According to the national director of Urban Infrastructure, Simão Tomé, 2,000 homes of various types will be built to rehouse the families who will have to be removed from that strip. He added that fishermen who work in the area will also be rehoused.
The project, which is being carried out by Portuguese construction company Mota-Engil and whose first phase will cost €245 million, was visited on Sunday by the Portuguese Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro.
The head of government pointed out that this was one of the projects that benefited from the credit line that Portugal makes available to Angola for works contracted to Portuguese companies, which was reinforced with €500 million in July 2024 and received a further €750 million this year, for a total of €3.25 billion.
When presenting the project, Simão Tomé said it aims to improve mobility, address drainage problems for rainwater and wastewater, and boost urban development, integrating roads, viaducts, housing, and sanitation systems.
The project is 7.3 kilometres long, connecting the António Agostinho Neto Memorial to the Corimba viaduct, and includes three viaducts and 26 kilometres of urban roads, designed to strengthen connections between the main routes linking southern Luanda to the city centre.
The work also includes the construction of wastewater treatment plants to treat effluents currently discharged directly into the sea, with a capacity to serve around 2 million inhabitants. The planned dredging will reclaim 120 metres of sea floor, creating a maritime platform with three lanes, including one exclusively for buses.
The work will take place in three phases: the first, corresponding to the construction of the waterfront itself, will last 36 months and include 400 social housing units, in a contract worth €245 million; the second phase includes more housing and environmental works; and the third phase involves the construction of the Cambambe River corridor.
Simão Tomé highlighted the technical complexity of the project, which requires tide studies and dredging, with work on the maritime platform due to begin in December.
The Angolan Minister of Public Works, Urban Planning and Housing, Carlos Alberto dos Santos, emphasised that relations between Angola and Portugal in the public works sector are long-standing and pointed to the infrastructure built in the country, from roads, bridges and viaducts to schools, as an example.
He stated that Angola needs these works and has taken positive steps, with the support of several Portuguese companies, including in technical training for Angolan staff, which he considered essential. He recalled that Angola has a road network of 80,000 kilometres, of which Luanda represents between 10 and 15%, noting that “there is still a lot of infrastructure to be done”.
Regarding the Corimba Marginal project, he said it is a distinctive initiative that will improve urban planning and create jobs. He highlighted the cooperation between Angola and Portugal in this area.
Platform with Lusa
