In 2019, the Angolan government initiated a vast program of economic transformation through the restructuring of several public enterprises. Unlike several companies in the telecoms sector, which have been privatized, a less radical fate seems to be in store for the incumbent.

The government of the Republic of Angola has officially started looking for a partner to whom it will entrust the management and operation of the national telecommunications infrastructure, the metropolitan fiber optic network and the activity of Angola Telecom. . He launched an international call for tenders for this purpose on Tuesday 14 September.

In order to attract only the best possible profiles, the Angolan State has restricted the operation to candidates having, or who can commit to presenting, a share capital of at least 10,000,000 USD and an annual operating income. greater than $ 95,000,000. The deadline for receipt of bids is November 15, the Angolan government said. The winner of the call for tenders will be announced on December 17.

Through the appointment of a manager for the telecommunications infrastructure of Angola Telecom, the Ministry of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication, indicated that the objective is ”  to capture investments and knowledge. – to make the private sector for the management, the exploration and the expansion of the targeted infrastructure […] We also hope that this partnership will contribute in a realistic and transversal way to the dynamism and to the economic and social growth of the country  ”.

The government’s desire to entrust the management of the incumbent operator’s telecoms infrastructure to a third party is part of its strategy to improve the national economy initiated in 2019, in particular through the privatization of public enterprises. In the telecoms sector, this vast program of economic transformation has already seen various advances, in particular with the sale of the State’s 51% stake in the connectivity provider Net One last May. A month later, it was the turn of 90% of the capital of the company Multitel Serviços de Telecomunicações, which specializes in providing Internet services for businesses.

From the future partner, the Angolan government has several expectations. Improving the quality of communications between all regions of the country, extending the metropolitan fiber optic networks among others. In short, Angola wants to reduce digital illiteracy while recording substantial financial income from the efficient management of public telecom infrastructures. In its report “ANGOLA: SYSTEMATIC COUNTRY DIAGNOSTIC CREATING ASSETS FOR THE POOR DECEMBER 2018”, the World Bank already underlined that “the wide availability of high-speed Internet would be a prerequisite for Angola to develop an information economy. important ”. 

Source: Agence Ecofin