Chairman of the

Board of Odebrecht S.A., closed the

meeting by reading his annual mes-

sage in which, among other things, he

urged the leaders to give increasing

emphasis to their companies’ Social

Report: “Now, more than ever, we

need to incorporate sustainable prac-

tices, creating value for society and

the communities we serve.”

Family commitment The Organization’s companies also

held their own annual meetings. At

the meeting of the Engineering &

Construction companies, one of the

highlights was the Gathering of Com-

panions, held at Costa do Sauípe on

December 18, bringing together about

300 members’ spouses.

The theme of the meeting was

“Spouses, Family and Career.” Marcelo

informa 55

Odebrecht, a special guest at the event,

gave a talk and answered questions

from the companions. “Family is what’s

most important,” said Marcelo, who

stressed the importance of the fam-

ily’s commitment to striking a balance

between the Odebrecht member’s pro-

fessional and personal fulfillment.

Sany Gomes, Yvana Couri and An-

drea Rabello, all members’ wives,

spoke about their own experiences and

their work with their counterparts in the

countries where they now live, the UAE,

Argentina and Panama, respectively.

Other speakers at the event were

Carla Barreto, Responsible for People

& Organization at Odebrecht S.A., who

presented the Organization’s Vision for

2020; educator and philosopher Mário

Sérgio Cortella, who proposed a reflec-

tion on married life as a process similar

to building a construction project; and

intercultural psychologist Andrea Fuks,

who gave the final talk.

Scenes of the Annual Meeting: 1. Gathering of Companions participants 2. Mário Sérgio Cortella 3. Ticiana Marianetti, Marcos Rabelo and Fernando Reis 4. Sany Gomes 5. Euzenando Azevedo and Henrique Valladares 6. José Carlos Grubisich, Roberto Ramos, Daniel Villar and Paul Altit 7. Valéria Ventura

2 3

4 5

6

informa56

my experiences and you

A building technician, Krishnamurti uses his talent as a writer to share the lessons he has learned

PROFILE: Krishnamurti góes dos Anjos

57

rishnamurti Góes dos An-

jos can be proud of be-

ing gifted with a talent for

numbers and words. He is the offi-

cer Responsible for Planning for the

BA-093 state highway in the Salva-

dor metropolitan area, in northeast-

ern Brazil. A complex system of 257

km of roads being run as a private

concession, it connects the Cama-

çari Petrochemical Complex and its

surroundings to the Port of Aratu

and Salvador. Despite his intense

work schedule, he always makes

time to write. Continuing his writing

career, he published his fifth book,

12 contos e meio poema (12 Stories

and Half a Poem), in early February.

A passion for writing is in his blood.

“My grandfather, Severo dos Anjos,

was the literary editor of A Luva and

the first to publish a poem by Jorge

Amado,” he says.

A Building Technician, Krishnamurti

joined Odebrecht in 1986. He left five

years later, but continued to work with

the Organization as an independent

contractor. That was when he started

writing. Later on, Odebrecht rehired

him. “O viajante” (The Traveler), the

autobiographical story that opens

his new book, describes his experi-

ences in different parts of the world

on company business, including

Angola and Panama.

A voracious reader since his teens,

he sees literature as a mission. “We

should pass on our experiences to

people in a way that somehow helps

make the world become a better

place,” he argues. He is already re-

searching his next book: a historical

novel set in Bahia in 1798, during

the separatist and abolitionist up-

rising known as the Tailors’ Revolt.

Of all the special memories Krish-

namurti cherishes, one that par-

ticularly stands out is his first meet-

ing with Norberto Odebrecht when

Krishnamurti was a young techni-

cal school graduate. “I completely

changed my concept of a leader,”

he admits. That encounter with the

founder of the Odebrecht Organiza-

tion and other significant episodes

in his career are the inspiration for

Krishnamurti’s writing. His writing

and his life.

