Angola International Airport (Aeroporto Internacional de Angola in Portuguese) is a major airport under construction near the Angolan capital of Luanda. The site was selected in 2004. It is located 40 kilometers southeast of the city center in the Bom Jesus commune. It will be an alternative to existing Quatro de Fevereiro International Airport. Chinese companies and the Brazilian company Odebrecht are constructing the airport. The first phase was completed in 2012. The originally scheduled 2015/2016 opening was delayed until 2022.

Angola International Airport.

Runway under construction in 2009

Design and construction

The airport is designed for 13 million passengers per year and will receive 12 fingerdocks. The lead construction company is China International Fund, which was founded in Hong Kong in 2003. The Chinese built a construction village named Vila Chinesa, meaning "Chinese village", with accommodation for worker and material depots, east of Luanda in Viana. Since the end of the civil war in 2002, economic growth in Angola has accelerated.

Angola International Airport.

Aerial view of the airport construction site near Luanda, March 2009

The passenger terminal occupies 160 000 square metres, while the cargo terminal is 6 200 square metres with an annual capacity of 35,000 tonnes of cargo. Two runways are to be built. The northern runway is 4,200 meters long, while the southern runway is 3,800 meters long, both measuring 60 meters in width. Construction was suspended at the end of 2007, due to financial revaluation by the Angolan government. The construction costs, which are financed entirely by China, were estimated at US$3,8 billion (2015). Complementary infrastructure, such as shops, hangars, restaurants, offices and a nearby hotel are not included.

The total area of the airport is planned for at least 50 square-kilometers.

The project includes the construction of a rail link to the capital, to the province of Luanda and possibly to the neighboring province of Malanje. A road connection to Luanda requires that the existing road from Luanda to Malange is greatly expanded. The road is subject to frequent traffic jams.

The project is staffed almost exclusively by Chinese workers, which caused protests by the local population. This led to occasional riots, eventually calmed by police and military.

The content above was published at Airports-Worldwide.com in 2020.
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