Dubai Investments, a diversified investment group listed on the Dubai Financial Market, has entered into a strategic partnership with Angola’s Sovereign Wealth Fund (FSDEA) to deliver large-scale real estate developments in Luanda Province. The agreement signals a concerted effort to advance sustainable urbanisation and stimulate investment in Angola’s capital city, aligning with broader regional goals of economic diversification and urban transformation.
The first phase of the collaboration will centre on the development of Cazanga Island within the Luanda Archipelago. The project is expected to generate opportunities for residential, urban, and tourism-oriented developments that draw upon the island’s natural resources, coastal setting, and cultural value.
The agreement was formalised by Khalid Bin Kalban, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Investments, and Armando Manuel, Chairman of FSDEA, in the presence of Manuel Canguezeze, Angola’s Secretary of State for Urban Planning. According to Dubai Investments, the initiative builds on its prior work in the country, particularly through DIP Angola, a mixed-use hub inspired by its flagship development in the United Arab Emirates. The company has more than three decades of experience in delivering urban projects and has positioned the venture as part of a wider commitment to supporting sustainable community building across Africa.
For FSDEA, the partnership strengthens efforts to mobilise international capital and technical expertise to support the domestic economy. Since its inception in 2012, the fund has managed assets with the mandate to stimulate diversification and ensure long-term financial sustainability for Angola. Armando Manuel emphasised the real estate and tourism sectors as pivotal to reshaping Luanda’s urban landscape while enhancing the value of its coastline and cultural heritage.
Angola’s government, represented at the signing by Secretary of State Manuel Canguezeze, underscored the importance of the agreement in attracting investment that can raise the architectural quality and property standards in Luanda. The involvement of a special purpose vehicle, holding land rights for designated areas, is expected to streamline development and guarantee coordinated urban planning.
The collaboration reflects Angola’s ongoing urban transformation efforts, which have accelerated since the country began prioritising infrastructure modernisation and foreign investment. It also highlights the increasing role of Gulf capital in African markets, a trend further reinforced by the UAE–Angola Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) signed in 2024, aimed at deepening trade and investment flows between the two nations.
This partnership between Dubai Investments and FSDEA illustrates a broader pan-African trajectory: the merging of local capacity with international finance to stimulate sustainable development. While it is positioned as a commercial undertaking, it also reflects wider debates across the continent about urban growth, resource management, and the balance between global capital flows and domestic priorities. The Luanda project thus situates Angola within Africa’s wider urbanisation narrative, one that is neither singularly Western in outlook nor detached from local realities.
