Dec. 2 – Chinese and Portuguese public companies last week signed a Memorandum of Understanding for a joint partnership to build rail and road projects in Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa, with the possibility of doing the same in Brazil.
The MOU protocol was signed in Lisbon on Nov. 24, at the headquarters of the Portuguese Agency for Foreign Trade and Investment (AICEP), between the IP Engenharia/Grupo Infraestruturas de Portugal and the China Tiesiju Civil Engineering Group/China Railway Engineering Corp.
According to Shao Gang, vice-president of China Tiesiju Civil Engineering Group/China Railway Engineering Corp., a joint commission of Portuguese and Chinese companies will meet in January next year to draw up a timetable for the implementation of joint projects in Angola, Mozambique, Cabo Verde, São Tomé and Principe, and Guinea-Bissau, “in the projects that each country will most need to develop and stimulate the local economy,” Jornal de Angola reported on Nov. 27.
Shao spoke also of possible Chinese loans, on advantageous terms, to “financially weaker” African countries, but he said that this would have to be approved by both the Portuguese and Chinese governments.
The Angolan paper reported that during its visit to Lisbon, China Tiesiju Civil Engineering Group/China Railway Engineering Corp. also signed a MOU with the big Portuguese construction company, Teixeira Duarte, on identical terms.
