Investment in the logistics sector in Angola will continue, with the State taking on a more active role, according to a study on the industrial market in Luanda by Colliers International Angola.
The study by the Angolan company, owned by Portuguese group IPG, noted that the profile of the Angolan economy, notably the pattern of exports and imports, “indicates that the importance of the logistics sector is much higher than that of the industrial sector,” according to the Portuguese news agency Lusa.
After pointing out a lack of infrastructure in the country and the importance of its location to boost economic growth, Colliers International noted that Angola’s main hubs are the sea ports of Luanda, Lobito (centre-south) and Namibe (south), and that its most important roads are around the capital and most important rail facility is the Benguela railroad.
According to the study the port of Luanda is currently one of the busiest in southern Africa with 10 million tonnes of cargo per year and that the port of Lobito, where the Benguela railroad begins, is on a par with the ports of Maputo and Beira in Mozambique.
“Development (of the logistics hub) market in Angolan provinces (other than Luanda) is almost exclusively dependent on public investment, and private investment is lacking and only occasionally associated to local natural resources,” the study noted.
This being the case it is the Angolan government’s responsibility to implement a plan to build up the secondary sector by developing hubs and cold storage networks across the country’s 18 provinces.