Angola has invested nearly €280 million ($326 million) in a new Convention Palace in Luanda, seeking to strengthen business tourism and give the country a venue capable of hosting major international events.

The facility, inaugurated Monday by President João Lourenço, was built on land reclaimed from the sea over the past three years in the Chicala area of the capital. It is designed to accommodate thousands of delegates and provide Angola with a larger alternative to the tents and hotel ballrooms that have traditionally hosted major gatherings.

“Angola has opened itself to the world and, as a result, has been able to attract important international events particularly to its capital, Luanda,” Lourenço said during the inauguration.

He said the new venue provides the capacity, working space and comfort needed to host events on a much larger scale.

Convention center targets major events

The Luanda Convention Center covers about 80,000 square meters and is spread across three floors. Its main feature is a 3,000-seat amphitheater, which is expected to host delegates attending the 21st Extraordinary Session of the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government this weekend.

The complex also includes an oval hall with space for 420 people for executive meetings and summits, as well as a main atrium for receptions, social gatherings and other events.

The Convention Palace has 12 conference rooms, with the completed facilities able to accommodate up to 700 participants at the same time. Four of the rooms are still unfinished, while one completed room can seat 500 people.

Lourenço described the center as a facility that “dignifies the country” and said it would play an important role in Angola’s efforts to expand business tourism and the events industry.

Lourenço calls for hotel investment

The president also used the opening to urge private investors to put more money into hotels and other tourism infrastructure.

“Having this center is not enough,” Lourenço said, pointing to the limited number of hotels in Luanda and the need for more accommodation as Angola seeks to attract international conferences and business travelers.

“Now is the time to start investing seriously in hotels,” he said. “Luanda has few hotels; this is the opportunity for the private sector to invest in the sector.”

Lourenço linked the investment in the convention center to reforms introduced over several years to make Angola more attractive to businesses. Those measures include efforts to fight corruption, visa exemptions for citizens of about 90 countries and reforms intended to reduce bureaucracy in company registration and business operations.

The government now faces the task of ensuring that the new venue is supported by enough hotels, transport services and other tourism infrastructure to turn major events into sustained business for Luanda and the wider economy.