The President of Angola, João Lourenço, on Saturday visited Dr. António Agostinho Neto International Airport in Icolo and Bengo to see the progress of the process that will allow the start of passenger flight operations later this year.

The President led a meeting with the main protagonists of the project, namely the owner of the contract (Ministry of Transport) and the contractor (Chinese construction company AVIC), to see in detail what has been done and what remains to be completed, taking into account the upcoming phase, the regular passenger flights.

In the company of State ministers, heads of ministerial departments and other staff of the Central State Administration, the Head of State João Lourenço once again toured several sectors of the gigantic infrastructure, which are being tested for full entry into operation. airport operation.

João Lourenço particularly visited the areas of the passenger and cargo embarkation and disembarkation terminal, where he watched a simulation of cargo check-in and disembarkation.

It should be noted that Dr. António Agostinho Neto International Airport, opened in November last year, has already been receiving cargo flights for months.

Around 300 technicians completed, on Friday, training to make the new Dr. António Agostinho Neto Airport operational, when it starts serving passengers.

The journey takes place days after the Head of State confirmed the situation of the railway line and the road alternatives to be used by passengers on the Luanda-novo airport connection and vice versa, when passenger flights begin on the “António Agostinho Neto” in the last quarter of the current year.

Following this, the Holder of Executive Power immediately called a working meeting, at the Presidential Palace, in Cidade Alta, with those responsible for different ministerial departments and other entities linked to the process of creating conditions so that future comings and goings to the new airport are facilitated.

As a result, the President of the Republic issued an order noting that the numerous safety constraints in railway operation persist, which lead to daily human losses; the theft and vandalization of rolling stock and the line; the deposit of solid waste; street vending and the reduction of normal train speeds.

The statesman therefore understands that there is an urgent need to reverse the current situation, within the program to improve the quality of existing infrastructure and the provision of passenger services.

The President of the Republic, João Lourenço, authorized, on an emergency basis, the signing of the Contract for the segregation of the railway corridor of the Luanda Railway on the Bungo-Dr. António Agostinho Neto International Airport section.

Dr. António Agostinho Neto Airport, opened in November 2023, occupies an area of 1,324 hectares and will have capacity for 15 million passengers and a cargo volume of 130 thousand tons per year.

It has two double runways and Is designed to receive, among others, aircraft of the type B747 and A380, currently the largest commercial aircraft, in addition to contemplating the construction of an airport city that will cover a construction area of 75km2.

The south runway, the largest at the airport, is four thousand meters by 60 meters wide, and received, in June 2022, the first experimental flight of a Boeing 777 type aircraft from the national flag company TAAG.

The airport was designed to be a HUB (a hub where a large number of flights are concentrated at certain times), with domestic, regional and international connections, being Angola’s main gateway to the world.

According to forecasts by the Angolan Government, the entry into operation of the infrastructure will boost the growth of national and regional air transport, potentially benefiting approximately 415 million inhabitants in the sub-region.