Just 10 per cent of factories in Sudan have resumed operations three years after the outbreak of war, according to Atif Abdel Qader of the Sudanese Industrial Chambers Union. He warned on Sunday, April 26, that banking bottlenecks, customs barriers and shortages of raw materials continue to hinder recovery.
Abdel Qader said his Sudanese-Malaysian Steel Industries plant only resumed production a week ago at an initial capacity of 7,000 tons per month, with plans to scale up to 12,000 tons. However, he highlighted persistent obstacles, including complex import procedures, high port storage costs and delays in securing essential documentation.
Some factories have taken more than 310 days to restart—far exceeding the expected 50-day timeline—due to war-related damage and logistical challenges. He urged authorities, particularly the Central Bank of Sudan, to introduce exemptions and ease access to production inputs.
Official data shows around 1,800 industrial facilities have been affected by the conflict, including 650 that were completely destroyed, with total sector losses estimated between $50 billion and $58 billion.
