Angola's Chinese-Built Ghost Town
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk
#ghosttown #kilamba #angola #china #realestate #economy #construction
Designed to house up to half a million people, China's largest new "satellite city" project, the city Kilamba in Africa remains a ghost town due to high living costs and failed access to bank credit, reported The CNN.
Perched in an isolated spot some 30 kilometers outside Angola's capital, Luanda, Nova Cidade de Kilamba is a brand-new mixed residential development of 750 apartment buildings, a dozen schools and more than 100 retail units. Designed to house up to half a million people when complete, Kilamba has been built by the state-owned China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC) in under three years at a reported cost of US$ 3.5 billion. Spanning 5000 hectares, the development is the largest of several new "satellite cities" being constructed by Chinese firms around Angola, and it is believed to be one of the largest new-build projects on the continent. However, after sales start revealed, that two-thirds of Angolans cannot afford Kilamba's apartments which are advertised online as being between US$ 120and US$ 200 thousand.
The jewel in Angola's post-war reconstruction crown, Kilamba is the star of glossy government promotional videos which show smiling families enjoying a new style of living away from the dust and confusion of central Luanda where millions live in sprawling slums. But the people in these films are only actors, and despite all the hype, nearly a year since the first batch of 2800 apartments went on sale, only 220 have been sold.
Apartments at Kilamba are being advertised online costing between US$ 120 and US$ 200 thousand - well out of reach of the estimated two-thirds of Angolans who live on less than US$ 2 a day. However, Paulo Cascao, general Manager at Delta Imobiliaria, the real estate agency handling the sales, told the BBC that the problem was not the price, but difficulty in accessing bank credit.
Now the authorities are planning rent houses for long term, but BBC experts believe that it will not help to improve the situation as the majority of Angolan citizens are too poor and the rich part of the population is interested only in luxury accommodation.
Perched in an isolated spot some 30 kilometers outside Angola's capital, Luanda, Nova Cidade de Kilamba is a brand-new mixed residential development of 750 apartment buildings, a dozen schools and more than 100 retail units. Designed to house up to half a million people when complete, Kilamba has been built by the state-owned China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC) in under three years at a reported cost of US$ 3.5 billion. Spanning 5000 hectares, the development is the largest of several new "satellite cities" being constructed by Chinese firms around Angola, and it is believed to be one of the largest new-build projects on the continent. However, after sales start revealed, that two-thirds of Angolans cannot afford Kilamba's apartments which are advertised online as being between US$ 120and US$ 200 thousand.
The jewel in Angola's post-war reconstruction crown, Kilamba is the star of glossy government promotional videos which show smiling families enjoying a new style of living away from the dust and confusion of central Luanda where millions live in sprawling slums. But the people in these films are only actors, and despite all the hype, nearly a year since the first batch of 2800 apartments went on sale, only 220 have been sold.
Apartments at Kilamba are being advertised online costing between US$ 120 and US$ 200 thousand - well out of reach of the estimated two-thirds of Angolans who live on less than US$ 2 a day. However, Paulo Cascao, general Manager at Delta Imobiliaria, the real estate agency handling the sales, told the BBC that the problem was not the price, but difficulty in accessing bank credit.
Now the authorities are planning rent houses for long term, but BBC experts believe that it will not help to improve the situation as the majority of Angolan citizens are too poor and the rich part of the population is interested only in luxury accommodation.
