London, Sept. 10, 2026 (Lusa) - Angola's minister of finance, Vera Daves de Sousa, stated that the Government wishes to step up cooperation with the United Kingdom to harness the potential of the British private sector in diversifying the Angolan economy.
In an interview with the Lusa news agency in London, the minister indicated that, to date, 18 transactions have been approved by the Angolan Agency for Private Investment and Exports (AIPEX), which acts as a channel for private investment in the country, totalling $395 million (€339 million).
The sectors covered include technology, telecommunications, energy, mining, services and non-banking financial activities.
Faced with a «fiscal space that is not infinite», the minister challenged British partners to explore alternative forms of infrastructure financing, including more public-private partnerships.
According to Vera Daves, there is scope to improve the regulatory and legislative framework to allow certain initiatives to proceed as entirely private-sector projects, citing examples that are already working well in the electricity sector.
«We are open to all suggestions and private investment initiatives that will help us close the infrastructure gap – which remains significant – more quickly,» she told Lusa in London, where she took part in the Angola-UK Investment Forum, held on Tuesday and Wednesday.
She stated that Luanda has sought, in all bilateral meetings, to «share the progress» it has made, the challenges it still faces and «the opportunities that exist so that, via the capital markets and the real economy, more can be achieved in terms of bilateral business between stakeholders in both countries».
«We would like to see greater scale and thus ensure that the knowledge, the available resources and the potential of the British private sector align with Angola's potential to continue growing, to diversify its economy and to develop markets with an even higher level of sophistication,» she said.
The minister highlighted the progress made over the last eight years in public investment in infrastructure, particularly in the ‘tertiary sector' of healthcare (hospitals) and in the supply of electricity, with a strong focus on generation and, now, also on transmission and distribution.
She also mentioned investments in roads and railways – in some cases through concessions – citing the Lobito Corridor as an «emblematic example», and in water supply, with particular attention to the southern regions of the country, where access to drinking water is lowest.
In the transport sector, the Ministry of Transport is considering a project similar to the Lobito Corridor for the Northern Corridor, although the initiative is still at a «very early stage» of studies, planning and feasibility assessments, she said.
She noted that other construction projects are underway in the maritime and aviation sectors, with concessions for the Port of Caio, the Port of Namibe and the Port of Lobito currently being prepared.
The concession for the new António Agostinho Neto International Airport, with the potential to handle 15 million passengers, is being finalised and is expected to be concluded by the end of the month.
With regard to energy, water and roads, the government is not making progress as quickly, but it recognises potential in the energy and water sectors, particularly in transmission lines.
Electricity generation capacity is considered high, so proceeding with transmission lines under a public-private partnership model, with a view to subsequently exporting that electricity to neighbouring countries, is something that «makes economic sense».
The minister indicated that there are «a few proposals on the table» and that the next step is to assess the pros and cons of each and decide which partner to proceed with.
Among the potential destinations for electricity exports are Zambia, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the aim of finalising at least one deal by 2027, she concluded.
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Lusa
