Privately Initiated Industrial Hubs and Parks currently benefit from the same tax and customs incentives available under legislation such as the Private Investment Law and the Tax Benefits Code. However, business leaders argue that dedicated tax incentives are needed to attract greater investment.
Private Industrial Hubs and Parks will now be regulated under a newly approved legal framework that establishes operating rules and governs the use of these developments. Nevertheless, experts warn that regulation alone is not enough and stress the urgent need for targeted tax incentives to support their expansion across the country.
Industrial Development Hubs (PDIs) and Rural Industrial Parks (PIRs) are governed by two separate legal frameworks (Presidential Legislative Decrees No. 2/26 and 3/26, respectively), aimed at attracting private-sector participation, promoting public-private partnerships and fostering industrial development in Angola.
Within this framework, Privately Initiated Industrial Hubs and Parks benefit from the same tax and customs incentives provided under the Private Investment Law and the Tax Benefits Code.
However, experts advocate the creation of specific tax incentives tailored to privately developed industrial hubs and parks in order to encourage greater private-sector investment in strengthening the country’s industrial base.
José Severino, President of the Angola Industrial Association (AIA), is among those calling for greater government support for private initiatives in the industrial sector. Under the Tax Benefits Code, private investors may benefit from reduced rates on Industrial Tax, Urban Property Tax, Capital Income Tax and Stamp Duty.
With regard to Industrial Tax, private investors in industrial infrastructure projects and the industries established within them currently enjoy significant tax reductions that can remain in force for up to 15 years. However, José Severino argues that this period should be extended to 20 years for privately developed industrial hubs and parks.
The AIA leader also stresses the importance of properly regulating these infrastructures to ensure investors feel secure. According to him, some investors are dissatisfied with how projects have been treated after investments were made.
He further argues that industrial hubs and parks should be developed along major road corridors and outside large urban centres. Roads typically provide access to fibre-optic networks, electricity and water, unlike industrial zones such as Viana Industrial Park and Catumbela Industrial Park in Benguela, which, he says, suffer from inadequate road access and limited market connectivity.
“Along the roads, everything is organised and trade flows more efficiently,” he said.
Severino also revealed that there is considerable interest in investing in the sector, but one of the main obstacles is the high cost of land, which has discouraged potential investors. He noted that developing the infrastructure required for an industrial development hub is extremely expensive.
Economist Gaspar João also supports stronger incentives for the creation of industrial development parks across the country as a way of accelerating Angola’s industrialisation process.
The new regulation will also apply to private developments that do not fully meet the criteria of an Industrial Development Hub (PDI) or Rural Industrial Park (PIR), but which nevertheless possess the characteristics of private infrastructure capable of accommodating multiple independent economic operators.
Source: Expansão
