Beijing – Angolan President, João Lourenço, requested this Friday, in Beijing, financing from China for the construction project of the Luanda Light Rail, by a Chinese company, to connect Cacuaco to Benfica, passing through downtown.
According to the statesman, who was speaking during a meeting with the Chinese Prime Minister, Li Qiang, Luanda has an estimated population of 12 million inhabitants and, as expected, with serious urban mobility problems.
Therefore, he said, Angola would like to see the construction project of the Luanda Light Rail financed by a Chinese company, to connect Cacuaco to Benfica, passing through downtown Luanda.
He recalled, however, that the project is self-sustaining, therefore not posing any constraint on its repayment and on servicing the country's debt.
Luanda Light Rail
The Luanda Light Rail (Surface Metro Line Project) began with a Memorandum of Understanding signed on February 7, 2020, as part of the visit that the then German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, made to Angola.
The initial budget for the construction worth US$3 billions and Angola would have a participation of around 30%, with the other part falling to private agents interested in participating in the project.
President João Lourenço has been in the capital of the People's Republic of China since Thursday, leading a ministerial delegation that will discuss the new terms of bilateral cooperation.
For three days, delegations from Angola and China will reassess the instruments governing bilateral cooperation and identify new areas for strategic partnership outside the domain of oil, Angola's biggest sold product.
After the meeting with Prime Minister Li Qiang, João Lourenço met with the Speaker of the National People's Assembly (Parliament), Zhao Leji.
However, the highlight of the visit is reserved for today, namely the meeting between João Lourenço and Xi Jinping.
The two Presidents will then witness the signing of a set of legal instruments aimed at strengthening cooperation between the two countries, ending today's day with a dinner in honor of the visit of the President of the Republic of Angola.
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