Africa-Press – Angola. The Minister of State for Economic Coordination, José de Lima Massano, inaugurated on Thursday (19) the new facilities of the Luvo Customs Post, in the northern province of Zaire, located just meters from the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The complex, which gained modern technological equipment, represents an investment of 58.3 billion Kwanzas and includes 38 operational buildings interconnected by road infrastructure and state-of-the-art technical networks, as well as gardening and parking areas.
The works, which began in Feb 2024, are in the responsibility of the Tax Administration Office (AGT) and, in a first phase, has generated 750 jobs.
The area, reserved for controlling the entry and exit of pedestrians, is 656 meters long and contains 34 compartments intended for the Immigration and Foreigners Services (SME), the AGT (Tax Administration Office), and other public institutions involved in border control.
The place has various compartments including waiting rooms, computer areas, and modern technological services.
The inrastructure designated for Integrated Border Management Services extends over 1,836 square meters, distributed across two floors and 44 compartments, including administrative offices, training rooms, meeting rooms, and a cafeteria.
The complex also has 24 residences, totaling 44 rooms with capacity to accommodate 104 employees, electronic control services (scanner), a health post, as well as offices for the Criminal Investigation Service (SIC), Civil Protection and Firefighters, banking institutions, among others.
After the ribbon-cutting and unveiling of the inaugural plaque, Minister of State José de Lima Massano told the press that the new infrastructure will strengthen security and the capacity to control commercial transactions with neighboring DRC.
“The Luvo Border Post will allow transactions with the DRC to take place with greater security for economic operators and greater control capacity on the part of the authorities of both countries,” he stressed.
The new facilities, he explained, provides greater dignity to citizens and employees working in the services located there, reiterating that the Executive intends to replicate the model in other border posts in the country, in order to improve trade conditions with neighboring states.
José de Lima Massano also mentioned that the project was conceived within the framework of the implementation of the Continental Free Trade Market, highlighting the need for Angola to have adequate infrastructure for its running.
He added that the initiative has the contribution of the Cargo and Logistics Regulatory Agency, aiming at the creation of a logistics platform in Luvo, to allow private operators to install processing and storage units.
According to data presented by the minister, an average of 50 trucks of many goods are traded daily at the Luvo Border and Customs Post.
He also announced the Executive’s intention to install tolls on the roads accessing the country’s border areas, starting 2026’s 2nd half.
The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Finance, Vera Daves, the Governor of the province of Zaire, Adriano Mendes de Carvalho, among other national and local entities.
The Luvo Border and Customs Post, a former commune in the municipality of Mbanza-Kongo, detached as part of the New Politico-Administrative Division, is located 60 km north of the city of Mbanza Kongo, the capital of that Province.
