In total, there will be three alternative structuring roads that will be built from the end of this first quarter, which will allow greater mobility in the urban district of Zango, one of the most inhabited in Luanda, and which is currently struggling with serious traffic problems due to the precariousness and inability to drain the only access road
The Provincial Government of Luanda (GPL) ruled out a possible demolition process and forced eviction of residents in the construction of new alternative roads that will connect the urban district of Zango, in the municipality of Viana, to other areas of the country’s capital.
With the start of the works, scheduled for the end of this quarter about to begin, the people living around the perimeter where these roads will be built are apprehensive about a possible demolition process and forced relocation to other areas, a situation which has already been discarded by the GPL However, given that the demolition processes and forced relocations have been one of the most divisive issues in that district, one of the most inhabited in the province of Luanda, Conceição Oliveira stressed that there will be no need to relocate the population, thus contracting the conflicting information that “kept sleep away” from local residents.
Conceição Oliveira clarified that the places where the new roads will pass are pre-existing roads and that they just need to be structured to support a greater number of traffic. “There will be no need to relocate the population, as these are pre-existing roads and just need to be structured to support a greater number of traffic”, she pointed out.
Works at the start-up doors
In turn, the director of the Provincial Office of Infrastructures and Technical Services of the Provincial Government of Luanda (GPL), Calunga Quissanga, defined the end of this first quarter of the year as the indicative deadline for the start of works which, he stressed, will provide greater relief to Zango residents who face serious mobility problems. He said that the three structuring routes are part of a package that includes other areas of Luanda whose financial procedures have already been approved by the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, without, however, advancing a concrete value.
In practical terms, as stated in the project, Hulesi, Pomobel and Muxima Umoxi streets will benefit from works for car and pedestrian traffic, the latter on the outskirts of Pacific life. Altogether, these roads should connect the interior of Zango to other areas of Luanda such as Via Expressa Fidel de Castro, Cacuaco and Centralidade do Kilamba, via KK 5000.
In total, it is known that the construction of these lanes will be covered by a length of 38 kilometers of roads that will guarantee mobility for motorists and passersby who are waiting for significant improvements in traffic on Zango.
In addition to mobility, GPL assumes that the new access roads to Zango will also have integrated infrastructure, including sidewalks, public lighting, rainwater and residual drainage and macro drainage.
“The martyrdom of the in and out of Zango”
For those who live or travel through Zango, the ‘good news’ about the construction of these new roads represents a real relief, judging by the current mobility conditions in that part of the municipality of Viana. Despite being one of the most inhabited urban districts, traveling through Zango is a torture for those who live or visit there, especially during rainy periods like the current one.
However, due to the precariousness of the roads, it takes drivers long hours to reach their destination, a real hassle of getting in and out. However, despite some requalification works carried out recently, the district’s roads are still not sufficient to serve the number of motorists that travel through Zango, especially during peak periods, from 6 am to 10 am and from 5 pm to 8 pm.
Pedro Nestor, a taxi driver, who has been driving around Zango for over five years, said it is not an easy task to get around the district due to the constraints that the lack of roads has caused. “It’s not easy, my brother. We waste a lot of time here at Zango. A run, which could take thirty or twenty minutes, we ended up doing in two to three hours. It’s not easy”, he lamented. “You stop more than work”
Gaspar Fernandes, a motorcycle taxi driver, said that, every day, he stops more than working in Zango, due to the traffic jams created by the precariousness of the roads. “It’s very frustrating to ride the Zango. Here we stop more than work. It’s a lot of traffic. Only God knows our suffering”, he highlighted.
“More speed”
Someone who also deplores the current mobility conditions in Zango is citizen João Loth, who has lived in the district for more than six years. As he mentioned, taking into account the construction and rehabilitation project of new roads, greater speed is needed to restore mobility to motorists.
“May there be more speed. We cannot continue to live in these conditions. It’s constant stress,” she appealed. Likewise, Baptista João, believes that it is necessary that the project to requalify new roads is not just mere intentions on paper, but that they actually come to fruition. “We have seen a lot of good intentions, but they don’t come to fruition. We hope this intention is not just another one. But let it be real”, he stressed.