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Angola news briefing Angola news briefing
Palancas Negras
through to finals
■ Angola’s national side, the Palancas Negras, beat Zimbabwe 2-0 in
Luanda in October. Both goals, scored in the first five minutes, came
from team talisman and former Manchester United player Manucho. The
Palancas turned around a 3-1 defeat suffered in the first leg match in
Harare and qualified thanks to their away goal.
The result means Angola go through to the finals of the Africa Cup of
Nations for a fifth successive campaign. The AFCON finals will be held in
South Africa in 2013. The Palancas’ win was the team’s second victory in
three matches for their Uruguayan coach Gustavo Ferrín who took over
in July.
4 SONANGOL UNIVERSO
ALEXANDER JOE/AFP/Getty
President
honours
Congo Kings
■ President José Eduardo dos Santos has laid a
statue foundation stone commemorating the kings
of the once powerful ancient Kingdom of the Congo
which included parts of present-day Angola.
The act took place at M’banza Congo in Zaire
province, where the government aims to raise the
status of the city to an UNESCO World Heritage
Site and help make it an historic tourist attraction.
Minister for Culture Rosa Maria Martins da Cruz
e Silva said the statue was also a tribute to King
Dom Antonió the First, who ruled Congo 1661-
1665. M’banza Congo was then the main city on
the west coast of Africa and had a population of
44,000 including around 4,000 Europeans.
Cacuso rail link
■ Rail company Caminhos de Ferro de Luanda (CFL) is to
build a new branchline off the Luanda-Malange route to
serve the rich agribusiness lands around Cacuso.
Two main sites will benefit: Biocom, where an
ambitious sugar and ethanol complex has been ramping
up production to meet Angola’s sugar needs and has
the prospect of producing biofuel as well; and Pungo
Andongo, a huge irrigated farming area producing a large
range of agricultural products.
Gove Dam restarts
■ President dos Santos reopened the Gove Dam in
Huambo province at the end of August. The 60MW
hydropower plant on the River Cunene had been off-line
for over 20 years. The revamp means more power for
industry in Huambo and Bié provinces. There are around
120 industries in Huambo, and the dam’s energy is likely to
boost interest in a new greenfield industrial park at Caála.
Billion-dollar
ports bonanza
■ Over $1 billion is to be invested in Cabinda province
ports over the next five years, says Transport Minister
Augusto da Silva Tomás. He made the announcement
during the opening ceremony of the new pier at
Cabinda port, which he said was just the starting point
of a larger programme.
The minister revealed that construction of a new
deepwater port would go ahead at Caio, also in
Cabinda province: “We are doing our best so that the
port gains an important role in the group of national
and neighbouring countries’ ports, namely those
in the two Congos.” He added that the investment
was proof of the Angolan government’s strong
commitment to development and better wealth
distribution in the country.
FIGURED OUT
$5 billion
start-up pot for Angola’s sovereign wealth fund
Angola polio
victory
■ In August, Angola commemorated a year without any new polio
cases being reported. In 2010 there were 33 cases and just five in 2011,
while in the 12 months to August none were reported. The last case
registered was that of a 14-months-old child in Uíge province in July
2011. The success is attributed to improved disease surveillance and
mass polio vaccination campaigns, along with greater access to safe
water, sanitation and hygiene.
20 million tonnes
14
number of Angolan airports totally upgraded by 2014
Brazuk Ltd
Rob Byron
annual future output from Kassinga iron ore mine
Angola in numbers
100,000 tonnes
Bengo’s banana crop for 2012/2013
15 million
annual passenger capacity at new Luanda Airport hub
DECEMBER 2012 5