Attending the groundbreaking ceremony were Minister of Agriculture and Forestry of Angola Isaac Maria dos Anjos, Vietnamese Ambassador to Angola Duong Chinh Chuc, Chairman of Xuan Thien Group Nguyen Van Thien, General Director of Agribank Pham Toan Vuong and leaders of ministries, departments of Angola and Vietnam.
The Xixila cassava starch factory is one of the key items of the Agrostars Industrial Complex - a project invested by Agrostars Angola Company - Xuan Thien Group from Vietnam in partnership with Equity Group of Angola. When the plant comes into operation, it will implement international ESG-HSE standards in all activities. Xuan Thien Group and its partners also committed to increasing the transfer of agricultural techniques to farmers and local people; prioritizing recruitment, training, and employment of labor in Angola, purchasing local materials to develop the local economy; aiming for the goal of Angola's self-reliance in high-quality agriculture and for export.
The Xixila cassava starch factory has a production capacity of 1.6 million tons of cassava starch/year, with a total registered investment of 672 million USD. From this factory, the project will expand an additional factory to produce 200 million packages of instant noodles/year, an organic fertilizer factory - microorganisms 400,000 tons/year and 100,000 tons of cassava flour to supply the market as food for people. The total investment capital of the project will reach 750 million USD in the 2025-2029 progress plan. In phase one alone, 220,000 tons of cassava flour and cassava starch will be completed in the fourth quarter of 2026.
In Angola, Xuan Thien Group is considered a landmark enterprise a pioneering and exemplary partner of Vietnam. The success of Xuan Thien and Agrostars will contribute to raising the level of Vietnam's national brand in Africa; creating trust for the Vietnamese business community in Angola and the region; and affirming Vietnam's capacity in the fields of agriculture, forestry, processing industry and renewable energy. The Vietnamese Embassy in Angola will continue to fully accompany Xuan Thien, Agrostars and the business communities of the two countries throughout the project implementation process, Vietnamese Ambassador to Angola Duong Chinh Chuc shared at the groundbreaking ceremony.
Xuan Thien Group has more than a decade of investment experience in Africa and has officially started implementing exploitation projects in Angola since the beginning of 2023. In particular, Agrostars Industrial Complex is a large project, which is assessed to bring high value. The project focuses on developing according to four strategic pillars, while forming a sustainable agricultural - industrial ecosystem in Angola. The first is to develop large-scale cassava material areas, apply synchronous mechanics, nutrition management and traceability, towards stable productivity and quality. Second is to build a Xixila cassava starch factory with advanced and modern technology, meeting domestic and export demand. Third, developing areas for growing eucalyptus and precious wood species, serving the green industrial chain of Xuan Thien Group in the field of energy and materials. And especially the fourth strategic pillar, in the period of 2025-2027, Agrostars will invest in an organic fertilizer factory - with a capacity of 400,000 tons/year, taking advantage of byproducts from agricultural processing (skins, cassava, bio coal, fermented organic fertilizer) to create a closed circular economic model - "wasteless production, zero-emission agriculture".
To ensure a source of high-quality and sustainable raw materials for the entire agricultural - forestry value chain, in 2026, Agrostars will invest in building a modern seedling production center, with a capacity of 20 million seedlings of all kinds per year. This center will serve the needs of replanting, expanding the project's growing area and supporting high-quality varieties in Angola.
Thanks to this closed series of activities, the project will create about 95,000 direct and indirect jobs for local businesses and people; increase income and improve the lives of thousands of households; promote a regular rural economy and sustainable development; turn Cuanza Sul into a typical national industrial - agricultural center. With the development philosophy of "from land to land to land to people", Agrostars believes that this project will sow prosperous seeds, not only for Angola but also for the strong friendship between Vietnam and Angola in particular and Africa in general.
In the long term vision, Agrostars, Xuan Thien Group and Equity Group are coordinating with ministries, branches and local authorities to form Xuan Thien Agricultural - Forestry Special Zone in Cuanza Sul, Malanje and Uigge provinces, with a research area of about 6.8 million hectares and a total investment capital of up to 4.5 billion USD. This special zone is oriented as an open cooperation zone, minimizing administrative procedures, ensuring legal safety and investment, thereby inviting Vietnamese and international enterprises to invest in Angola in the fields of agriculture - forestry, deep processing and logistics infrastructure.