“We should pass on our experiences to people in a way that somehow helps make the world become a better place”

written by válbeR CaRvalho

photos by máRCio lima K

informa

informa58

cEmEntinG ciVic SPiritThe jobsite environment changes young peoples’ lives in the Southern Lowlands

n the midst of concrete blocks,

cement and sand, Denise Ba-

tista’s bright lipstick and loose

hair attract attention. At the age of 26,

the “pedreirinha” (little bricklayer), as

her classmates affectionately call her,

is not considered vain. She just likes

to stress her femininity. “When I’m in

uniform, I look like a man. I want peo-

ple to see I’m a woman.” A resident

of Igrapiúna, Bahia, she joined the

inaugural class of Building Better – a

project that is part of the Program for

Integrated and Sustainable Develop-

ment of the Mosaic of Environmental

Protection Areas in the Southern Ba-

hia Lowlands (PDIS), established by

the Odebrecht Foundation. The proj-

ect is training multiplier agents for

the local construction industry.

One of the few women among the

43 apprentices in the first two classes

to join the project, Denise had always

been curious about her father’s and

brother’s profession. “I’m crazy about

my job. It’s hard work, but when you

do what you love, it gets easy. That’s

the choice I’ve made,” she says firmly.

According to Christophe Houel, the

project’s Educational Leader, De-

nise’s talent was already clear when

they selected the participants. “Today

it’s more than proven,” he says.

Denise and her classmates are

not only learning to build walls but to

develop their civic spirit. “Our chal-

lenge is to educate people,” observes

Houel. This is the only long-term

course of this kind available in Brazil,

taught in 18 months through the al-

ternance system. The students spend

a week in the classroom learning the

theoretical concepts of computer

science, Portuguese, math, com-

munications, project design, budgets

and career and life plans. During the

following three weeks they are given

access to practical knowledge on a

construction site, under the watchful

eyes of educators, supervisors and

engineers.

Sponsored by Brazil’s Socioeco-

nomic Development Bank (BNDES),

Building Better’s headquarters are

under construction in Valença, Bahia,

on land donated by the city govern-

ment. The project will be completed

by May 2011. The apprentices are

helping build the facility, which will

house carpentry and computing labs,

a building block factory, classrooms

and accommodations. This is just one

of the students’ practical experiences.

Denise Batista, the “little bricklayer”: “I’m crazy about my job”

ODEBRECHT FOuNDATION

written by GabRiela vasConCellos

photo by máRCio lima

I

informa 59

They have also worked in residential

construction on a 65-sq.m area of the

Nova Igrapiúna subdivision, a factory

in the town of Laje, Bahia, and the

headquarters of the School of Military

Instruction, which is being built as

an annex to Youth House State High

School in Igrapiúna, an institution that

is also linked to the PDIS.

Denise Batista has worked on

several projects. Her only complaint

about a week of intense work is getting

plaster under her nails, one of her few

vanities. “This course changed my life.

I started out with no expectations. Now

I have plans and a vision for the future,”

says the “little bricklayer.”

Opportunity Building Better has given rise to

the Construction Cooperative (Coon-

struir), an associated entity formed by

the apprentices, whose pay is based

on their productivity, generating em-

ployment and income. The President

of Coonstruir is an alumnus of the

Youth House State High School. Pe-

dro Rogério da Silva, 25, from Ituberá,

Bahia, learned the trade from his fa-

ther, Raimundo da Silva. “He’s been a

supervisor for 30 years. I was born in

construction.”

Pedro joined the first class of

Building Better. Despite being almost

professional, he wanted to improve

his skills. Even without the sup-

port of his father, who disapproved

of his decision to take time off work

to study, since it would reduce their

income, he decided to keep going.

Today, at the end of the course, he

makes more than BRL 1,500 a month

(almost three times the minimum

monthly salary) and is supervising

construction of the School of Military

Instruction headquarters building.

“My father is proud to see me take

charge of a job all on my own. Now

he wants to work along with me, but

I told him it’s time to retire and get

some rest. It’s my turn at the wheel,”

he says, smiling.

Luan Araújo, 20, shares Pedro Ro-

gério’s dream. “I hope to become a

qualified bricklayer, increase my fam-

ily’s income and give them a better

home,” says the Valença resident,

who is excited to be an apprentice in

the project’s second class.

According to Christophe Houel, the

alliance between Building Better and

Coonstruir is helping improve the qual-

ity of life of the Southern Bahia Low-

lands. “We want to provide infrastruc-

ture for the region. At the same time,

we have to groom multipliers for the

construction industry. We are helping

many people to get out of a vulnerable

situation.”

