Africa-Press – Angola. Angola has advantages in transporting salt to African countries, especially landlocked ones, via the Lobito Corridor, said the owner of the Calombolo salt mines, Adérito Areias.
According to the businessman, Namibia and Egypt are the country’s biggest competitors and charge the same prices, but Angola wins in rail transport, as it is cheaper.
“Namibia, for example, takes salt by truck from Walvis Bay to Lumbumbachi, Democratic Republic of Congo, and how much does this transport cost?”, he asked.
Adérito Areias said that Angola is self-sufficient in salt production and already sells a lot abroad, but it must produce more and youth must embrace this opportunity to reduce the unemployment rate.
In relation to the production of fishmeal, also produced in the Calombolo salt pans, it is the opinion that this activity should be encouraged, with the construction of small factories.
“We can no longer waste fish waste by throwing it into the sea. On the contrary, we must use it to make fishmeal”, he argued.
The Calombolo salt mines have a monthly production of around 250 thousand tons of salt per month.
On the other hand, the Tchicambi salt mines are another one that is being created in the Chamume area (Baia-farta).
It is a project undertaken by young people with financing from the Development Bank of Angola (BDA), in the order of one billion and 400 thousand kwanzas in phases.
According to its manager, Sebastião Custódio, the project, which began in March this year, is already 90 percent complete.
“In the first phase we will harvest three thousand tons, as it is the beginning, and when the process gains consistency, we will reach between fifteen and twenty tons/month”, he stated.
Sebastião Custódio informed that the project was financed for 64 hectares, but his intervention already exceeds one hundred. Its total area is 300 hectares.
“Within two to three years we want to reach 300 hectares.
Currently, the salt factory has 150 workers but hopes to reach 400 by the time the salt is harvested.
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