Daniel Neto, who was speaking to journalists in Saurimo, on the second and last day of the 2nd International Diamonds of Angola conference, said that this prior action is essential to move forward with the construction of the railway branch.
According to the same person in charge, the public launch of the project is coming soon, and at that time the investment in this infrastructure should be announced.
The capitals of the provinces of Moxico (Luena) and Luanda Sul (Saurimo) will be linked by 260 kilometers of railway line, extending the current route of the Lobito Corridor to the north, an infrastructure that crosses Angola from the port of Lobito to the border with the Republic Democratic Republic of the Congo, over 1300 kilometers.
It is in Lunda Sul, a province rich in diamonds, that Angola's two largest mines are located: Catoca, which employs more than 3 thousand workers, and Luele, which started production a year ago and currently has around a thousand employees.
It also has a diamond hub where some factories and professional training centers of Endiama and Sodiam, a public company for the production and sale of diamonds, are located, "to meet the needs of the mining sector".
According to the governor, recent graduates are in a database for recruitment at the mines and 80 percent of the young people in the factories are local.
Many others are dedicated to mining, an illegal activity, which the Government wants to combat and which, according to Daniel Neto, has been reducing.
"There are areas where mining was frequent before and today it is not. As we remove these people who practice diamond exploration illegally, we are gaining legal companies and which often end up recruiting these young people", he said.
Among the province's problems, he listed the lack of classrooms for 17 thousand students, as well as the lack of health infrastructure, highlighting the social responsibility role of Minas Gerais companies, such as the development of a university hub, among others projects to improve the lives of populations.
