Cabinda — The new Tchiowa Ro-Pax ferryboat, which arrived in Angola's northern Province of Cabinda on Friday to strengthen the northern region's coastal shipping network, will transport 1,280 tonnes of assorted goods per week.

The figures were provided to the press by Cabinda Provincial Secretary for Transport, Traffic and Urban Mobility António Custódio.

He said the vessel, which has a capacity of 640 tonnes of assorted cargo, 430 passengers, 168 light vehicles and 24 containerised lorries per trip, will operate on Mondays and Thursdays.

António Custódio assured that ticket prices remained in line with the operator's official tariff, with economy-class tickets costing 22,000 kwanzas and executive-class tickets 35,000 kwanzas.

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The official acknowledged that the ferryboat would boost territorial mobility, mitigate Cabinda's geographical isolation and facilitate the movement of goods and trade in the region.

He urged businesspeople to make greater use of the vessel to transport goods, particularly basic foodstuffs, as it is safe, fast and involves less bureaucracy.

"We are confident that, from now on, many operators will prefer to put their lorries loaded with goods on the vessel rather than travel through the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, due to the excessive number of checks along the route," he stressed.

Operated by the state-owned company Secil Marítima, the new strategic investment by the Ministry of Transport cost more than 12 billion kwanzas. JFC/DC/DOJ