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Real Estate and Construction
“Angola é um canteiro de obras” means the whole
country is a construction site of public works is
the official slogan. Massive renovations are taking
place in all sectors of the economy and numerous
pieces of infrastructure are being developed, mainly
financed by public funds and external credit. Foreign
construction firms, have been responsible for most
of the country’s infrastructure reconstruction. No less
than 2,000 Angolan companies or international ac-
tors (mainly from China, Brazil, Portugal and South
Africa) are operating in the sector.
According to the OCDE, the public works sector has
boomed in 2006 with 66,2% growth and registered
22,7% in 2010. Huge opportunities are to be grabbed
in the civil construction as well as infrastructure as
the sector is forecast to grow by 13,55% in 2011.
The 2010/11 National Plan (Plano Nacional 2010/11)
deals with infrastructure development and outline
policies to improve access to water and sanitation,
transportation, energy and telecommunications. To
support these developments in the most important
economic sectors (transport, energy, agriculture and
fishing), 13,4% of 2011 budget amounting US$ 6,1
Bn have been allocated to the National Plan.
Great improvements have been realised to upgrade
airports, roads, railway and the ports notably under
the impulse of the CAN 2010. To host the event, four
stadiums were built in the cities of Luanda, Cabinda,
Benguela and Lubango and airports were upgraded.
Despite having registered the greatest growth, the
housing segment still has to improve. In Luanda
1,7 million houses are required to host the growing
population, the housing park still needs to increase
up to 60% to meet the pressuring demand as it is es-
timated that one third of the country’s population live
in the surrounding areas of Luanda. According to the
United Nations, Angolan population is estimated to
reach 27 million inhabitants in 2025. By then, 54% of
the population corresponding to 14,7 million people
will be living in Luanda.
Angola’s new National Urbanisation and Housing
Programme was launched on the 13th April 2009,
it plans to build one million houses to give a decent
house to every Angolan. At a cost of US$ 50 Bn, this
is the largest social housing programme in Africa.
In the recent years, the emergence of new suburbs
such as Talatona and Viana have drawn many fami-
lies out of the centre but the demand for new housing
remains unsatisfied.
Chinese companies are well placed thanks to bilat-
eral agreements between the two countries. China’s
Exim Bank has loaned some US$ 4,5 Bn to Angola
since 2002 for reconstruction projects, and the Chi-
nese government is expected to arrange for another
US$ 10 Bn loan for the next two years, thus render-
ing China to be the largest foreign player in Angola’s
post-war reconstruction.
Another project in the suburbs of Luanda is driven
by China International Trust and Investment Cor-
poration (CITIC) which employs 10,000 Chinese
workers in the Kilamba Kiaxi social housing devel-
opment. This housing project will accommodate
around 200,000 people. The company is building
an entirely new district that contains 710 apartment
buildings over 24 blocks, including 20,000 residen-
tial apartments and 246 business units. A total of
24 pre-schools, nine primary schools and eight high
schools are planned around the town, all equipped
with outdoor recreational sport’s fields. The area will
gain two new electrical substations, 77 transformer
stations, as well as water supply stations, a sewage
treatment plant and infrastructure for drainage.
The China International Fund (CIF) has taken charge
of the most ambitious projects, such as the construc-
tion of 215,500 low-income social houses in an in-
dustrial area in Luanda. The project will also include
seventy factories, an international airport, 2,680 km
of national railway tracks and 133 depots, 1,500 km
of interprovincial roads.
OVERVIEW
CONSTRUCTION AND HOUSING
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