Work to refurbish, expand and modernise textile factory África Têxtil in Angola is being carried out at a satisfactory rate and will make it possible to re-launch cotton spinning and weaving within a year, the provincial director for Industry, geology and Mining said in Benguela.

The work, which is part of the government programme to re-launch the textile industry, is in its third phase, and involves refurbishment and repair of the old factory and construction of another unit over an area of 30,000 square metres.

Augusta Pinto told Angolan news agency Angop that once work was finished África Têxtil would open with two working lines, one of which will have capacity to produce 350,000 bed covers and 100,000 towels per year.

According to the director for Industry, Geology and Mining the first stage of this project, which is being carried out by a Japanese company, involved removal of obsolete equipment from the old factory and cleaning up the area to make it easier to carry out building work.

África Têxtil, which is located in the Fronteira neighbourhood in Benguela, started operating in 1974 and work came to a halt between 1998 and 199 and the factory filed for bankruptcy in 2000.

The Angolan government has invested in cotton production in the provinces of Kwanza Sul and Malanje by setting up cotton processing and spinning factories with a view to meeting demand from the national textile industry, which is also being re-launched. (macauhub)