Angola Projects a 16.5% Growth in 2008

Angola expects to see a 16.5 percent growth rate in 2008 due the its lucrative oil exports, a senior official has said in Maputo

“We are projecting a growth rate of 16.5 percent in 2008 due oil exports which are currently on demand,” Angola’s deputy Finance Minister, Job Graca, told APA Thursday in the Mozambican capital on the sidelines of the African Development Bank meeting.

The former Portuguese colony’s high growth rate is driven by its oil sector, with record oil prices and rising petroleum production.

Oil production in Angola increased by 20 percent in 2007 versus 13.1 percent in 2006.

Oil production and its supporting activities contribute about 85 percent of GDP which supported growth averaging more than 15 percent per year from 2004 to 2007.

A postwar reconstruction boom and resettlement of displaced persons has led to high rates of growth in construction and agriculture as well.

Much of the country’s infrastructure is still damaged or undeveloped after the 27-year-long civil war which ended in 2002.

Source African Press Agency

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