Luanda: The Angolan government announced plans to install toll stations at borders and on key national roads, aiming to generate new funding sources for the conservation and maintenance of the country’s road infrastructure. This decision was revealed in the Economic Commission of the Council of Ministers’ final communiqué, presided over by President João Lourenço, which evaluated the Draft Presidential Decree for this initiative.
According to Angola Press News Agency, the decree seeks to secure new funding avenues for road infrastructure conservation and maintenance while enabling traffic monitoring within the national road network and controlling vehicle volumes. Additionally, the Economic Commission reviewed a law to approve the Heavy Vehicle Weighing Plan, a legal measure intended to regulate and prevent the excessive circulation of heavy vehicles by establishing fixed and mobile weighing stations on major road sections, thus preventing overweight vehicles from damaging the roads.
The communiqué also hig
hlighted the government’s initial approval of 14 toll stations for border regions. Minister for Public Works, Urbanism and Housing, Carlos Alberto da Silva, clarified that priority will be given to installing toll stations at key border locations, including Massabi and Yema in Cabinda, Noqui and Luvo in Zaire province, Santa Clara in Cunene, and Luau in Moxico. Over the next five years, the government anticipates generating 125 billion kwanzas in revenue from these toll stations.
Currently, Angola operates two toll stations outside border areas, at Barra do Kwanza and Serra da Leba. The government plans to update the toll rates at these stations, with the minimum charge increasing from 100 Kwanzas to 250 Kwanzas, and the maximum charge rising from 2,000 Kwanzas to 7,000 Kwanzas, depending on vehicle class and usage.
Besides the border locations, the government plans to implement weigh stations along vital national routes, including roads 230, 100, A 105, and A 120, as well as on international road corridors
connecting Angola with neighboring countries.
Angola’s road network spans 79,300 kilometers, with 27,600 kilometers designated as national roads and 51,700 kilometers as municipal roads, along with 4,000 bridges. Of these, 11,400 kilometers of national roads and 15,000 kilometers of secondary municipal roads are in good condition. Minister da Silva emphasized the necessity of a substantial financial plan to maintain these roads and highlighted the approval of the National Weighing Plan as a crucial step to mitigate state expenses on road repairs due to excessive vehicle loads.