Angola is punctuated by armoured-vehicle wrecks and weaponry that is no longer used, even though its civil war ended more than 10 years ago. However, plans are finally in place to put the war scrap to a more productive use – by recycling it into steel for the country’s first steel mill.

The US$300 million Aceria de Angola mill will be supported by the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, in an effort to support a shift away from Angola’s oil dependency. According to a CNN report, the nation currently relies on imports for steel, while oil – which once accounted for 95% of its export revenue during a post-war boom – has since seen a price drop in excess of 70%.

Reportedly the largest steel mill in West and Central Africa, the facility is expected to produce 280 000 tons in its first year, and a half a million tons thereafter.

8 March 2016
Image: Gallo/Getty Images