port city, western Angola, on the Atlantic coast just north of the Catumbela estuary. Its bay, one of Africa's finest natural harbours, is protected by a 3-mile- (5-km-) long sandspit. The city, built on the sandspit and reclaimed land, was founded in 1843 by order of Maria II of Portugal, and its harbour works were begun in 1903.
Development, however, was not stimulated until the completion in 1928 of the important Benguela Railway, which connected Lobito with the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo).
For many decades the port was one of Angola's busiest, exporting agricultural produce from the interior and handling transit trade from the mines of southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and of Zambia. Lobito's port activities were somewhat limited by disruptions to railway transit during Angola's civil war (1975–2002), but the port rebounded following the end of the war. In addition to being home to one of Angola's primary ports, the city is an important industrial centre and has manufactures that include small ships, refined sugar, canned fish, and building materials. Pop. (2004 est.) 137,400.
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