The first solid economic infrastructure of our municipality was El Aserradero, which began to be built in February 1938 and since neighbors from nearby places knew about its construction, they built modest houses in La Playa, Los Mangos, and other places around Moa that were practically uninhabited. The construction of the sawmill and its opening on November 7, 1939, caused workers from nearby areas to come to Moa in search of work.

In 1950 the Freeport Sulphur Company explored the Moa deposits and requested loans from Yankee banks to undertake a new project. In 1953 the company and other U.S. monopolistic interests operating in Moa, managed to set up a Loussiana pilot plant to process the mineral and a year later decided to install the plant in Cuba. In 1957 the construction of the factory begins and thousands of workers from other parts of the country come to Moa in search of employment, many of them bring their families and for this new housing is necessary. The factory is a gigantic work that requires the labor of thousands of workers, which at its peak reached six thousand and not only gave employment to the men of the region, but caused thousands of workers from other parts of the country to come and settle in Moa. When the Revolution triumphed, Moa was one of the best sources of employment in the country, and this facilitated the establishment of dozens of small businesses to provide services to the workers.

The fundamental economic base depends on mining. At the beginning of the revolution, this activity was sabotaged by imperialism, but the work of Cuban engineer Demetrio Presilla López put an end to these maneuvers and managed to make the nickel industry work. Then the Cuban state, supported by the former socialist camp, carried out a gigantic investment plan that consisted of the construction of two more nickel processing plants, one of which was completed, in addition to the mechanical industry to support the mining industry, for which a modern factory was built for that purpose.

The superstructure of the industry was completely enlarged, increasing the capacity of the port and in general the whole transportation system of the mineral and other products linked to the industrial process of Nickel. Considerable investments were made in the nickel industry. As part of this modernization, an airport was installed and highways were built, among them the one that joins Moa with Baracoa and Sagua de Tánamo.