The Angolan Government decided on May 5, 2004 to sell to Portugal’s cement producer Secil 51 per cent of the Angolan cement plant Encime located in the port city of Lobito, northwestern Angola. The decision for the sale puts an end of the current contract for management between Secil and the Angolan government, and also regulates Angola’s debt to the Portuguese company.
Secil entered the Angolan cement market in September 2000 after signing an agreement with the Angolan government to run the Lobito plant for 10 years. Secil currently controls 70 per cent of Tecnosecil, the company through which it operates in Angola. At present, Secil operates three cement plants in Portugal and one in Tunisia, all of which with a total capacity of 5.3Mt of cement. Secil controls also 20 per cent in a Lebanon cement plant.