Chinese Government provides $80 million loan for Bengo-Luanda Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Construction Project

Project narrative

In 2009, the Chinese Government reportedly provided an $80 million loan -- through a larger line of credit -- to the Government of Angola for the Bengo-Luanda Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Construction Project. The borrowing terms of the loan are unknown. The project covered a total area of 840,000 hectares, 450,000 of which were reserved for manufacturing. The project included a Central Nucleus, composed of five buildings intended for the establishment of administrative activities, and was divided into four Quadrants. Each quadrant was sub-divided into platforms, each designed with the infrastructures necessary for the proper functioning of the entire space. Each manufacturing unit was made up of a prefabricated superstructure and supporting structures, a concierge, a refectory, water and fuel tanks, emergency generators, storage areas for materials and finished products, as well as car parks and streets, water, sewage, electricity and telecommunications networks. The first 8 industrial units at the Bengo-Luanda SEZ were inaugurated by the President of the Republic of Angola, José Eduardo dos Santos, on or around June 20, 2011. The Bengo-Luanda SEZ is owned by the Government of Angola, and it consists of 21 flexible reserves, 7 Industrial Reserves, 6 Agricultural Reserves, and 8 Mine Reserves, distributed among the municipalities of Viana (8,000 hectares), Cacuaco (20,000 hectares) and Icolo e Bengo (30,000 hectares), in the province of Luanda, and in the municipalities of Dande and Ambriz (120,000 hectares) in the province of Bengo. According to the Agencia Angola Press, businesspeople from India, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and Eritrea were investing funds to open factories in the Bengo-Luanda SEZ as of October 2019.