Angola: expanding an industry
Since 2002, Angola has been recovering from the wounds left after almost 30 years of civil war. The entire country’s infrastructure was destroyed and had to be rebuilt, creating a huge pressure on cement consumption. The cement industry sector has developed fast and the country is now self-sufficient. By Guilherme Paiva, Cimenfort, Angola & Luis Silva, Nova Cimangola, Angola.
After its independency in 1975 from Portugal, Angola fell into a civil war that finally ended in 2002. During the decades of conflict, around 3.8m people were displaced, mainly towards Luanda, which explains why around a third of the population or 6m live near the capital today. In addition, the war also damaged the country’s infrastructure, prevented maintenance or simply rendered it obsolete.