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The cement boom

In both Angola and Congo-Kinshasa, public works produce surprising profits for well-connected cement producers, but an oil-fired building boom requires a lot of cement. Angola's Minister of Public Works, General Francisco Higino Lopes Carneiro, said in late 2008 that the country needed 4.5 million tonnes of cement a year, of which local manufacturers had the capacity to produce only a third. These are Nova Cimangola, turning out about 1.25 mn. tn., and Secil-Companhia de Cimentos do Lobito, with about 280,000 tn. The two companies also control the import trade; according to Carneiro, Nova Cimangola brings in 2.5 mn. tn. a year, Secil Lobito 500,000 tn....

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The cement boom

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