Calumbo – The Special Economic Zone (ZEE) will have in the next months more than 60 news industries linked to the food and pharmaceutical sector, the CEO of the institution, Manuel Pedro, revealed on Tuesday in the province of Icolo e Bengo.

He was speaking to the press at the end of a visit that the United Kingdom's deputy trade commissioner for Africa, Ben Ainsley, made to ZEE, as part of the growth and recognition of the area, an industrial centre of reference for the management of industrial spaces with infrastructures.

Manuel Pedro said that ZEE currently has 89 businesses in operation and more than 60 ongoing business projects (with works under construction), with new industries in the food and pharmaceutical sectors expected to open in the coming months.

He pointed out that these are two sectors of extreme importance for the economy and the health sector, having explained that hospital products will produce serums, syringes and other sanitary hygiene materials.

The official informed that currently, the ZEE´s business volume is about USD 5 billion.

He considered that the agricultural sector is another important point in the economic zone, which is ready to provide raw materials for industry, hence the commitment to make small and large farmers produce more.

"In the area of Icolo and Bengo there are already some poultry producers, but the intention is to increase the number of producers of other goods, such as sunflowers, for the biofuels industry", he stated.

In turn, Ben Ainsley said that his country has agriculture as its property and this sector can be the springboard for contributions to the volume of business between the two countries, which is already around two billion pounds.

According to him, his visit to Angola aims to identify the best investment and business opportunities, with different actors in the Angolan economy.

In the agricultural sector, he said that the United Kingdom can make a great contribution to Angola, as it has mastered the rational use of water in the fields, soil improvement and other aspects to be involved in the coming months, when a delegation of business people arrives in Angola.

He also highlighted the industry and trade sectors as areas of interest for UK business people, along with the other business opportunities that the ZEE offers, given its diversity of investment areas.

The United Kingdom is one of the largest economies in the world, and the second in Europe, behind only Germany, which is why it is interested in strengthening cooperation with Angola, taking advantage of the experience accumulated by ZEE to implement effective and sustainable management practices in its Industrial park.

DP/AJQ/MRA/jmc