Africa-Press – Angola. The President of the Republic announced this Friday (22), in Cabinda, the construction of an international airport in this city, which will allow local populations to travel abroad without having to go through the country’s capital (Luanda).
According to the Head of State, the public tender for the construction of the airport infrastructure will be launched in the next few days and the inauguration of the new airport should take place in three or four years.
Speaking to the press, after opening the Cabinda Passenger Maritime Terminal, João Lourenço said that the decision to build the social enterprise arose from the fact that the current Maria Mambo Café airport does not offer conditions to meet the current demand for passengers and cargo.
The Head of State said that the initial idea of expanding the current airport is not “feasible”, as it is quite financially expensive. “The expansion of the current airport would entail huge costs, both from a financial, social and political At the head of the runway there are houses of an acceptable level, which cannot be demolished”, he reaffirmed.
“The new decision is to maintain the current airport, complete the terminal, make improvements to the runway and start the construction of a new, larger airport, with a runway that allows any type of aircraft to take off and land”, said the President of Republic, adding that, even if the State wanted to compensate property owners, there would always be someone who did not want to leave the place.
João Lourenço promised the inauguration of the Pólo Universitário de Cabinda and the Port of Águas Profundas do Caio between 2023 and 2024, noting that the works will be completed in the near future, using the China financing line, which is already functional “after knowing some problems”.
“Between 2023-2024 I will be very happy to return to Cabinda to inaugurate these major projects”, said João Lourenço, who also said that he had received, on Thursday, financial guarantees from the entity that will finance the works of Estrada Nacional 110, which connects commune of Miconge to the border of Yema, in an extension of about 300 kilometres.
The Head of State did not reveal the name of the entity that will carry out the work, assuring only that it is “a well-known company in Cabinda”.
In relation to the concern raised by businessmen and religious entities about the need to build a vocational training school in the province, President João Lourenço considered the “clamor” to be fair, noting that Cabinda, because it is home to the oil industry and uses “a lot of metalworking” to have schools to train, above all, locksmiths, electricians and mechanics.
Positive Balance Of The Visit
After opening the Cabinda General Hospital, the Passenger Maritime Terminal and visiting the “Lifua” oil platform, the Head of State declared yesterday to the press that he had a “positive” balance and left the region satisfied with what he witnessed.
“I leave this province satisfied. Any of the projects inaugurated and visited are of great importance for the province and the country”, said João Lourenço, making special mention of the “Lifua” oil platform, built in Malongo, mostly by Angolan technicians. .
The launch of the “Lifua” platform at sea is scheduled for next June, so that operations in Block Zero will begin at the end of this year. Angolans”, he reiterated, considering that the initiative will lower oil production costs.
The President of the Republic also made extensive references to the importance of the Cabinda Maritime Terminal, which opens its doors to the public next Tuesday, with operations on Tuesdays and Fridays (two frequencies each day), between Cabinda and Soyo. .
Prices Without Subsidy
Regarding the price of 15,000 kwanzas established on the Cabinda-Soyo route, the Head of State considered it “reasonable” and ruled out the possibility of subsidy claimed by citizens: “Prices have been reduced by half compared to those currently charged, and passengers have already won because they will no longer put their lives at risk by traveling in fragile artisanal vessels”.
He also highlighted the importance of the Quebra-Mar Project (in completion phase), claiming that with the effective completion of the works, large ships will be able, even in periods of great calemma, to dock and unload, without difficulties, the various products essential to the region.
João Lourenço drew a lot of applause from the entities that witnessed the inauguration of the Maritime Passenger Terminal, saying: “Cabinda is, in some way, well served with these new projects. But it will be even better at the end of my second term”.
The Head of State concludes today his working visit to Cabinda. But before leaving the country’s northernmost territory, he will preside over a mass political act, at the emblematic Estádio Municipal do Tafe.
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