Luanda - The Minister of Transport, Ricardo D`Abreu, acknowledged today in Luanda the commitment of the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, as the great driving force behind the completion of the Dr António Agostinho Neto International Airport.
The government official, who was speaking at the inauguration ceremony for the new airport, stressed that the Head of State was "the great driving force behind this remarkable joint achievement".
"The vision, capacity, breath and generosity he had to transform this project into a truly national purpose and one of extreme importance for the country's transversal development were admirable and should always be remembered by an entire nation," he said.
He recalled that a collective will was created within a team of excellent professionals who put all their knowledge and commitment into making this project a reality, which is why he thanked all those who, in 1997, thought about this infrastructure and, later, in 2005, started the work, "who, due to various vicissitudes, have left us with the responsibility of making it happen".
The completion of this important stage, he pointed out, will forever be linked to Angola's confirmation as one of the most important players in civil aviation in Africa.
He explained that in a dynamic economy, with potential for growth and development, an airport is not a finished project, because the response to the various sectors that can develop their activity through this infrastructure, technological evolution, environmental and sustainability challenges, "require it to be a living and evolving body".
He also pointed out that the reforms undertaken five years ago were all aimed at having a civil aviation ecosystem ready and prepared to take advantage of this fundamental element of the strategy.
"Today we can say, without fear of making mistakes, that we do have a strong aviation sector that is recognised nationally and internationally. What we need to do is consolidate and ensure that all those sectors that can take advantage of this endeavour do so, without fear of human and technological capacity and efficiency, so that we can be competitive in the context of African and world nations," he said.
The new airport infrastructure covers an area of 1,324 hectares, has capacity for 15 million passengers and a cargo volume of 130,000 tons per year.
With two double runways, the airport is prepared to receive, among others, B747 and A380 aircraft, the latter considered to be the largest commercial aircraft today.
The southern runway (the largest), which is 4,000 metres long by 60 metres wide, received the first experimental flight of a Boeing 777 aircraft from the national flag carrier, TAAG, in June 2022.
In addition to the two runways, AIAAN also has 31 sleeves, 19 of which are for international services and 11 for domestic services, as well as nine conveyor belts for baggage storage, six of which are dedicated to international flights.
The infrastructure includes 26 Migration and Immigration Service (SME) counters, a car park for 1,710 vehicles, as well as space reserved for shops, covering an area of 1,825 square metres.
It also has 22 VIP lounges, a clinic and a first aid centre attached to the passenger terminal, as well as the construction of an airport city from scratch, which will cover a total area of 75 km2.
Dr António Agostinho Neto International Airport has ramps, lifts and staff trained to pay special attention to people with reduced mobility.
The new airport was designed to be a HUB (a hub where a large number of flights are concentrated at certain times), with domestic, regional and international connections, making it Angola's main gateway to the world.AC/DAN/DOJ
