A new international airport, 30km from Luanda in Angola, is due to commence operations in 2017.

Construction of the $3.8 billion facility is being overseen by China International Fund Limited. The new airport will include a 160 000m2 passenger terminal and a 6 200m2 cargo area to process an expected 35 000 tons of cargo annually.

The airport will be equipped with two double runways and have the capacity to receive Airbus A380s.

The northern airport runway will be 4.2km long while the southern runway will be 3.8km long. Each will measure 60m wide. In addition to new access roads, the airport will have a direct rail link to the Angolan capital.

Work on the airport is currently 55% complete. Next year, 4 500 workers – 2 000 of them Chinese – will join the construction project in its final phase.