The opening of Angola’s new international airport by President João Lourenço last November 10 was a proud moment for the country. The infrastructure represents one of the newest airport assets on the African continent, estimated to have cost around US$3 billion, and marked a new high for bilateral relations between China and Angola.

The gateway—which will eventually replace the existing Quatro de Fevereiro Airport (LAD)—has been named António Agostinho Neto International Airport (NBJ) after the first President of the Republic of Angola. The gateway is located close to the capital city, Luanda, 45 kilometers to the southeast, and occupies a large area of approximately 30 square kilometers.

The airport is just as important to China as it also marks a milestone. According to China’s State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), NBJ is “the most comprehensive and largest new international airport project completed by a Chinese company overseas.”

The gateway was built by AVIC International, a subsidiary of Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) with an initial capacity of 15 million passengers and 130,000 tons of cargo. When fully completed, Angola’s Ministry of Transport says that up to 440,000 tons a year could be handled while an extra terminal would take passenger capacity to 65 million. That is not expected before 2041.

SASAC is an institution directly under the management of China’s State Council and overseas infrastructure construction is a priority area for it under the Belt and Road Initiative, now a decade old.

Over that time, AVIC has driven China’s international aviation infrastructure agenda, implementing over 300 transportation projects in more than 20 countries and regions. The Angolan greenfield venture is the icing on the cake.

NBJ will open in phases; beginning with cargo services followed by a second phase seeing domestic flight operations starting from February. International flights are currently scheduled to begin in June.

A few days after the opening of the airport, the Angolan government released details of the public tender process for the concession to run NBJ. The award covers aspects such as exploration, management, and maintenance of the asset including the terminal, runways, terminal expansion, and support facilities.

Below, airportIR looks further into China’s influence and the changes to the timetable for the NBJ contract.

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