Despite high maintenance costs, a result of the poor condition of the roads, by December, the company estimates it will reach 600 jobs, compared to the 142 created in 2021, as a result of new investments. Competition is what is not lacking in a market considered open
The maintenance costs of the bus fleet of the company Huambo Express, which operates in the interprovincial and urban road transport segment, weigh more than 30%, compared to the company’s other charges. This detail was advanced by the general director of Huambo Express, Fabrício Herbstrith.
The manager states that these costs are related to the import of parts and equipment for bus maintenance. However, he highlights that the roads are causing high levels of wear and tear on the fleet. “We have good roads in some sections of the road, but in many places everything is bad. One of these roads is the one that connects Benguela to Huambo, where many of our vehicles pass. This fact means that maintenance has a lot of weight in our annual bills, which can be above 30%”, he lamented. He stressed that, given the number of drivers involved, they also represent a great burden.
As an example, he said that on the Luanda – Namibe route they change drivers in three cities, namely Sumbe, Benguela and Lubango. To ensure the normal operation of the buses, Fábricio said that “a 40-foot container made up of replacement material is currently arriving from China. This is an expense of more than 100 thousand dollars”, he said, adding that the order consists of glass, windshields, filters, tires and more, not counting the investments of 1 million and 300 thousand dollars, and 1 million and 600 thousand, to acquire new rolling stock, with the aim of doubling the fleet, which went from 42 to 70 buses
500 million Kwanzas for each new terminal
As part of its expansion process across the country, Huambo Express is opening new passenger terminals, equipped with various services. The company is investing, on average, 500 million Kwanzas, as stated by Fabrício Herbstrith. “We will open terminals in Mbanza Congo, Luvo and Nzeto, in the province of Zaire, later this year, and in January of next year, Uíge and Malanje will have terminals with interprovincial connections”, he indicated, adding that in December this year it will be opened the Santa Clara terminal, in the province of Cunene, in the extreme south of the country, when Namibe recently opened its terminal. The average, in terms of jobs created, is 20 per terminal. “These investments allowed us to go from 142 employees to 528 in two years of operations. By the end of the year we can reach 600 employees”, he admitted.
Healthy competition
The Road Passenger Transport market is competed for by other companies, with Macon being the leader, in terms of circulating means, connections across the country and terminals, in competition with Ango-Real, Rosalina Express, CB&B and others. On the subject, Fabrício Herbstrith says that “we have an open market where the provision of a satisfactory service will make all the difference”.
“But the market is good. We talk to our competitors and talk a lot about our activity”, he highlighted. On the other hand, the manager understands that greater investment is needed in the transport sector, with the acquisition of more buses for the urban and inter-provincial segments, without neglecting improving roads. “The land passenger transport sector in Angola is still fertile. It needs more investment in basic infrastructure, such as roads”, he indicated.
