Africa-Press – Angola. The entry into operation of the new Dr. António Agostinho Neto International Airport (AIAAN), located in the urban district of Bom Jesus, municipality of Icolo and Bengo, in Luanda, was the main headline in economic area, in the week that Saturday, ends.
The inauguration of the airport infrastructure, which took place on the eve of the celebration of 48 years of National Independence, marked (11/11), was held by the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, in a ceremony witnessed by more than 1,500 guests.
Built 40 kilometers from the country’s capital, the new airport begins its operations in phases, with the 1st reserved only for loading and unloading cargo to various destinations, a phase that will last until February 2024.
According to the AIAAN operating schedule, the 2nd phase begins in February 2024, with domestic flight operations, with the last stage scheduled for June 2024, with the start of international passenger flight operations.
For the first phase, the new airport will operate with provisional certification, as there is not yet sufficient experience of airport operations.
The new airport infrastructure, valued at USD 2.8 billion, occupies a land area of 1,324 hectares and can accommodate a cargo volume of 130 thousand tons/year, expecting to transport 15 million passengers per year, of which 10 million on international flights and five million on domestic flights.
According to technical studies, it is the third largest airport in Africa in terms of passenger volume per year, having two double runways to receive, among others, aircraft of the B747 and A380 types, the latter considered the largest commercial aircraft today.
Another event that marked this week was the inauguration of the first phase of the Teresa Afonso Gomes Centrality, in the town of Bucula, municipality of Caxito, province of Bengo, a ceremony also led by the President of the Republic, João Lourenço.
In this initial phase, 80 buildings were built, of which 72 house shops and 486 homes, eight of which are single-story houses, as well as health and police posts and a 24-room primary school.
In the second and final phase, the construction of a further 78 buildings of different types is expected, totaling a total of one thousand homes, namely 946 apartments, 30 single-story houses and 72 stores.
The first 486 housing units, out of a thousand planned, will mainly benefit public employees, with a quota earmarked for youth.
Authorized by the President of the Republic, through Order No. 54/21, of April 29, the Teresa Afonso Gomes Centrality was budgeted at 182.9 million US dollars, plus USD 4.5 million for the inspection contract .
The housing project is the second in the province of Bengo, after Centralidade do Capari, the first to come into operation, with four thousand housing units.
In the field of trade, the economic week was also marked by Angola’s participation in the third edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF 2023), which takes place in the city of Cairo, Egypt, in an initiative of the African Export and Import Bank (Afreximbank ), in collaboration with the African Union and the Egyptian Government.
At the event, the country is represented by a delegation led by the Secretary of State for Commerce, Amadeu Nunes, and made up of representatives from 18 public and private organizations, in addition to the Angolan ambassador to the Arab Republic of Egypt, Nelson Cosme.
Under the motto “One people, united in Culture, creating for the world”, the fair aims to promote and encourage business and trade between African countries.
The event, which takes place from the 9th to the 15th of this month, in the format of a conference/fair, serves Angola to present its “Commercial Passport” called “Invest in Angola”, produced by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, an instrument that portrays the reasons to invest in the country.
The profile of participating Angolan companies, the Government’s structuring programs 2022-2027, natural beauty and 30 geographic data are also part of Angola’s presentations at the fair.
In the national arena, the holding, in Luanda, of the Forum of the International Business Network of Brazil, Vietnam, Portugal and South Korea stood out, with a view to strengthening business networks and activities between the four countries in Angola, in promoting Korean embassy, in collaboration with the other three countries.
On the occasion, the potential of the pharmaceutical industry, the agri-food sector and livestock farming were presented as the main priority areas to receive private investment in Angola, according to the president of the Board of Directors of AIPEX, Lello Francisco.
In the week ending saturday, the third edition of the Economic Briefing was also highlighted, promoted by Standard Bank, a South African bank specialized in evaluating macroeconomic indicators in different countries around the world.
This institution estimates that the Angolan economy will grow by around 1.6% in 2024, a percentage below that predicted in next year’s General State Budget (OGE).
According to the chief economist of Standard Bank, Fáusio Mussá, next year, “there will not be many elements” to sustain a strong acceleration in the growth of the Angolan economy, above all because a large part of the growth forecast for 2024 is based on the non-oil economy, a of the segments most affected by the shortage of foreign currencies.
“Over the last few years, we have noticed that it was the non-oil sector that accelerated the growth of Angolan GDP. As an example, growth of around 3% was recorded in 2022, in a context in which there was still a large supply of foreign currency and a stable exchange rate”, he clarified.
Participants in the 3rd edition of the Economic Briefing reflected on the theme “The paths to economic recovery in Angola”, which served to project the possible scenarios for the Angolan economy, in particular, and the world economy, in general, in the coming years.
In the electricity sector, the highlight of the week was the holding of the conference on Renewable Energy in Angola, which served to present the “vision, goals and strategies of the Angolan Government for this area and rural electrification”.
On the occasion, the representative of the Ministry of Energy and Water (MINEA), João Pataca Fernandes, said that the Government expects an investment of around 11.7 billion US dollars (UDS 1 worth 827 kwanzas) for new projects and the Public Investment Program (PIP) aimed at the national electricity sector, until 2027.
According to MINEA’s senior staff, the value of the respective investment will be divided into 41% for new projects and 59% for PIP/2023 projects, serving to respond to the challenges of the current reality and project the sector’s growth.
The investment, which is part of the Energy sector’s action plan for the period 2023/2027, also has as its main priorities the continuity of construction works on the Caculo-Cabaça dam and the completion of the Laúca project, the latter of which is already in operation.
ANGOP
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