Africa-Press – Angola. The construction and rehabilitation works on roads, providing access to the New Luanda International Airport, 45 kilometers long in the commune of Bom Jesus, municipality of Icolo Bengo, are progressing well and should be completed by the end of September, according to the Institute’s most optimistic projections. of Angola Roads (INEA) in Luanda.
For a few days, press was able to see the works in progress, which will make traffic to the airport more fluid, destined to be a hub for aviation, with numbers that could reach 15 million passengers and 150 thousand tons of goods per year
Engineer Rosária Kiala, responsible for INEA Provincial Services in Luanda, our guide, could not be more optimistic, when questioned by JA. “We intend to complete the works by August/September of this year”, she responds, indicating that the projects are divided into maintenance and conservation, requalification, rehabilitation and construction.
The maintenance and conservation works on Via do Patriota, which has been closed since January this year, and Futungo/Cabolombo have already been completed, while in the field of conservation and maintenance work is underway on Avenida Pedro de Castro Van-Dúnem “Loy” and 21 of January.
“As for rehabilitation, we are working at Deolinda Rodrigues, with works already at around 80 percent. At Fidel Castro, in addition to the rehabilitation of the road itself, the work focuses on the construction of 16 kilometers of a service road, with emphasis on the placement of pedestrian crossings”, highlights Rosária Kiala.
The person in charge said that seven more pedestrian crossings are yet to be installed on Avenida Deolinda Rodrigues and another next to Fermat and at the “driver’s stop”, works that should end this month. “By mid-June, we will also start laying the foundations so that we can set up a pedestrian crossing at the so-called “driver stop”. All of this with the facilitation of urban mobility in mind”, she highlighted.
In addition to the assembly of these seven new pedestrian crossings, the old ones are being rehabilitated. “I think we’re missing one or two, one near the broken bridge, but then we’re going to put in a new one, which is a specific case, due to its road and rail profile.
“This is, in fact, a different situation in relation to the strategy we are following regarding the installation of pedestrian crossings, especially on the access roads to the New Luanda International Airport”, explains the head of INEA’s Provincial Services in Luanda.
The engineer explains that the assembly of the pedestrian crossings has not yet started on the expressway, but guarantees that the works can start by the end of June.
On this route, as Rosária Kiala explains, five pedestrian crossings are planned, with the main reference being those next to Maxi, Shoprite and Centro Sol.
In another development, the emergence of new commercial services in the Kikuxi area, a large population cluster, brought added challenges to INEA, as recognized by its manager. “Now, having opened a new shopping mall, we see that a constraint has arisen in terms of crossing that area, clearly justifying the placement of a pedestrian crossing”, she explains, to justify the undertaking.
“This is something that was not foreseen, but suddenly new shopping centers appeared. Therefore, we had to follow this dynamic, placing pedestrians, for greater safety of the population”, highlights Rosária Kiala
Press was able to see improvements to the roads in the Zango area, especially those leading to the New Luanda International Airport, opened on November 10, 2023, by President João Lourenço.
“We also rehabilitated the Zango roads, which resulted in greater traffic flow”, he says, indicating, however, that these improvements did not include macro-drainage, which should lead to the relocation of some people.
Strictly speaking, it is intended, with the relocation, to make macro-drainage viable, to finish the canal that was built in that area.
Evolution of works
The person responsible for INEA’s Provincial Services, in Luanda, appears comfortable with the physical and financial execution of the various projects related to accessibility to the New Luanda International Airport. She really goes into detail. “In general, the works have reached a point of no return”, says Rosária Kiala, highlighting Avenida Deolinda Rodrigues, where the works are already 80 percent complete, with only the pedestrian crossings remaining, from the Operational Unit to the so-called Bridge do 25, on EN 230.
Among other fronts, on Avenida Fidel Castro, at this time there are also works, with high visibility, from the Cabolombo area to Ponte do 25. The head of INEA in Luanda is very concerned about macro-drainage, which considers the “strength” of the project at Fidel Castro.
“In terms of road rehabilitation and resurfacing, what was foreseen, in terms of macro-drainage, which is the fort that is there, there is still significant work to be done”, he adds.
Macro-drainage, however, has always existed at Fidel Castro, but the occupation of water lines became problematic for the normal course of the project. “That’s why we are, today, investing heavily in macro-drainage on Avenida Fidel de Castro”, says engineer Rosária Kiala, about the most important connection route to the New Luanda International Airport.
Kimbango Way
Always in line with improving circulation for NAIL, a new road is under construction, from Kimbango, to lead to Via Expressa, running parallel to Deolinda Rodrigues, something that will result in considerable gains for the communities it passes through.
“This helps to ease traffic on Deolinda Rodrigues. The road will start where we closed it, but inside we have already worked a lot”, says the head of INEA in Luanda, adding that seven kilometers of macro-drainage and around one kilometer of curbs for walks.
Some constraints
Works of the size of those being developed by INEA in Luanda always bring several constraints to their effective implementation.
And that was the question asked directly to engineer Rosária Kiala. “The constraints, in general, are the technical networks of companies such as EPAL, ENDE, UNITEL, MsTelecom, Zap, with which we always have meetings to find the best solutions”.
At our insistence, Rosária Kiala said it was a “peaceful matter between us”, but that it represents a great constraint, in financial terms and in terms of the evolution of the work itself.
