The first phase of the deep-water port in the Angolan province of Cabinda is expected to be completed in mid-2016, said the Minister of Transport Augusto da Silva Tomás quoted by local newspaper Jornal de Angola.

Mr Silva Tomás said the construction of the deep-water port in the province “is linked to the government plans to rebuild and improve transport facilities in the region [of Cabinda]”.

Construction work is scheduled to start in June 2015, according to Jornal de Angola. The first of three phases is expected to be ready in about a year, it said.

The newspaper added that Caioporto SA, the company responsible for the construction of the new port, is currently carrying out works to cordon off the port area and to build access roads.

The first phase, costing an estimated 60 billion Angolan kwanzas (US$591.2 million), comprises the extension of the commercial wharf wall and support for the docking platform, which is 36 metres long, facilities for ship repair, a breakwater, access canal (150 metres wide), and new access roads.