Icolo e Bengo Province

Icolo e Bengo borders the Angolan provinces of Luanda to the northwest, Bengo to the north, Cuanza Norte to the east, and Cuanza Sul to the south. It also borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The boundary between Icolo e Bengo and Luanda follows the Cuanza River, the Kikuxi Canal, and the and EN-100 highways. Icolo e Bengo is located on the floodplains of the Bengo, Cuanza and Longa rivers. The province is located in the Angolan Scarp savanna and woodlands ecoregion, and it contains Quiçama National Park. Icolo e Bengo experiences a tropical climate with summer rain. The interaction between the cold Benguela Current and warm equatorial waters produces mist, causing humidity in the area to stay high year-round while annual rainfall is low, ranging from . ==History==

On 14 August 2024, Angola's National Assembly approved a law to create three new provinces, including separating the less urbanized portions of Luanda Province from the city of Luanda to form the new province of Icolo e Bengo. This law went into effect with its publication in the official gazette of Angola on 5 September 2024. ==Administration==

Icolo e Bengo is divided into the seven municipalities of Bom Jesus, Cabiri, Cabo Ledo, Calumbo, Catete, Quiçama, and Sequele. Catete is further subdivided into the communes of Caculo Cahango, Cassoneca, Catete, and Caxicane; Quiçama is subdivided into the communes of Demba Chio, Mumbondo, Muxima, and Quixinge; and Sequele is subdivided into the communes of Funda, Quifangondo, and Sequele. ==Economy and infrastructure==

In contrast to the economy of Luanda, which is more oriented towards the service sector, Icolo e Bengo's economy is expected to focus more on agriculture and industry. Dr. Antonio Agostinho Neto International Airport is located in Icolo e Bengo. The highway and the Luanda Railway also run east to west across the northern part of the province. At the time of its establishment, Icolo e Bengo had three hospitals: one was in the capital of Catete, and two others had been recently constructed in Zango and Sequele. ==References==