Two proposals to manage Angola’s new Dr António Agostinho Neto International Airport (AIAAN), named for the country’s first post-independence president, have been announced.
A statement from the Ministry of Transport named the two consortiums. One comprises Corporacion America Airports (CAAP), Mota-Engil Engenharia e Construção and BestFly. The other consists of Consortium China National Aero-Technology International Engineering Corporation and Yunnan Airport Group. Their proposals will undergo a detailed evaluation process, followed by the negotiation phase, before the final award decision is made.
The public tender for the management of AIAAN launched last November and provides for a 25-year concession with the possibility of a 15-year extension.
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CAAP, heading the first consortium, specialises in airport management and currently operates 52 airports across Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Ecuador, Armenia and Italy. Data from 2023 shows their airports operating at around 96.4 percent of their pre-pandemic capacity. Their partners, Portuguese group Mota Engil and BestFly, Angola’s biggest private aviation company, bring experience in Africa to the consortium.
The second proposal also has depth. State-owned Yunnan Airport Group operates 15 civil aviation airports and three general airports in its namesake province, home to nearly 47 million people – about 12 million more than the population of Angola. Fellow state-owned company AVIC built AIAAN, taking over the project after a dissolved public-private partnership and government work had delayed completion for several years.
AIAAN is designed to receive the largest commercial aircraft in operation and has an annual capacity of 100,000 flights, 15 million passengers and 130,000 tons of cargo. Cargo flights have been underway since last year and commercial passenger flights are scheduled to begin in the last quarter of 2024. While road and rail connections still need upgrading for AIAAN to reach its full potential, the airport is seen as an invaluable tool in diversifying Angola’s oil-dependent economy.
