With the help of the private sector, the Angolan government’s National Network of Logistic Platforms initiative looks to spur regional and national growth through developing an integrated transport network.
The Angolan government has announced that it is to invest around $3.9 billion in building 44 logistics platforms under the implementation of its National Network of Logistic Platforms (NNLP) project.
The announcement comes after the Ministry of Transport hosted the NNLP conference at the Institute of Management, Logistics and Transport in Luanda in September, which was attended by top government officials and business leaders.
The government’s injection of capital, which is to be complimented by further investments from the private sector in the form of public-private partnerships (PPPs), will seek to boost regional and national development, linking the Angolan transport networks with the rest of the African continent.
Angolan Finance Minister, Armando Manuel – who delivered the opening speech at the NNLP conference – encouraged the private sector and foreign investors to get involved with the project and to help boost economic activity in the country.
"One of the most important incentives that can be offered to traders and investors is, beyond doubt, the construction of a comprehensive national network of logistics platforms which is properly articulated with the transport network,” he said.
“The construction of the National Network of Logistic Platforms can promote, with a long term perspective, the installation of production sectors which will both allow and benefit from a basis of exploitation of local raw materials and regional resources.”
The Minister of Finance also stressed that the NNLP is a window of opportunity, not just for investors, but for the whole of Angola.
"Creating accessibility of transport networks and services, along with construction of strategically located infrastructure also creates a window for macroeconomic and social solution, as well as a foundation for achieving regional economic diversification, creation of wealth, competitiveness, and greater economic sustainability.”
Aside from ensuring greater regional cohesion within Angola towards creating a more even distribution of wealth in the county, Minister Manuel likewise spoke of the importance of the NNLP in its role of boosting Angola’s regional cohesion within Southern Africa. "We must continue to give our support to the stability and economic and social development in Africa," he affirmed.
The Transport Minister, Augusto da Silva Tomas, who also spoke at the conference, added that he considered creating a logistics network as a matter of “transcendental importance” in the context Angola’s economic sectors and its long term socio-economic growth.
“We very much hope that this conference can bring new ideas to implement this national network of integrated logistics platforms,” commented the minister, adding that the rehabilitation, modernization and creation of new logistics infrastructure and transportation would “increasingly strengthen the economic and social cohesion of the country.”
As with the Finance Minister, Mr. Tomas also made reference to the importance of the development of Angola’s transport networks towards increasing economic relations with the outside world, particularly the countries of the sub-region.
The government has already taken the first steps of the NNLP by beginning the construction of logistics platforms in the provinces of Malanje, Moxico, Huila, Cuando Cubango, and the dry port of Soyo. When completed, the NNLP will include five logistics hubs, ten centers of road and rail and five air cargo centers, as well as other supporting infrastructure.
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