A consortium involving state-owned China Road and Bridge Corp won a bid for US$110 million to build a bridge in Angola, according to the Economic and Commercial Counsellor’s Office of the Chinese Embassy in Angola.

The Angolan administration has recently awarded the contract to the consortium formed by the Chinese firm with Angola’s Griner and Portugal’s Norafrica SA. The Angolan authorities expect the works to be completed in two years, the office said in a statement on its website this week.

The consortium is to build a 622 metres long bridge over the River Kwanza, connecting the nation’s capital Luanda to the southern region.

The Embassy office said the bridge project is “the first important public works project” that a consortium involving Chinese enterprises has won since a surge of Chinese firms entering the Angolan market in 2003.

“[The deal] represents [the fact that] that the Chinese enterprises in Angola started to learn how to adjust their investment agenda amid the intense competition,” the office’s statement added.

The deal came after Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited Angola in May as part of a four-nation tour of Africa, during which he pledged closer cooperation and boosted investment in the countries.

“Angola is a credible partner,” Mr Li said at the time. “Angola has the biggest Chinese community and number of companies from China in Africa.”