Africa-Press – Angola. The Minister of Public Works and Housing, Carlos Santos, said Saturday, in Dundo, that the start of construction of the road linking Angola and Zambia, through the Lobito corridor (Benguela), depends on the final approval of the Budget General of the State (OGE).
Speaking to the press, on the sidelines of the act of assigning the stabilization and containment works of three ravines in the province of Lunda Norte, Carlos Santos informed that two companies have already been contracted for the referred undertaking and, as soon as the first payments are made, will be at the beginning of the same.
Without revealing the value of the contract, he said that the Angolan Government would build 800 of the 1,300 kilometers that separate the two countries in that section.
Of the 800 kilometers on Angola’s part, contracts have already been signed for 600, with 200 kilometers to go, on the March-25 section (Angola) to the Zambian border, a contract that is under discussion between both parties.
He said that the forecast indicates that the contract has an execution period of three years, taking into account the number of kilometers of the said section.
This undertaking is part of the strengthening of bilateral cooperation between Angola and Zambia, which recently allowed, on the sidelines of the Zambian President’s working visit to Angola, the signing of six legal instruments.
Road maintenance and upkeep
On the other hand, the minister revealed that the creation of a road maintenance and conservation program is underway, with a view to guaranteeing the durability of communication routes in the country.
The official said that the program will also allow for the conservation and maintenance of drainage ditches and stagnant ravines.
He said that the program is intended to prevent works carried out by the State from deteriorating in a short time due to lack of maintenance and conservation.
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