Beijing – Angolan President João Lourenço on Thursday in Beijing granted audience to ten Chinese businessmen who operate in various sectors in Angola.
Among the entities received by the Angolan Head of State, who begins a three-day official visit to the 'Asian giant' on Friday, the president of China Gezghouba Group Corporation (CGGC), Tan Hua, stands out.
With this entity, João Lourenço spoke about the Caculo Cabaça Hydroelectric Plant, which is being built in the province of Cuanza-Norte (Kwanza River Basin) by this contractor.
The Caculo Cabaça Dam is considered the largest engineering project in Angola at the moment, with capacity to generate 2,172 megawatts of electricity.
At the end of the meeting, Tan Hua said that the development works are in progress, without providing information related to the physical execution of the project.
He added that the company will do everything to complete the work and equipment of the first phase of the Caculo Cabaça Hydroelectric Plant, by the year 2026.
Also on Thursday, President João Lourenço spoke with the chairman of the Board of Directors of the company Hebei Huatong Cable Group (Aluminum), Zhang Wedong, who expressed his intention to build, in Angola, an aluminum park, with capacity for production of 120,000 tons per year.
With an area of 63 hectares, in the first phase, the project under construction in the Barra do Dande region, Bengo province, is expected to generate 3,000 jobs.
According to Zhang Wedong, the materials produced will be exported to raise tax revenue.
In another meeting, João Lourenço received the president of the Engineering Corporation (AVIC), Liu Hong Guang, in charge of the construction of the Dr. António Agostinho Neto Airport, linked to maintenance, human resources training, connectivity management, operationalization of cutting-edge equipment, inspection, cargo deployments and airport management.
In the series of separate meetings, the Angolan President also received the chairman of the Board of Directors of Zheijiang Sunshine Industrial Group, a commercial company, Wu Hongxin, who invested 550 million US dollars in Angola.
Among the audiences of Chinese executives, emphasis is also placed on the representation of Safety Technology, a subsidiary of China Telecom, headed by the chairman of its Board of Directors, Li Longqing.
João Lourenço's visit, which will run from Friday until Sunday, has as its highlight a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, aimed at discussing the future strategy of bilateral relations.
Meetings are also scheduled for the Angolan leader with the Chinese Prime Minister, Li Qiang, and with the President of the National People's Assembly (Parliament), Zhao Leji.
A joint statement should be released following João Lourenço's conversations with the highest entities in the People's Republic of China.
The Angolan President will observe a vast program, with emphasis on participation in a business forum, with the topic of investment in Angola at the center of the debates.
Mettings are also planned for Chinese businesspeople who already operate in Angola or wish to do so in the future, as well as a meeting between the Head of State and representatives of the Angolan community in China.
The last day of the visit will be in the province of Xandong, where João Lourenço will make contacts with those responsible for the productive sectors in the textile, pharmaceutical and agricultural industries.
According to available data, over the last 13 years, China has become one of the countries that invested most in restructuring and building infrastructure in Angola, which allowed the movement of people and goods and the revival of the Angolan economy.
Since the beginning of the reconstruction and construction of development infrastructures in Angola, in 2002, the trade balance between the two States was fixed at 150 million dollars. Twenty years later, China became Angola's largest creditor. FMA/VIC/ADR/DOJ
