Angola will privatise seven industrial development poles and an equal number of rural parks this year, with the public tender process set to launch before the end of 2025, the director-general of the National Institute of Industrial Development and Technological Innovation (IDIA), Juelma Pinto, announced.
The industrial poles earmarked for privatisation are located in Caála (Huambo province), Cunje (Bié), Luena (Moxico), Lucala (Lunda Sul), Negage (Uíge), Malange and Matala (Huíla). The seven rural parks designated for the process are in Cacuso (Malange), Andulo (Bié), Canjala (Benguela), Maquela do Zombo (Uíge), Tomboco (Zaire), Calenga (Huambo) and Waku Kungo (Cuanza Sul).
Pinto was addressing the Economic Forum on the Advantages of Investment in Central Angola and Its Impact on the National Economy, held on the sidelines of the third edition of Expo Bié, which closed on Sunday. Her presentation focused on the theme ‘Promoting the Manufacturing Industry: The Relevance of Industrial Poles and Parks in Attracting and Aggregating Value from Local Production’.
The IDIA director-general confirmed that the Ministry of Industry and Commerce is advancing all preparatory work to launch the public tender for the concession of the industrial poles and rural parks in the near term. The measure is intended to help the government meet its objectives of boosting the national economy, creating employment and driving the country’s broader socioeconomic development.
She added that the current legislative framework permits private sector participation in the management and investment of the poles and parks, designed to provide legal security for both domestic and foreign investors.
‘To give you an idea, the country conceived 20 Industrial Development Poles from 1998 onwards, which were supposed to be built with treasury funds. After all this time, only two have been completed — the one in Viana (Icolo e Bengo) and Catumbela (Benguela). Now the law has been amended to allow private sector participation,’ Pinto explained.
She further disclosed that Angola has a total of 40,000 hectares reserved for the establishment of additional poles and parks, of which 12,600 hectares remain to be provided with infrastructure. Of the existing parks, ten are still to be developed, while three have already been built and are fully equipped with infrastructure including roads, electricity, water supply and various equipment.
Also speaking at the forum, Numélia Mendes, director of the Lobito Corridor Facilitation, Transport and Transit Agency (AFTTCL), analysed the theme ‘The Lobito Corridor as a Mechanism to Support Production, Logistics and Trade’, highlighting the strategic value of the Benguela Railway (CFB) for the development of the Southern Africa region.
Mendes called on the private sector to establish industrial infrastructure and farms along the railway line, as well as to provide services, as a means of contributing to progress and well-being — above all in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zambia.
The underlying objective, she noted, is to strengthen community development across the territories covered by the Lobito Corridor, with a view to ensuring sustainability and improving living standards through the training and empowerment of local populations.
The Economic Forum on the Advantages of Investment in Central Angola and Its Impact on the National Economy was structured around three panels covering a range of topics.
The first panel, focused on ‘Boosting Production by Promoting the Introduction of ICT into the Productive Process’, examined the themes of ‘Modernising the Productive Process: Technological Solutions to Promote Agricultural Production in Bié Province’ and ‘Strategies for Boosting Cereal and Legume Production in Bié’.
The second panel, centred on Support Infrastructure for the Productive Sector, addressed ‘Promoting the Manufacturing Industry: The Relevance of Industrial Poles and Parks in Value Aggregation of Local Production’ and ‘The Lobito Corridor as a Mechanism to Support Production, Logistics and Trade’.
The third and final panel, dedicated to Access to Finance, examined ‘The Role of the Banking Sector in Materialising Investment Initiatives’ and ‘Insurance as a Guarantee Instrument in Credit Relationships’.
The third edition of Expo Bié, which opened last Thursday, brought together 636 local and national exhibitors from provinces including Namibe, Huíla, Luanda, Cuanza Sul, Benguela, Huambo, Cabinda, Bengo, Icolo e Bengo, Moxico Leste and Uíge. The event is held under the motto ‘Promote Production and Transform for Food Self-Sufficiency’.
Organisers told the state news agency ANGOP that more than 4,000 tonnes of various products were on display, with a combined business volume exceeding 491 million kwanzas.
In addition to the exhibition and the economic forum, this year’s Expo Bié featured a diverse programme of activities, with highlights including a Livestock Fair and Auction and the Technology and Science Fair (FETIC 2026).
The expo also generated approximately 1,000 temporary jobs, and organisers expect the event to have attracted more than 30,000 visitors in total.
Source: ANGOP
