MANUEL INOCENCIO SOUSA Minister of Infrastructure and Transport

The government has plans to develop the transport infrastructure for travel both around the archipelago and internationally.

Although Cape Verde has placed high importance on the development of its infrastructure since its independence in 1975, the archipelago is set to enter a new era in infrastructure investment that will support its bid to become a global multi-modal transport hub. The government’s focus is on boosting air and maritime transport in both an international and domestic context. Its ambitious plans have received support from the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation, which has approved a five-year $110 million grant. The majority of this backing will go towards ports expansion, as well as exciting developments in the aviation sector that include Cape Verde’s recent upgrade to Category 1 in the FAA’s Safe Skies for Africa program. The government aims to provide a more cohesive internal economy, facilitate the growth of tourism and increase the country’s significance as an international transit stop at the crossroads of mid-Atlantic air and sea-lanes.

“Today we are reaching a new stage in infrastructure investment, which is linked to both tourism and services, and in the near future visitors will discover a very modernized country,” says Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Manuel Sousa. “The goal is to convert Cape Verde into a transport hub as much for maritime as for air carriers.”

According to Minister Sousa, new airports in Praia, São Vicente and Boa Vista will offer direct flights to Europe, while existing airports for domestic flights will be upgraded to facilitate transfers within the archipelago. The road and bridge networks will be further expanded. He adds that the government is also interested in finding partners for plans to develop domestic maritime connectivity with new vehicle and passenger ferries, which he believes “would revolutionize Cape Verde by integrating all of the islands into a single economy through the increased movement of people and goods” and support a more harmonized economic development throughout the archipelago.