And he gives an example: “We were working on macro-drainage, next to the Vereda das Flores condominium, where there is a parallel pipeline next to our macro-drainage. An important pipeline, which we cannot change, but we have already done so. There were four hours, to close them, a huge embarrassment”.
He explains that, in joint work with EPAL and the contractor itself, after two hours the situation was restored, even though many people had been deprived of drinking water.
“There is a lot of commerce nearby, several technical networks, so we have to be permanently in contact with companies, to be able to remedy specific situations”, said Rosária Kiala.
This is work carried out by INEA works coordinators and technicians appointed by companies that own technical networks on Avenida Fidel Castro, access roads and structures in general, as explained to us.
Access from the South and North
For those who arrive on the southern coast of Angola and want to quickly access the New Luanda International Airport, Fidel Castro has exactly that, and a project to widen the Cabolombo/Barra do Cuanza road was launched in 2023, which will ensure the fluidity in that section on EN 100.
We went to the Ramiros area to see the Omatapalo shipyard, the company that built this INEA project. Once the work has been completed, the contractor is now working on preparing the conditions for assembling the yard that will accommodate the various equipment.
Specifically, the focus is on stopping the ravines and some holes that appear in the Ramiros area.
Engineer Rosária Kiala recognizes, however, the importance of the contractor receiving the necessary resources to mobilize the equipment. “He (contractor) initially receives a downpayment, but I need all the money to move forward with the project”, she says.
All contributing to access to the airport, but also to facilitate the flow of traffic as a whole. In the North direction, there are major interventions between Catete/Maria Teresa, the same happens up to the limit of the city of Ndalatando.
“The EN 230 Catete/Maria Teresa is an important route. It has heavy traffic and anyone who is, for example, in Ndalatando has to find facilities to travel via NAIL”, argues the head of INEA’s Provincial Services in Luanda.
Large investments
So far, around 300 million dollars have already been invested in this project, including supervision, projects, coordination, contractor and other actors directly involved.
The editor of the press assumes, however, that the route from Kimbango to Fidel Castro will not end this year, as it is a gigantic project, which has to do, above all, with macro-drainage. “It’s not just any macro-drainage”, says Rosária Kiala.
“We are talking about a place that is, today, completely different from that confusion of the past”, says the head of INEA in Luanda, recalling that the communication routes have substantially increased the value of the Kimbango area.
According to the engineer, the ongoing works in the Kimbango area have not led, so far, to the displacement of people, although, as she mentioned, there is a section of around 800 meters where this may be necessary, even though it is not exactly in the area of intervention.
Specifically, it talks about some walls and backyards, inside Kilamba-Kiaxi, which could hinder macro-drainage between the Viana-Camama road, until it flows into the Cambamba river.
Works on structural roads
But if the construction and improvement of access roads to the New Luanda International Airport are, today, the order of the day, structuring in the country’s capital is underway.
The question was directly put to the head of the Provincial Services of INEA and Luanda: “We are working on the structuring routes, in addition to the EN/230, which has already been assigned and which we are monitoring. In the next few days, we foresee some work to be done on the via Boavista-Luanda-Kifangondo”, he replied, highlighting the importance of these routes in road traffic.
In Kima Kienda Boavista, there are also works in progress, as well as on Avenidas Pedro de Castro Van-Dúnem Loy and 21 de Janeiro.
Concerns about vandalism
At a time when vandalism of public property is also once again at the top of the Government’s agenda of concerns, the head of INEA in Luanda asks for the collaboration of the media to help put an end to this phenomenon and cites, as an example, , the total vandalization of the nets placed above the dividers on Avenida Deolinda Rodrigues, to provide people with safety.
“In a little while, October or December arrives, the work will be finished and they will say that we didn’t work, when we are destroying what was already done”, laments Rosária Kiala, considering the vandalism regarding public lighting “very serious”. “I think this is the fifth, sixth or seventh time that we are replacing public lighting, just in Deolinda Rodrigues”, she highlighted, visibly disappointed.
Cases of people being run over on various avenues are recurrent and that is the concern. “We put in a pedestrian crossing, but people prefer to risk their lives by going under it,” she says, defending awareness campaigns in communities, schools and other places.
The source added that, on Avenida Deolinda Rodrigues, in all places with a pedestrian crossing, there are separators meters in front and a net above.
“The macro-drainage is within the access points, mainly on Fidel Castro. Here, we are going to build fifty-five kilometers of road, a service road, leaving 17 to 20 meters, for the placement of another lane or for the surface metro from Luanda”.
However, the passage of the surface metro requires, as engineer Rosária Kiala explains, uneven sections , such as those in Kilamba or Zango.
“Now, what we are doing today is the first phase. Sixteen kilometers of service roads are not enough, as we will have to move, later, in Cacuaco, doing the same work”, he adds, to highlight the magnitude of the constructions.
Occupation of roads in Cacuaco
Unlike Kimbango, in Cacuaco people may be displaced, who have built their homes along the road, as the INEA official made clear.
“Yes, there were occupations of the fifty meters of land, which we left on each side of the road”, words from Rosária Kiala, to a question, which has published notices from INEA, about the non-occupation of these areas.
“We have notices on this matter and, in some cases, expropriation may occur”, he highlights, reiterating the commitment of INEA technicians to make access to NAIL fluid.
“We need to have science, because we can do the technical part, but also our social part”, he concluded.
Jornal de Angola
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