Victor Viana, Managing Partner, Scontrading

As Angola’s economy shifts into high gear, the government is leading investment in infrastructure, transportation, and housing construction. While the petroleum and diamond industries are fueling growth and filling government coffers, new infrastructure facilities are helping diversify the economy and put Angola on a more sustainable path to development.

Since Angola’s civil war ended in 2002, physical reconstruction has accompanied political reconciliation. In 2006, President Jose Eduardo de los Santos announced the “Rebuilding the Nation” initiative to construct roads, bridges, telecommunications and electricity projects. The National Development Bank, also launched in 2006, will channel up to 5 percent of the country’s oil and gas revenues into supporting economic diversification. More recently, the government has expanded housing construction by creating an open real estate market. A new housing law, passed in 2007, streamlines the legal framework for housing construction while extending access to housing for disadvantaged groups.

Luanda, the country’s capital and chief port city, is the focus of many of these infrastructure renewal programs. New housing is a particularly pressing need in a city of five million that was originally built to hold only 500,000. A new airport will connect Luanda with the world, and rebuilt roads will connect the capital with Angola’s other major cities in Benguela and Lubango.

Rebuilding a country is a tall order, but local Angolan enterprises are thriving on the challenge. “Today, this market is far more competitive that it was years ago, without any doubt” says Victor Viana, Managing Director of Scontrading LDA. “We can already feel the competition between construction companies, as there are quite a large number of these in the market.”

Now one of Angola’s larger construction firms and a homegrown success story, Scontrading has funded 20 years of growth with its own resources. “We never count on the government or on any financial institution for financial backup. We began with small construction projects and grew, and today we have reached the same place as larger companies” says Mr. Viana.

The range of projects that Scontrading has under development reflects the range of opportunities present in Angola’s housing sector. Mr. Viana outlines a small part of his company’s busy schedule: “We now have several buildings under construction in Luanda, and we are also involved in the construction of a condominium that will be composed of 130 medium-sized houses. We are also concluding another 12-storey building in the centre of Maianga, which will have both offices and living accommodation.”

With so many opportunities, Angola’s own enterprises will have to step up to benefit from increased international investment. “We all have an interest in seeing Angolans lead their own businesses, obtain training and position themselves as heads of projects”, believes Mr. Viana. “The country needs the presence of competent and skilled citizens at all levels.”