Luanda — The Angolan government plans to build new football stadiums and launch 12 multipurpose pavilions in several provinces of the country, as part of expansion and requalification of national sports infrastructures program.
The announcement was made on Thursday by the Minister of Youth and Sports, Rui Falcão, in statements to the press at the end of the meeting chaired by the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, with the governors of the 21 provinces, which analysed, among other topics, the state of sports infrastructures, vandalism of public property and illegal mining.
According to the minister, the government structured the intervention in the sector in three fundamental axes, namely maintenance, the requalification of existing infrastructures and the construction of new equipment.
As part of this plan, three new infrastructures have already been launched, with emphasis on stadiums and a Paralympic centre, and the construction of two more football stadiums and two pavilions financed by the General State Budget is also planned this year.
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At the same time, through international credit lines, the Government plans to build 12 multipurpose pavilions, with a capacity of between 2,500 and 4,500 seats, distributed according to the population density of the provinces.
The minister said that some previously paralyzed works will be resumed, such as the Lunda Sul stadium, started in 2015, as well as infrastructure in the provinces of Zaire and Lunda Norte.
The plan also includes the construction of pavilions in provinces such as Bié, Cunene, Cubango, Bengo and Moxico, among others.
According to the minister, the objective is to improve, in the medium and long term, the quality of sports practice, especially in high performance, allowing more provinces to participate in national championships and teams to have better technical conditions.
Rui Falcão also highlighted the need to strengthen basic infrastructures, such as community fields and school sports, in conjunction with municipal administrations and provincial governments, to increase the number of practitioners.
Regarding the province of Cabinda, the minister said that the Chiazi Stadium is in the process of being requalified, while the local multipurpose pavilion is undergoing technical evaluation, and may be rehabilitated or replaced by a new infrastructure.
The minister considered that the set of investments underway should, in the coming years, raise the competitive level of national sport and ensure better use of existing infrastructures.
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