Turkish firm to launch mega-housing project in Angola

By Gozde Bayar

ANKARA (AA) - A Turkish construction firm will launch a mega-housing project in Angola, marking the largest social housing project in the southwestern African nation.

A total of 10,000 all-inclusive residences for Angolan teachers are set to be built by Onsan Group, a Turkish construction firm which has been operating more than 40 years.

"We signed a protocol with the Angolan government to build these residences," company chief Fikri Coskun told Anadolu Agency, adding that the total investment for the project would be $520 million.

The company also has another multi-billion-dollar housing project, this one for the country’s armed forces. The $2.8 billion project, which includes 40,000 residences, was launched in 2016 and is expected to be completed over the next two years.

-Coskun invites Turkish businessmen to Angola

“We will invite [Turkish President] Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the groundbreaking ceremony [for the housing project] which will take place this year,” said Coskun.

Coskun said they were heartily welcomed by Angolan officials when they arrived.

“Angolans love Turkish people,” he said, stressing that the country appreciated the investments.

“It will be beneficial to Turkey if we place great importance on Angola and attract more Turkish businesspeople there,” said Coskun, urging Turkish businesspeople to expand their horizons.

Highlighting that Angola has made substantial economic and political progress since the end of the civil war in 2002, he said: “The Angolan economy will compete with Europe and the Dubai in near future.”

He went on to say that the country is rich with oil, diamonds, gold, and silver.

A former Portuguese colony, Angola gained independence from Portugal in 1975. The country later went through a 27-year civil war, which ended in 2002.

-Importance of diplomatic missions

“We realized that Turkey and Angola had limited interactions,” said Coskun, adding that the main problem was the absence of a diplomatic mission in the country.

Coskun said that it once took nearly six months to get a visa to visit Angola.

Stressing the efforts of Erdogan, he said Turkey decided to open a diplomatic mission in the capital Luanda.

The Turkish Embassy in Luanda was inaugurated in 2010 as a testimony to the commitment to bilateral develop bilateral political, economic, and cultural relations.

In 2013, in response, Angola opened an embassy in Ankara with the aim of deepening relations.

Referring to the activities of the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) in Angola, Coskun said he played an important role in establishing a business council between the countries.

The council was established in 2011 to develop trade and economic relations between Angola and Turkey.

- Turkish ambassador praises investments in Angola

On the housing project, Turkish Ambassador to Angola Alp Ay told Anadolu Agency that Angola “has not been yet discovered by Turkish firms.”

“I am happy to see that some important Turkish firms are showing close and concrete interest in important projects in the fields of agriculture, transportation, mining, waste management, tourism, and construction,” he said.