Huambo, Angola, Aug 7 – Forty new hotels with four and five-star status are to be built in some Angolan provinces by 2010, an official has said.

Minister of Tourism and Hotels Eduardo Tchingunji, cited by state news agency Angop Sunday, said the hotel building program was part of government efforts to combat poverty and unemployment in the country.

The minister gave no details of where the new hotels are to be located and how much they would cost.

The Luanda government is to give financial support to colleges that offer courses in tourism and training for hotel workers, added the minister, saying it would be a major “contradiction” to build modern hotels without investing in training of personnel.

Huambo province currently has three hotels, a guest house and several pensions. (macauhub)