Africa-Press – Angola. The first phase of construction of the National Center for Maritime Coordination and Surveillance, located in Barra do Cuanza, in Luanda, should be completed in December, instead of March 2024, as planned.
The information was confirmed, this Thursday, by the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, at the end of a visit to the construction works of the centre, located on National Road (EN) 100, municipality of Belas, Ramiros neighbourhood, about nine kilometers from Barra do Cuanza.
“In a few minutes we just decided that the contractor will deliver this work to us in December of this year, contrary to what was indicated, March of next year”, said the Angolan Head of State, in statements to the press, at the end of the visit. .
“This work has to be delivered in December of the current year”, underlined the holder of the Executive Power, adding that 18 months later, starting in December of the current year, the second phase of the project should be delivered.
President João Lourenço said that the assignment of the work took place on September 11, 2019 and that it was initially supposed to be delivered in December 2020, which did not happen.
“We are in 2023 and as you can see, we have not completed the work”, said President João Lourenço, stressing that “financial execution is not delayed, therefore, there will have been reasons of another order that meant that the level of physical execution did not follow the level of financial execution”.
In the opinion of the President of the Republic, if the first phase of the work is effectively concluded next December “we will already be satisfied because with the first phase completed, the center can already start operating”.
João Lourenço made it clear that he decided to go to the site to assess any difficulties and make decisions on the ground. He said he hopes that started yesterday, the picture he found in the work will radically change.
After highlighting the importance of the center, the President of the Republic said that, when completed, the infrastructure will work in coordination with the centers in Soyo, province of Zaire, Lobito (Benguela) and Namibe, located along the Angolan coast .
Soyo center is completed
“The Soyo (center) is ready. On Monday, when we inaugurate the Soyo Naval Base, we will also receive the Soyo center”, announced the Statesman, referring to the completion of the Soyo Maritime Coordination and Surveillance Centre.
As for the National Center for Maritime Coordination and Surveillance (Luanda), the holder of the Executive Power said he was the main one. It will have the function of collecting all the information from the other centers and, if necessary, transmitting it to the vessels that are sailing in the country’s territorial sea.
maritime security
João Lourenço defended maritime security made with means on land and at sea, in the latter, with warships and on land with infrastructures, including naval bases and surveillance centres.
According to the Commander-in-Chief of the Angolan Armed Forces, the mission of the center of Luanda will be to monitor 24/24 hours the movements that take place in the national territorial waters.
These centers, according to João Lourenço, will be the eyes of the Angolan Navy, being able to monitor the movements of illegal fishing vessels, merchant navy ships (national and international).
He noted that the fact that Angolan territorial waters are included in the Gulf of Guinea, ships from merchant navies from all over the world pass through them, so “all this movement will be followed, monitored, controlled from these four centers” (Luanda, Soyo, Lobito and Namibe).
With a contract value budgeted at US$60,947,470, the project has a financial execution of around 80 percent.
The future National Center for Maritime Coordination and Surveillance is being built in a total area of 32 hectares, including the space reserved for expansion.
The infrastructure includes an administrative building, middle post, cafeteria, gym, dormitory and streets.
The aim of the project is to create facilities capable of accommodating technical equipment for maritime surveillance of the Angolan coast and when completed it should be managed by the Angolan Navy.
The construction of the infrastructure is part of the Angolan Executive’s project which aims to provide the Angolan Navy with modern means, to better respond to the sector’s challenges, including in the country’s Exclusive Maritime Economic Zone.
Angola has a coastline of 1,650 kilometers from north to south, bathed by the Atlantic Ocean.
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