Africa-Press – Angola. The country needs 2.2 million homes to reduce the current housing deficit, the Minister of Public Works, Urbanism and Housing announced on Wednesday in the city of Uíge. Carlos Alberto dos Santos, who is on a three-day working visit to the coffee-growing lands, said that if nothing is done, combined with population growth, this deficit could rise to four million by 2050.
“The Executive has already invested heavily in central areas, urban developments and social housing. It has built around 350,000 homes that have accommodated more than two million inhabitants”, recalled the minister, who defended the need for private agents to be involved in the real estate sector.
In the area of road infrastructure, the minister said that the rehabilitation works on the 89-kilometre stretch connecting the municipalities of Sanza Pombo and Buengas will be completed next year. Carlos Alberto dos Santos also spoke about the road connecting the provinces of Uíge and Zaire. “The other new development we brought has to do with the rehabilitation of the Uíge/Zaire road, which was discussed at the last local government council and which we have already presented in the province of Zaire. We have now come to present it in the province of Uíge”, he said.
On the Uíge side, he explained, the road in question will be over 100 kilometres long, starting in the Lucunga region, with two branches: one to the municipality of Bembe and the other to Songo. He stressed that the road will be built using a new model, made of dirt, but with soil stabiliser, as part of the effort to reduce the costs of public works.
The minister also spoke about the rehabilitation of tertiary roads, having informed that, in the province of Uíge, the survey carried out covers 81 sections. However, the local government needs to define the priorities so that the project can begin next year. “This visit is part of the redefinition of priorities, because we are all preparing the General State Budget (OGE) for 2025”, pointed out the head of the Public Works portfolio, who noted, on the other hand, that, in relation to ravines, in the national context, the province of Uíge is at the top of the list, followed by the Lundas Norte and Sul, without, however, having provided statistical data.
“It is a challenge; there is a need to agree on a package of priority ravines. We have already made some good interventions here in Uíge. Now we have come not only to discuss a second priority package, but also to define a new model. From now on, the central body will deal with the ravines that are in a state of progression. All those ravines that are being formed will become the local responsibility”, he highlighted.
As a result, he added, there is a need not only to train staff, but also to provide the Government and municipal administrations with small resources to be able to combat this phenomenon (ravines) in a timely manner.
Ten metal bridges
The Minister of Public Works, Urban Planning and Housing also announced that the region will benefit from 10 metal bridges in the near future, as part of an agreement with the United States of America.
Upon arrival, Carlos Alberto dos Santos held a meeting with the provincial governor of Uíge, José Carvalho da Rocha, and then visited some dilapidated buildings in the city of Uíge, as well as assessing the state of conservation of the Uíge/Dambi/Negage road.
Today, the minister is working in the municipalities of Sanza Pombo and Buengas, in order to observe the ongoing projects there, with emphasis on the rehabilitation works of the road that connects the municipal headquarters of Sanza Pombo to the localities of Cuilo Pombo, Quimbianda and Buengas. The minister’s journey ends tomorrow with a visit to the lots for self-construction in the Catapa neighborhood, on the outskirts of the city of Uíge.
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