The project is being developed by a joint venture led by Quenda Business, a Polish project management, international business advisory and consulting company that operates across sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Quenda’s partner is Polish contractor Torhamer, a specialist in rail and infrastructure.
Standard Chartered bank is acting as the social loan coordinator, bookrunner and coordinating bank, supported by the Polish export credit agency Korporacja Ubezpieczeń Kredytów Eksportowych (KUKE).
The combination of KUKE and commercial financing helps the Angolan Ministry of Finance access long-term finding for key infrastructure at a competitive pricing level, according to Standard Chartered.
The University of Namibe extension is a priority education project in Angola, aligned with the government of Angola's plan to improve its education and fisheries sectors. As a public university, the project will contribute to the revitalisation of the Namibe fishing and marine industry.
The university offers academic and professional training in fishery, technology, humanities and nature.
Standard Chartered says the funding will help complete the construction of a fully functional university campus and have a significant impact on the local economy of the city of Moçâmedes and the surrounding Namibe region.
Access to higher education, which was previously only available in other major cities, will be available locally, encouraging young people to stay in southern Angola.
The arrival of university teachers and staff will increase demand for goods and services, and the facilities are expected to create new permanent jobs for locals. The project offers an opportunity to establish an alliance between higher vocational education and industry through student internships which are of essential importance in fishery training programmes.
KUKE chief executive Janusz Wladyczak said: “This project shows that Polish companies can win contracts on markets where they have been present only marginally so far. KUKE played here an important role by connecting the participants and securing the financing. We are proud that after being involved in developing maternity hospitals in Ivory Coast, we support another project with such positive impact on local community in Africa.”
This transaction follows the recent announcement of €238m (£204m) of ECA-supported financing for the government of Angola to build new infrastructure, supporting the country’s agricultural industry and transport network. In September 2021, the Bank also announced US$1.1bn of financing to develop critical water supply infrastructure to serve the Angolan capital Luanda.
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