Dream House The first Building Better class be-

gan its activities in June 2009 and grad-

uated in January 2011. Challenged to

present a project that summed up

all the knowledge they had acquired,

the apprentices developed the Dream

House. The idea is to give a Southern

Bahia Lowlands family the gift of a

decent home. “We developed every

step of the project, from the design

of the blueprints to a study of the

materials required. We split up into

teams and went out into the field to

interview people. Another part of the

group looked for sponsors. We’ll do

all the work, and our local partners

will donate the materials,” says De-

nise Batista, who helped devise this

initiative.

The chosen family has lived in a

mud house for 20 years. The young

builders are waiting for the Igrapiúna

government to issue the construction

permit before they break the news.

“I’ve always told them they would be

the builders of other people’s dreams.

This project proves it. It is the result

of being groomed for civic life,” says

Laís Freire, Pedagogical Coordinator

of Building Better.

A new class will get started in May

2011. To be part of Building Better,

applicants must be between 18 and

26 years old. “We don’t want people

who already have skills and experi-

ence, because our challenge is to

provide opportunities for everyone,”

emphasizes Christophe Houel.

Building Better’s sponsors:

• Odebrecht Foundation

• BNDES

• Senai (National Industrial Education Service)

• Sesi (Social Service for Industry)

• Michelin

• Igrapiúna County

• City of Valença

• Construction Cooperative

• Banco do Nordeste do Brasil

• State of Bahia Construction Union

• Caixa Econômica Federal

informa60

TEO Odebrecht Entrepreneurial Technology

it’s our philosophyJeff, Chris and Hal, three young American engineers, have made TEO part of their lives

written by Renata pinheiRo

informa 61

he experience of living the

Odebrecht Entrepreneurial

Technology (TEO) depends

on how it is understood, accepted

and practiced every day. Here is an

example from the USA of how three

young people are making TEO their

philosophy of work and life.

Jeff Willis, 24, is a member of the

team that is building the pumping sta-

tions that are part of the levee system

protecting New Orleans from floods.

He joined Odebrecht almost three

years ago. His first contact with TEO

made him somewhat leery. When he

heard he would be fully

responsible for his action

program, he thought it

was just a way to lure him

to the company fresh out

of college. He was about

to graduate from New

Orleans’s Tulane Uni-

versity as a mechanical

engineer. But his views

on planned delegation

and responsibility soon

changed. His first day on

the job, he was handed

a set of blueprints, as-

sured that he would have

constant support and in-

formed that he would be responsible

for everything involving the project’s

mechanical engineering.

At the first coordination meeting,

Jeff felt the full weight of the respon-

sibility he had been delegated when

he had to answer questions on the

subject and discuss certain issues.

He says he now understands the im-

portance of delegation for his own

education. “When things are done

right, you build up trust and you’re

given more responsibilities.” He re-

calls that because he felt responsible

for a task, he made every effort to

learn, ask questions and do the job

right. Jeff believes that, in order to

grow, we must take full responsibility

for our work.

Christopher Conerly, 26, tells a

similar story. An engineer with a de-

gree in construction management,

he believes that confidence in people

is a decisive factor for professional

growth. When he joined the com-

pany, he was also a recent graduate

(from the University of Louisiana),

and started out on the quality team

for the construction and expansion

of levees on Lake Cataouache in

New Orleans. He soon realized that

his leaders trusted him to get the job

done right. According to Chris, that

sunk in when he heard that one of

his responsibilities was direct com-

munication with the client, the US

Army Corps of Engineers. They often

contacted the contractor to discuss

issues related to the quality of the

work. He was surprised. Chris says

that, for him, this was one of the first

things that proved that Odebrecht is

really different, and that everything

he had read in books on TEO is actu-

ally applied on a daily basis.

“Communication with the client

is extremely important, and being

entrusted with that task helped me

realize that my relationship with my

leaders is based on trust.”

