China is to provide US$249 million to fund a national broadband project in Angola, under the terms of a financing agreement signed on Wednesday.
The Angolan finance minister, Vera Daves, and China’s ambassador to Angola, Gong Tao, were the signatories to the agreement which stipulates that China will provide the loan to fund the project.
“The agreement we signed contributes to further developing friendly relations and promoting our economic, financial and technical cooperation,” Daves said.
According to the minister, this is a conventional loan on terms that are “more favourable than market conditions with a maturity period of up to 20 years and without associated collateral.
“This funding is totally in line with the strategy adopted by the government for indebtedness and management of public debt, thus contributing to its sustainability,” Daves said.
The Angolan secretary of state for telecommunications and information technologies, Alé Fernandes, said that the installation of around 2,000 kilometres of terrestrial fibre optics will make it possible to reach areas not yet covered by telecommunications services.
For China’s ambassador in Angola, Gong Tao, the instrument that has been signed means “opening new doors and new chapters” in relations between Luanda and Beijing.
