In the heart of Khartoum State's main industrial zone, an engineer works on a damaged machine, armed with pliers and cables, hoping to revive a production line destroyed by more than two years of war. The scene illustrates the slow and perilous attempt at economic recovery in a Sudanese capital ravaged by the conflict between the regular army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Many workers have begun returning, albeit tentatively, to clear rubble, repair equipment, and assess the damage. Factories, abandoned since the first offensives in 2023, still bear the scars of war: collapsed structures, charred machinery, and looted inventory. Yet some manufacturers refuse to give up and hope to resume production by the end of the year.
Among them, a large industrial conglomerate, once a flagship of local production, has already begun partial rehabilitation work. "We are trying to restart at least one production line before the end of the year," said a group official. The goal: to restart the production of essential goods in a country where imports are paralyzed and the economy has collapsed under the weight of the conflict.
Since the start of the fighting in April 2023, Khartoum's industrial base has been almost entirely destroyed. The war has caused a mass exodus of workers, the destruction of energy and logistics infrastructure, and the closure of most businesses. The few remaining sites are now operating at very low capacity, often without a stable supply of electricity or raw materials.
Despite everything, hope is reborn among some entrepreneurs and engineers, driven by the conviction that economic reconstruction will be essential to the country's survival. "It's not just a question of machines, it's a question of dignity," explains a technician we met on site. "If we can restart even a small part of production, it will prove that we are not defeated."
As war continues to rage in several regions of Sudan, industrial reconstruction efforts in Khartoum symbolize the resilience of a population that, despite destruction and fear, seeks to rebuild, stone by stone, a semblance of normality amidst the chaos.
