5 November 2026

Angola Proposes New Financing Model to Expand Air Connectivity Across Africa

Angola’s Minister of Transport, Ricardo Viegas d’Abreu, has proposed a repayable financing mechanism under which the initial costs of opening new African air routes would be shared and reimbursed once the routes become economically sustainable. He put the proposal to the Lusophone Africa Investment Forum on Sal, Cabo Verde, on 26 and 27 October 2026.

A woman speaks into a microphone on stage beside four seated men in suits at a conference panel. — A panel at the Lusophone Africa Investment Forum on Sal, Cabo Verde, moderated by the International Finance Corporation (IFC). [Ministério dos Transportes, República de Angola]

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African Pilot Newsdesk

Why this article matters
Angola’s proposed financing mechanism offers a new approach to expanding air connectivity across Africa by sharing the initial costs of establishing routes and allowing participating parties to recover their investment once services become commercially sustainable. The model could encourage the development of new connections between African capitals, supporting regional integration and opening opportunities for airlines, businesses and travellers.

Improved air connectivity would also support intra-African trade, tourism and investment by making it easier to move between markets. The proposal places route development within a broader effort to strengthen transport links across the continent and improve access to economic opportunities.

Angola’s Minister of Transport, Ricardo Viegas d’Abreu, has proposed a repayable financing mechanism to help open new air routes across Africa, with the aim of connecting every African capital. Under the proposal, the start-up costs of a new route would be shared between the participating parties, and the money advanced would be repaid once the route became economically sustainable.

He put the idea to the Lusophone Africa Investment Forum, held on 26 and 27 October 2026 on Sal in Cabo Verde, and the Ministry of Transport announced it on 28 October. Cabo Verde’s Minister of Economy, Commerce, Industry and Digital Transition, António José Medina dos Santos Batista, welcomed the initiative and showed interest in exploring cooperation to overcome the financial obstacles to opening new air links.

The mechanism is aimed at a central obstacle to expanding air connectivity in Africa: the cost and risk of opening links that matter for regional integration but may need time to become commercially viable. Although put forward at a forum on Lusophone Africa, the proposal is continental in scope.

A man in a dark suit and glasses speaks at a lectern in front of a projection screen. — Angola’s Minister of Transport, Ricardo Viegas d’Abreu, addresses the Lusophone Africa Investment Forum. [Ministério dos Transportes, República de Angola]

Viegas d’Abreu also pointed to the start of TAAG Angola Airlines’ Luanda to Praia service, due to begin on 12 December 2026, with reservations opening on Wednesday 28 October.

Corridors and investment talks

On infrastructure, the Minister described how Angola has turned transport corridors into development corridors, and said such projects depend on four elements: infrastructure and results, public capital, private capital and investment by concessionaires. He argued that the Lobito Corridor, TAZARA, the Nacala and Beira corridors and the Central Corridor should be treated as complementary assets serving regional integration and trade, not only as competitors, and held up the Lobito Corridor as an example of combining transport infrastructure, concession models and productive investment.