M’Banza Congo will have a new airport in 2023
The Minister of Transport, Ricardo D’Abreu, guided, this Friday, (03/12), in the capital of the Province of Zaire, the assignment ceremony and the laying of the foundation stone for the construction of the new Mbanza Congo Airport.
The Minister was accompanied by the Secretary of the President of the Republic for Social Affairs, Maria de Fátima Republicano de Lima Viegas, by the President of the Board of Directors of SGA SA, Mário Domingos, received by the Governor of the Province of Zaire, Pedro Makita Júlia, Authorities Traditional, Senior Officials of the Local Provincial Government and UNESCO representative in Angola at Mbanza Congo Provincial Airport.
After the reception at Mbanza Congo Airport, the delegation was sent to the provincial government’s amphitheater for the welcome ceremony, where they were received with traditional dancing and the aforementioned offering ritual performed by the Minister of Transport, as well as the Governor that province.
On taking the floor to welcome the Minister of Transport, the Secretariat of the President of the Republic for Social Area, the Governor of the Province, Pedro Makita Armando Júlia, thanked and expressed his congratulations for the invitation made to him and with this action, which should culminate in employment opportunities for the local population.
Pedro Makita Armando Júlia, said that the situations that occurred over time, resulting from the current Provincial Airport of M’Banza Congo, the fateful accident of 2007 and the UNESCO recommendations for the 2017 inscription of M’Banza Congo in the annals of World heritage dictate the construction of the New Airport in the Commune of Nkiende II.
We beg for indulgence, to those injured, who are not few, and to all who lost their lives, we pay due homage, said the Governor of that Province, Pedro Makita Armando Júlia.
The award of the work is the result of a public tender launched in 2018-2022, authorized by Presidential Decree No. 139/19 of July, for the construction, supply, installation of equipment and equipping of the Airport, in the commune of Nkiende II, province of Zaire.
In his speech, the Minister of Transport, Ricardo D´Abreu, referred that this project responds to the commitment assumed by the Angolan Executive, after the declaration of the city of M’Banza Congo as a World Heritage Site.
“In this province, we needed an infrastructure that would facilitate accessibility and mobility for all interested parties, such as at the Domestic and International level” informed the Minister.
Ricardo D´Abreu guaranteed that the Province of M’Banza Congo, as the cradle of the Republic of Angola, has all the conditions to be the epicenter of cultural tourism in our country.
“We would like to challenge and invite the living forces of content and material production on this historical theme, to allow M’Banza Congo to attract Visitors, Investors, Scientists or people who are interested to better understand the history of humanity, the Continent and of our country”, added Ricardo D’Abreu.
The work that will benefit everyone at the time of its construction and operation has a duration of 18 months, and for this reason the Minister of Transport is grateful for the support that will be given to those involved, from a direct and indirect point of view.
Ricardo D´Abreu hopes that there will be no deviations and calls for compliance with the deadline, recalling that in financial terms, his Ministry, in coordination with the central bodies, in particular the Ministry of Finance will do everything to overcome the challenges to be found to the smooth running of the project.
The contract, awarded to Sinohydro Corporation Limitada – Angola Branch, includes modern infrastructure, high-level services and equipment, resulting in an airport unit with the capacity to receive 600 passengers per hour, from the embarkation and disembarkation terminals.
For the Chairman of the Administrative Council of SGA SA, Mário Miguel Domingues, who was presenting the Project, said that the project will last for 20 years.
“The work will guarantee more than 400 direct jobs provided by the construction company, said the Chairman of the Board of Directors of SGA SA.
The new airport in the historic city of M’Banza Congo will have international characteristics, with the capacity to receive and dispatch Boeing 777 aircraft, as well as two medium-sized and light aircraft.
The work is budgeted at Kz 89.9 billion in financing from the Spanish bank “Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA”, with which the Executive signed, in July of this year, the related agreement. In practice, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, of Spain, should provide 150.7 million dollars, the equivalent of eighty-nine billion, nine hundred and fourteen million, one hundred and ninety-two thousand, one hundred and twenty-one kwanzas, and six cents .
After the reception, speech by the Minister of Transport, Ricardo D´Abreu and the presentation of the Project by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of SGA SA, the delegation continued on its journey to check the works of the new airport in M’Banza Kongo for the Ceremony of Signing of the Consignment Notice and Launching of the First Stone.
The Minister, the Governor, the Secretary of the President of the Republic for Social Affairs were received at the premises of the New International Airport of M’Banza Congo by the local population and traditional authorities, who, before signing and the act of consignment, carried out some rituals, which symbolized the permission of the work by the ancestors.
As soon as the ritual ceremony was closed by the traditional authorities, the signing of the consignment document and the laying of the first stone by the Minister of Transport Ricardo D´Abreu, in the company of the Governor of the Province of M’Banza Congo, Pedro Makita Júlia and the Secretary of the President of the Republic for Social Affairs, Maria de Fátima Lima Viegas.
The new airport will be located 34 kilometers from the city center of M’Banza Congo, close to national road210, Nkiend II. The track will have a total length of 3,500 meters, safety lanes with dimensions of 3620 m x 280 m.
The track width will be 45 meters, with 7.5 meters berms on each side. The runway was designed for the take-off and landing operation of B777-300ER aircraft.
The New Airport will also have a terminal with an area of 12100 m2, a control tower with a height of 35.64 m, a cargo terminal and auxiliary installation, and its implementation is a requirement of the United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) on the occasion of the elevation of this city to Humanity’s Cultural Heritage, in 2017.
CREATING PATHS TOGETHER 🚊✈️🚢🚍
Ministry of Transport in Luanda, December 3, 2021.