Greg Newman, 26, is better known

to his co-workers as Hal. The concept

of education through work, which

he heard about when he was a stu-

dent at the University of Louisiana,

immediately sparked his interest

in Odebrecht. Hal says that his first

job, the Lake Chalmette levee (he

is now working on the

construction of a 5.4km

retaining wall), was a

tremendous learning

experience. His direct

involvement in finan-

cial and management

programs on a real-life

project have taught him

important lessons that

have put him in a po-

sition to confront and

overcome growing chal-

lenges.

“My leader used to

spend hours explain-

ing the ‘why’ of things,

how should we manage costs and

strategies. That type of interaction is

priceless,” says Hal. An engineer with

a degree in construction manage-

ment, he feels that continuous learn-

ing has been crucial for his growth,

and there is no better place for that

than the jobsite. “That project was an

education for me. It helped me learn

about all aspects of a contract.” Hal

believes that people development is

a long-term investment. “Everyone

wants the responsibility to grow. I’m

doing my best.”

“My leader used to spend hours explaining the ‘why’ of things, how we should manage costs and strategies. That type of interaction is priceless.”

Hal Newman

T

62 informa

SuBSEA ENgINEERINg

Odebrecht Oil & Gas (OOG)

is diversifying its business.

On November 30, 2010, it

formed a joint venture with Acergy, a

company that recently merged with

Subsea 7 (and will adopt that name),

for the construction and installation

of a 150km subsea gas pipeline in

the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo

for Petrobras.

The joint venture will be respon-

sible for project management, engi-

neering, purchasing, manufacturing

and logistics. The contract for these

services is valued at USD 90 million.

Diving services, including people

and equipment, installation of the

pipeline and pre-commissioning ac-

tivities for the system will be the sole

responsibility of Subsea 7.

Petrobras is supplying the pipe,

which the joint venture will trans-

port to the Port of São Sebastião, São

Paulo. From there, barges will tow it to

the site where the pipeline will be in-

stalled. The beginning of that stage is

planned for the end of this year. “Our

work on this project involves manage-

ment. There will be about 60 profes-

sionals at work,” says OOG Project

Manager Eduardo Lavigne. By the end

of the 18-month contract, the project

will have created about 450 direct work

opportunities for Brazilians and for-

eign nationals because of the number

of equipment suppliers involved.

taking the plungeOdebrecht Oil & gas diversifies its businesses and starts working in the subsea segment

written by edilson lima

63informa

Pre-salt layer is growing demand Since the discovery of the pre-

salt layer in Brazil, the demand for

subsea engineering services has

been growing year by year. Accord-

ing to studies by UBS (a global

company based in Switzerland that

conducts research and provides fi-

nancial services), the pre-salt layer

will require investments of approxi-

mately USD 600 billion. An estimat-

ed 30% of that amount will go to the

subsea market. The term “subsea”

covers services and facilities for

the underwater structures respon-

sible for oil and gas exploration and

production between the seabed and

the surface. According to Petrobras’s

investment plan, that company will

invest USD 108 billion in oil explora-

tion and production by 2014. Rough-

ly USD 40 billion of that amount is

for the subsea segment.

OOG’s decision to enter this new

business resulted from the dream

of participating in a highly qualified

market that is currently dominated

by foreign companies. Based on

Odebrecht’s experience of over 30

years in offshore operations, the

company began a detailed analy-

sis of the market in late 2009, and

mounted an action strategy that

included the search for a technol-

ogy partner that would add value to

OOG’s work.

“Subsea 7 is a company with a

long track record in the subsea

engineering market. We have no

doubt that this journey together

will be a tremendous learning ex-

perience,” says OOG Project Direc-

tor Ricardo Viana.

As a result, OOG is now the

first Brazilian company to invest

effectively in the subsea market,

competing with the major global

players in that segment. “Being

a pioneer has advantages, but it

also involves tackling fresh chal-

lenges. We intend to carve out

our space in the market without

neglecting business security,” ob-

serves Ricardo Viana, adding that:

“The subsea engineering market

is a tremendous opportunity to

serve our clients and contribute

to the development of Brazilian

workers.”

informa64

Time for (self-) transformation

Brazilian

psycholo-

gist with a degree

from Boston Col-

lege in the United States, Gabriela Rocha, 25, has been a

member of the Odebrecht Corporate Social Responsibil-

ity Team in Peru since January 2008. At first, she coor-

dinated sustainable development projects for the South

Interoceanic Highway. She has lived in the Andes, almost

4,000 meters above sea level, along with indigenous com-

munities. She fell in love with their strong, well-preserved

ancestral culture and the colors and contrasts of Peru.

