Work has begun on the expansion and modernisation of the Maria Mambo Café airport in Cabinda, Angola, awarded to the China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC) Angolan news agency Angop reported.

The work will include extension of the runway to 3,400 metres long and 60 metres wide, which allows Boeing 777 aircraft to land, the construction of a new 19,000 square-metre terminal to accommodate 900 passengers at peak times, and construction of a new hanger to accommodate the Boeing 737 and 777.

The work, budgeted at US$185 million US, should be completed in the first quarter of 2018.

The Minister of Transport, Augusto da Silva Tomás, present at the ceremony to launch the project said that the start of work is key to creating more jobs, for the economic and social stability of the region and its economic growth.

The governor of Cabinda, Aldina Matilde Catembo said, in turn, that the airport work will strengthen local businesses, especially in those in the hospitality and tourism sectors. (macauhub)