The Luanda-Bengo Special Economic Zone (ZEE) has launched a useful new tool for investors, the GAI (Guiché de Apoio ao Investidor), or Investor Support Office, which, in addition to supporting the presidential directive to facilitate access for national and foreign investors, will remove bureaucratic barriers that can stymie the actions of those who want to access Angola’s privatised assets or businesses already established within the ZEE.
The GAI, which will be officially launched on November 10, 2021, will provide investors with a suite of public and private services to assist them integrate seamlessly into the ZEE’s business environment.
The GAI will:
– reduce the time needed to access and resolve matters relating to the Angolan public administration
– contribute to a significant increase in the number of companies based in the ZEE
– expand domestic production and the export of goods generated by the Angolan economy
– increase foreign direct investment in the Republic of Angola
The economic reforms implemented by the Republic of Angola’s Executive under the new legal framework will promote improvements to the business environment, increase the attractiveness of the ZEE, and the new Investor Support Office will provide unique benefits to domestic and foreign investors.
The GAI Investor Support Office will be physically accessible through the ZEE’s facilities. Applications can also be submitted via the official pages, numerous digital platforms, and social networking sites.
ZEE projects have created 6 132 new jobs for national residents in the past 12 years. This employer dynamic was unaffected by the Covid-19 pandemic, as the projects granted by the ZEE over the last thirteen months (from October 2020 until now) employed 3 301 Angolan workers and just 32 foreigners.
The ZEE has also enabled Angola to reduce imports, enhance exports, and attract foreign investment, all of which is reflected in the ZEE’s expanding production. Various investment projects from Germany, Eritrea, India, Rwanda, Lebanon, and Angola have been implemented in the last year. Over the last five years, these projects have resulted in an investment of approximately one billion euros.
Dairy, pasta, and other foodstuffs (including wheat flour, semolina flour, sausages, biscuits, and cold meats), detergents, clothing, plastic utensils, thermoelectric power station and electrical devices, steelmaking, building materials, and automobile inspection centres are among the projects at the ZEE.
The Luanda Bengo ZEE spans about 4700 hectares in the Viana district. The ZEE includes over 130 industrial and commercial projects, 75 of which are fully operational, 11 of which are undergoing restructuring, 7 of which are awaiting the completion of the privatisation process, 1 of which is ready to begin production activity, 18 of which are in the construction phase, and 20 of which are in the project implementation phase. Sixty percent of the projects are related to manufacturers, twenty-five percent to commercial organisations, and ten percent to services.
Source: Special Economic Zone Luanda-Bengo
