Domingos told Angolan news agency Angop on Monday that the work involved upgrading three petrol tanks, one with a 60 cubic metre capacity and two with 203 cubic metres each, while a 151 cubic metre tank will be used to store diesel fuel.

The work is being carried out by the company GDK-Angola. The first phase began in May 2008 and included restoring a tank able to hold 25 cubic metres of kerosene and construction of the filling island for loading and unloading tank trucks.

Domingos said the work was progressing at a good pace and that the only problem was due to delays in clearing equipment through customs at the port of Luanda.

The second phase is already under way and includes construction of an administrative building and vehicle maintenance shop. A parking lot with capacity for 20 tank trucks is still unfinished, as is a second unloading platform meant to service tank cars pertaining to the Luanda Railways.

Construction is under way on three more diesel tanks with capacity to hold 250 cubic metres each, and on one each for gasoline and kerosene with the same dimensions, Domingos said.

When the work is completed, Sonangol’s Lucala storage terminal will be able to store 1,933 cubic metres of fuel, versus the previous 433 cubic metres, he added.

The Sonangol gas and fuel storage terminal in Lucala municipality of Angola’s Cuanza Norte province was built in 1957 but severely damaged during the country’s civil war.