Construction on the first phase of Angola’s Amboim Deep-Water Port, located in the municipality of Porto Amboim in Cuanza-Sul province, is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of next year, with the $500 million initial phase expected to create more than 1,000 jobs and position the facility as a major logistics hub on the South Atlantic.
The project’s chairman, Nelson dos Santos, announced the timeline at a stakeholder roundtable, saying the $500 million figure covers physical infrastructure, equipment procurement and initial operationalisation. A memorandum of understanding with the lead contractor has already been signed, he added, and final implementation arrangements are being concluded.
Before construction gets under way, a set of preparatory activities is planned for the remainder of this year, including port-authority security measures, internal mobility works and reinforcement of the perimeter fence. Dos Santos confirmed that the project will generate more than one thousand direct and indirect jobs.
The first-phase launch follows years of groundwork. According to earlier data from Empresa Portuária do Amboim, the overall project is budgeted at approximately 1.2 billion euros and envisages multiple port terminals to be developed in stages — a phased model designed expressly to facilitate the mobilisation of financial and technical resources. The $500 million announced by Dos Santos represents only the opening stage of a considerably larger undertaking.
Field work began formally in March this year when teams from Toyota Tsusho and Toa Corporation commenced geotechnical soil surveys and bathymetric measurements of the seabed relief in Kissonde Bay — preparatory studies regarded as the technical foundation for the future facility.
Sector officials describe the Amboim port’s location as strategically significant: it sits midway between Angola’s two largest ports — Luanda to the north and Lobito to the south — along a Cuanza-Sul coastline stretching 1,700 kilometres that is currently served by six ports.
The government’s ambition is to develop the facility into a genuine South Atlantic transport hub. Projected cargo throughput stands at 20.9 million tonnes by 2027, with capacity expected to reach 48.4 million tonnes by 2050.
The project is aligned with the targets set out in Angola’s National Development Plan (PND) for 2023–2027, which calls for raising the maritime and port sector’s contribution to gross domestic product from 17.4 billion kwanzas in 2022 to 48.4 billion kwanzas by 2050. The government views large-scale port infrastructure of this kind as essential to achieving that expansion.
In earlier remarks to the governor of Cuanza-Sul, Narciso Benedito, dos Santos underscored the project’s expected socioeconomic impact, citing a minimum of one thousand direct and indirect jobs as one of its key contributions to the province’s development.
Officials and analysts see the Amboim deep-water port as a potential economic driver for Cuanza-Sul province in coming years, drawing comparisons with other large-scale port projects that have reshaped maritime logistics across Africa.
Looking further ahead, authorities envisage the Amboim facility complementing the Lobito Corridor within Angola’s broader strategy to establish itself as a regional logistics platform on the South Atlantic — a vision that places the port at the centre of the country’s long-term infrastructure and trade ambitions.
Source: Mercado / Original article: https://mercado.co.ao/obras-do-porto-de-aguas-profundas-do-amboim-arrancam-no-proximo-ano/
