According to a statement from the Ministry of Transport, the legal instruments were signed in China, on the sidelines of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum.
To develop the Integrated Light Rail System on the Cacuaco (Marginal – Benfica) Section, the Ministry of Transport signed a memorandum of understanding with the company China Communications Construction Company Limited.
According to the Ministry, this memorandum includes the preliminary preparation of technical, operational, economic, financial, environmental impact and demand feasibility studies, along with any others that are deemed necessary.
In 2023, the President approved, by decree, dated March 22, the simplified expenditure and contracting of the company Siemens Mobility for the contract for “design, construction, implementation, supply of equipment and technology” related to the Yellow Line of the future Luanda Surface Metro, for the value of 1.4 billion dollars.
The department specialized in rail mobility of the German company Siemens should be responsible for the double-track line of the Luanda Metro, connecting the port of Luanda to the Kilamba center, with an approximate length of 39 kilometers.
The second memorandum was signed with Huawei and aims to carry out joint projects for the digitalization of the transport sector in Angola, namely improving the efficiency and security of the new headquarters of the Ministry of Transport, equipping it with the technological infrastructure of a smart building.
The parties also intend to guarantee railway security for the Luanda Railway (CFL), on the Bungo – Dr. António Agostinho Neto International Airport section. (AIAAN) and around its perimeter, as well as providing professional training to technicians involved in communication networks in the field of transport, airports, road transport and intelligent railways.
As part of the promotion of the Northern Corridor, the Ministry of Transport signed a memorandum with the China Road & Bridge Corporation (CRBC) for the construction, maintenance and operation of the railway project that connects the Caio Deep Water Terminal, in the Angolan province of Cabinda, to the neighbouring Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Minister of Transport, Ricardo de Abreu, quoted in the note, considered the signing of these three memorandums to be “extremely important” for the pursuit and consolidation of some of the most ambitious development plans for the sector in Angola.
“Being able to count on the technical and financial capacity of companies whose expertise is known worldwide is a source of satisfaction and encouragement for us, because it allows us to foresee the development and timely completion of projects that are so important for mobility in Angola, such as the surface metro and the full functioning of the railways, including cross-border connections with countries with which our interaction is regular and vital for the broader functioning of our economy”, said the minister.
Ricardo de Abreu stressed that “the functioning of AIAAN is also extremely important”, as is the training of its technical staff.
