José António da Cruz Almeida (right)
Guinea-Bissau is committed to attracting further investment from China and Macau in order to develop the country’s infrastructural networks, revealed the Minister for Public Works, Construction and Urban Planning, José António da Cruz Almeida.
The minister is in Macau to attend a ministerial meeting on Friday, which will address the topic of infrastructure in China and Lusophone countries.
In a press conference held yesterday, Mr Cruz Almeida stressed how Chinese investment has played a significant role in helping Guinea-Bissau to move forward in developing multiple different types of infrastructure, such as hospitals, government palaces, a courthouse, and even a stadium, among others.
Guinea-Bissau will be signing two cooperative agreements with Macau to assist with information-sharing in the public works sector, he noted.
The minister added that he would be meeting with Macau’s Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo do Rosário, this morning.
“We will be signing two protocols [here], one with the Institute for Development and Quality, and the other with the Civil Engineering Laboratory,” he said, adding that they are also looking to establish cooperation with private companies with the aim of encouraging investment from Macau and China into Guinea-Bissau.
The minister stressed that the two agreements are aimed at facilitating information-sharing in the public works sector, precisely at a time when Macau is undergoing major infrastructural change.
“There are many public works under development now, bridges, major buildings… and our engineers could come here to learn about new techniques being applied in these new developments,” he added.
Guinea-Bissau is also looking to sign a protocol with East Timor to enable further cooperation in the public works sector.
The minister stressed that following a period of political and economic instability, Guinea-Bissau must now update its current infrastructure. The ministerial meeting will also serve to attract further investment from China, a country they see as “a crucial partner.”
Guinea-Bissau has designed a plan to develop a total of 13 infrastructure projects with a total estimated cost of EUR1.2 billion. However, so far only EUR90 million of this sum has been guaranteed.
China has mainly invested in public projects in Guinea-Bissau, but the minister recalled that there are also public-private partnerships in which investment is needed. The minister hinted that they will try to attract additional Chinese investment while in town.
“The country needs stability, as no one would want to invest in an unstable country. We’re doing that now, and we are creating business opportunities and also studying the possibility to provide tax system advantages. We are also considering fiscal reform. Costs in infrastructure are high, but it is essential to our economic growth,” he recalled.
The ministerial meeting will be held tomorrow under the framework of the 6th International Infrastructure Investment and Construction Forum (IIICF), which begins today and will take place until Friday.
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