Africa-Press – Angola. The President of the Republic, João Lourenço, requested this Friday, in Beijing, financing from China for the construction project of the Surface Metro, by a Chinese company, to connect Cacuaco to Benfica, passing through Baixa de Luanda.
According to the statesman, who was speaking during a meeting with the Chinese Prime Minister, Li Qiang, Luanda has an estimated population of 12 million inhabitants and, as expected, with serious urban mobility problems.
For this reason, he said, Angola would like to see the construction project of the Surface Metro financed by a Chinese company, to connect Cacuaco to Benfica, passing through downtown Luanda.
He recalled, however, that the project is self-sustaining, therefore not posing any constraint on its repayment and on servicing the country’s debt.
Luanda Surface Metro
The Luanda Surface Metro project began with a Memorandum of Understanding signed, on February 7, 2020, as part of the visit that the then German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, made to Angola.
The initial budget for the construction of the Luanda Surface Metro is worth three billion dollars and Angola would have a participation of around 30 percent, with the other part falling to private agents interested in participating in the project.
The Surface Metro line will be 149 kilometers long and cover the main axes of Luanda, that is, the Port of Luanda and Cacuaco, Avenida Fidel Castro Ruz-Benfica, Port of Luanda-Largo da Independência and Kilamba City- Largo da Independência.
The Luanda Surface Metro, which in the first phase will connect Kilamba Centrality to the Port of Luanda, offers benefits in the urban requalification of the country’s capital.
The Yellow Line, the first to be built, will leave Kilamba, passing through the BRT route, Estádio 11 de Novembro, Sapu, Estalagem, Grafanil, Estrada de Catete, Operative Unit to Tourada. From this point you will continue to the Airport area, going down to Prenda until Zamba 2. From there, continue to Nova Marginal until you reach the Port of Luanda.
The Red Line will be installed on the central divider of Avenida Fidel Castro Ruz, on a route of approximately 60 kilometers, from Cacuaco to Benfica, while the Green Line will connect Cacuaco to the Port of Luanda. The Blue Line will leave Zamba 2, connecting with the Yellow Line, passing through Nova Marginal, to Benfica.
President João Lourenço has been in the capital of the People’s Republic of China since Thursday, leading a ministerial delegation that will discuss the new terms of bilateral cooperation.
For three days, delegations from Angola and China will reassess the instruments governing bilateral cooperation and identify new areas for strategic partnership outside the domain of oil, Angola’s biggest currency.
After meeting with Prime Minister Li Qiang, João Lourenço met with the President of the National People’s Assembly (Parliament), Zhao Leji.
However, the highlight of the visit is reserved, namely the meeting between João Lourenço and Xi Jinping.
The two Presidents will then witness the signing of a set of legal instruments aimed at strengthening cooperation between the two countries, ending with a dinner in honor of the visit of the President of the Republic of Angola.
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