Industry
Angola’s industrial reconstruction is a key step toward its economic development.
The Ministry of Industry developed the Master Plan for Reindustrialization (PDR), which aims as its main goals industrial development in the private sector and the formation of competitive companies. To that end, mechanisms will be developed to rehabilitate existing businesses, encourage the emergence of medium and small businesses, and, most importantly, attract foreign investment. As a result, this program will be able to cover other areas of activity.
After an exhaustive study of the industrial situation, the Angolan Ministry of Industry considers the referred program as «a strategic model for the development of this sector and adequate to the current circumstances». As a goal, it is intended to start the process of rehabilitation and recovery of industrial production, positioning it as the main engine of economic development in Angola.
Within these objectives, and because the Angolan industry is made up mostly of equipment over 25 years old, the Ministry created the PATIA (Program for Technological Actualization of Angolan Industry).
PATIA emphasizes that the Angolan industry is in the stages of the invention of the steam engine and the invention of the electric motor, and it is necessary to renovate the existing industrial park. PATIA was created to promote the technological updating of the Angolan industrial park, through the introduction of updated production equipment and economically profitable exploitation. This program will encourage the transfer of equipment from more technologically advanced countries, either through direct acquisition or in the form of foreign investment.
In this context, procedures will be developed to control the quality of the equipment to be introduced and its adequacy to the reality of the country’s industrial park. The equipment to be introduced – he warns – must not have a technical complexity that makes it difficult to maintain or that implies dependence on foreign labour.
PATIA will develop through the acquisition of second-hand assets, as it is a question of introducing intermediate technology. At a later stage, the introduction of computer-assisted means of production and the computerization of production processes are foreseen.
To support the creation of competitive companies, the Ministry of Industry created a support fund – FAEN – which is intended to help entrepreneurs who face cash flow problems or who wish to invest in the modernization or recovery of companies, as well as in innovative projects. FAEN also aims to reduce regional imbalances and promote the launch of new companies or the modernization of others.
The extractive, transformation and construction materials sectors constitute the three main axes into which Angolan industry is divided. The first covers the extraction of oil, natural gas, diamonds and marble, while the second covers metallurgy, metallic constructions, electrical, electronics, construction of transport materials, chemicals and rubber, wood and furniture, paper, glass and ceramics, textile, clothing, tanning, food, fisheries, beverages, coffee, sugar and tobacco. The last is the building materials industry, such as ceramics and cement.
