The Export Import Bank of China and Angola’s sovereign wealth fund have announced plans to invest in the development of the country’s first deepwater port.
José Filomeno dos Santos, the chairman of the Angolan fund, said China would make a loan of up to $600m and that his fund would provide about $180m for the construction of the port, which would have a total cost of $1.1bn.
The port will be located in Cabinda, an Angolan enclave on the Atlantic Ocean squeezed between the Democratic Republic of Congo to the south and the Republic of the Congo to the north. It will include yards for ship repair and a power station, and it will be surrounded by a special economic zone.
The first phase of the project will involve the construction of a 630m quay and a container terminal linked to the shore by a 2km bridge. The terminal will have a water depth of 14m, and the access channel will be 15m deep, enough to take all but the largest of modern container ships.
The second phase will involve the extension of the quay to 1.5km and the construction of an access road. In the third phase, the quay will be extended to 1.9km, more cranage will be added and an oil jetty may be built.Â
According to Bloomberg, the work will be carried out by a Chinese company. The finished asset will be half owned by Caio Porto, and half by unnamed Angolan investors.
Dos Santos, a son of Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, said in a statement: "Investments in the industrial sector and infrastructure support trade in the sub-Saharan region have shown high rates of profitability and resistance to the risks associated with the countries on our continent.
"Allocating capital to maritime infrastructure and logistical and industrial support in Angola allows diversifying other investments in the international financial markets present in FSDEA’s portfolio."
According to Dos Santos, the port facilities project is expected to create more than 20,000 jobs.
Image: The port will be located in Cabinda, an Angolan enclave on the Atlantic Ocean (From a promotional brochure produced by Caio Porto)
