Angola’s Minister for Planning and Territorial Development, Job Graça, said the country’s agriculture sector is set to grow about 12 percent in 2015, contributing to a 9.7 percent growth in gross domestic product (GDP). Construction, crude oil, manufacturing and commercial services will also be important contributors to the country’s GDP, Mr Graça said, according to Angola’s news agency Angop.

These sectors contribute to about 89 percent of Angola’s GDP, the Minister told members of the Parliament’s Fifth Commission, which is currently examining the State Budget for 2015.

Mr Graça said the expected expansion of the agricultural sector is the result of the modernisation of several projects and the consolidation of some medium- and large-scale agricultural projects.

In 2015, the crude oil industry is forecast to expand by 10.7 percent, Mr Graça told legislators. The expected growth will come from the increase in production at blocks 17, 18 and 31, which account for about 60 percent of Angola’s oil production.

The Minister also said that the manufacturing industry should grow about 10.7 percent while the construction sector is forecast to expand by 11.2 percent in 2015.

For 2015, the government is forecasting revenues of 4.1 billion Angolan Kwanza (US$40.6 million) and expenditure of 5.2 billion Angolan Kwanza, accounting for 31 percent and 38.7 percent of the country’s GDP, respectively.