About 100 meters long and two tons in weight, the Prenda Crane was a great help during the construction of the houses in that area. However, as the years went by, the structure began to corrode, becoming a danger to the residents.
According to Angop, in June 2018 the metallic structure even scared the 92 families living in that district: strong winds, with about 30 kilometres per hour, shook the crane and caused several damages.
This signal sounded the alarms of the Provincial Government of Luanda, which decided to create a technical commission to deal with the process of removal of the crane. There were some attempts, but success came two years after the commission was set up.
In order for the crane to be dismantled, eight houses had to be torn down. The operation took five days and, taking into account that the families could not be there during the process, the Provincial Government of Luanda allocated 120,000 kwanzas to each family to provisionally rent a house.
The whole process, according to Angop, cost the provincial government about 50 million kwanzas.
The residents say they are relieved. Olimpia Raposo, who has lived in that district for more than 20 years, said the residents barely slept "fearing the crane would fall. Maria de Fátima, also a resident of Maianga, said there were moments when the metal structure shook with the wind, leaving residents very worried and afraid.
Sérgio Luther Rescova, governor of Luanda province, said the government will continue to work with the commission so that the houses that were demolished during this process can be rebuilt again.
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