Mbanza Kongo — The President of the Republic, João Lourenço, will chair the 1st Ordinary Meeting of the Local Governance Council of 2026 on Thursday in Mbanza Kongo, as part of his working visit to Angolan northern province of Zaire.

On this second day of visit, the Angolan Head of State's agenda will also include meetings with various personalities from Zaire province.

On Wednesday, the President visited the construction sites of the new Mbanza Kongo International Airport "Nimi a Lukeni," which is 38% complete, and the Mbanza Kongo General Hospital, which is expected to be completed in April 2027.

During the visit to the hospital, the Minister of Health, Sílvia Lutukuta, announced that the financial constraints and payment delays related to the construction of the future Zaire General Hospital have been overcome, which will allow for an accelerated pace of work on the project. He further stated that the hospital is at an advanced stage of completion and, from a financial and physical schedule standpoint, no significant changes are foreseen.

The infrastructure of the new airport, named after Nimi a Lukeni, founder of the then Kingdom of Kongo, was also inspected by President João Lourenço.

According to the infrastructure manager of the SGA company, Carlos Pimentel Araújo, the works on the future airport of the World Heritage city could be completed in May 2027. FMA/ART/DOJ