Now she provides support for projects in the areas of So-

cial Programs and Climate Change. “I’ve changed a lot

these last three years,” says Gabriela. “Today I fully be-

lieve in the power of business to transform the economic

situation of a region and benefit the needy.”

gabriela helps improve the lives of Peruvian communities

uliana Monteiro, 31, was born in Cachoeiro do

Itapemirim, Espírito Santo, in eastern Brazil, but

grew up in the state capital, Vitória, where she went to

high school. Then she studied civil engineering in Rio de

Janeiro. She graduated from college in 2002 and moved

to São Paulo, where she still lives today. Juliana works out

at the gym almost every day and loves to go out with her

husband, Sandro Gamba, and friends. Travel is another

hobby. Whenever she can, she goes to Vitória to visit her

parents and enjoy the local cuisine. The engineer joined

Odebrecht Realizações Imobiliárias (OR) in 2006 as the of-

ficer Responsible for the Alpha Square project. From 2009

to 2010, she helmed two other real estate ventures: Al-

pha Park and The One. Her outstanding performance led

to her promotion to Project Director in January, making

her the first woman to hold that position at the company:

“Women are taking on and overcoming fresh challenges in

our society,” she says.

Juliana is OR’s first female Project Director

A Brazilian woman’s pioneer spirit

n February 2, the feast day for the sea, Nadja

Silva Fontes, marked 13 years at Braskem. She

is an engineer specialized in Automation and Process

Control and is completing an MBA at the Getúlio Vargas

Foundation (FGV). A native of Salvador in the Brazilian

state of Bahia, Nadja joined the company as a trainee

in 1998. She is currently responsible for the Olefins Pro-

cess Engineering team at Basic Petrochemicals Unit I

in Camaçari, Bahia. “At work, what I enjoy most is con-

tributing to the continuous improvement of plants to

ensure a better work environment and people’s profes-

sional growth,” she says. And after work? Then Nadja

likes to relax, and she enjoys that too: she loves to go

to the beach with her family and hike the trails with

friends.

PEOPLE

From the industrial plant to beaches and trails

Nadja balances her dedication to work and play

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Founded in 1944, Odebrecht is a Brazilian organization made up of diversified businesses with global operations and world-class standards of quality. Its 120,000 members are present in the Americas, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and Europe.

Next issue:People

Development

reSPONSIbLe FOr cOrPOrAte cOMMUNIcAtION At cONStrUtOrA NOrbertO Odebrecht S.A. Márcio Polidoro

reSPONSIbLe FOr PUbLIcAtIONS PrOGrAMS At cONStrUtOrA NOrbertO Odebrecht S.A. Karolina Gutiez

bUSINeSS AreA cOOrdINAtOrS Nelson Letaif Chemicals & Petrochemicals | Andressa Saurin Ethanol & Sugar | Bárbara Nitto Oil & Gas | Daelcio Freitas Environmental Engineering | Sergio Kertész Real Estate Developments | Coordinator at Odebrecht Foundation Vivian Barbosa

edItOrIAL cOOrdINAtION Versal Editores editor-in-chief José Enrique Barreiroexecutive editor Cláudio Lovato Filho english translation by H. Sabrina GledhillArt/Graphic Production Rogério NunesGraphic design and Illustrations Rico LinsPhoto editor Holanda Cavalcantielectronic Publishing Maria Celia Olivieri

Printing 1,600 copies | Pre-Press and Printing Pancrom

edItOrIAL OFFIceS Rio de Janeiro +55 21 2239-1778 | São Paulo + 55 11 3641- 4743email: versal@versal.com.br Originally published in Portuguese. Also available in Spanish.

“People’s most important asset is their spirit, because that is what

confers character and the desire to serve, as well as the strength to create, innovate and produce

for the benefit of others”

TEO [Odebrecht Entrepreneurial Technology]

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