Africa-Press – Angola. The holding of the III edition of the Africa Space Conference 2024 (NewSpace Africa), the largest space event on the African continent that Angola hosted, for the first time, constituted the main headline in the newspaper economic area, this week that Saturday, ends.
During the four-day conference, participants reflected and debated, among various topics, ‘The role of space technology in combating poverty on the African continent’, taking into account the transformative potential of space technology in issues linked to agriculture, health and security.
The event, which took place at the Talatona Convention Center, in Luanda, also served the Angolan Government to demonstrate the real benefits and potential of Angosat-2, with the expansion of Internet services to more than ten thousand inhabitants of the commune of Muangai, Moxico province, through the ‘Conecta Angola’ project.
This project, which is also already benefiting the populations of the municipalities of Belo Horizonte (Bié), Canzar (Lunda-Norte), Jamba Cueio (Cuando-Cubango), as well as the provinces of Lunda-Sul and Luanda, aims to provide services of Internet access to remote and underserved areas of the country, as well as reducing digital exclusion and promoting the socioeconomic development of communities.
Furthermore, the conference also allowed the signing of two cooperation protocols signed between the National Space Program Management Office (GGPEN), the telecommunications company MSTelcom and the University of Ghana, with a view to expanding the availability and use of Angolan satellite services (Angosat-2).
Due to the results obtained at NewSpace Africa, the Minister of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication, Mário Oliveira, considered the organization of this event in Angola to be positive, as the experience gained over the four days of the conference was extremely important for Angolans. involved in the telecommunications ecosystem, a fact that will serve to work on the country’s socioeconomic development.
At the end of the meeting, the minister reiterated the Angolan Government’s commitment to working on the development of the space program and telecommunications infrastructures, with a view to supporting the economic growth of the African continent.
Organized by Space in Africa, in partnership with the African Union and the National Space Program Management Office (GGPEN) of Angola, the III edition of NewSpace Africa was attended by 600 delegates, both national and international, with emphasis on the presence of representatives from the largest space agencies in the world.
The event, which brings together decision-makers, Government representatives, leaders of academia and the African space industry, also featured technological product stands from NASA (US Space Agency), the European Space Agency (ESA), SANSA (South Africa ) and KSA (Kenya), as well as Russia and China.
Also highlighted this week was the entry into operation of the Saurimo Photovoltaic Plant, inaugurated in the province of Lunda-Sul, by the Minister of Energy and Water, João Baptista Borges, who said that the country will save almost three billion kwanzas in fossil fuels.
This solar panel park has the capacity to generate 26.13 megawatts (MW) of electrical energy, which will benefit more than 170 thousand families.
The infrastructure, budgeted at 38.8 million euros, includes 44,850 solar panels and will produce more than 49,000 MWh/year.
Like Lunda-Sul, the province of Cabinda also has its photovoltaic park and other structuring projects in the electrical sector under construction, which will ensure autonomy in the supply of electricity at provincial level, as assured by the Secretary of State for Energy, Arlindo Carlos.
In the industrial domain, the highlight was the launch of an assembly line for agricultural tractors (120 tractors per month) and industrial machines from the company AGRO-CERESPEC, as part of the extension of its business and the contribution to the diversification of the country’s economy.
According to the company’s commercial director, Francisco Kinjango, manufacturing of Turkish origin is the result of an initial investment of five million dollars.
Another highlight of the economic week was the announcement of the availability of 119 new job vacancies, in various specialties, by Sociedade Mineira do Luele, with the aim of reinforcing the existing workforce and boosting work at the mining company.
This week also highlighted the fact that the National Bank of Angola (BNA) aggregated the exchange rate and the real growth of the Bruno Domestic Product (GDP) in Survey 1 on inflation expectations for the month of last March.
The respective survey, to be completed by business institutions, economic agents and the general public, must be submitted to the BNA by April 10th.
Another highlight was the opening of a shopping center in the municipality of Cazenga, in the urban district of Hoji Ya Henda, with an investment of eight million US dollars, which resulted in the creation of 800 jobs.
The infrastructure, built in a space of five thousand square meters, has 260 commercial stores, parking, leisure, restaurants, among others.
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