China building mega cities but they remain empty And In Africa

China building mega cities but they remain empty And In Africa

18ywlj6oauftnjpg

Anyone who has been to Luanda knows that the city lacks housing. The hotels are extremely expensive, and researchers have been known to rent a room in someone’s house for $100 a day. Angolan president Jose dos Santos pledged to build a million new homes, between 2008 and 2012. Kilamba City was part of that promise. The idea of constructing a new town, Kilamba City, 20 km outside Luanda, where flats would be available for purchase, seemed like a good one.

A Frenchman, Pierre Falcon, the famous architect of the “Angola-gate” arms trade and corruption scandal, owns the company that oversaw the project: Pierson Capital Group. The complex was financed by ICBC, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, allegedly backed by oil-revenues. CITIC built the flats. The state-owned oil Angola was in charge of marketing the apartments (they would use those revenues to repay the loan). Chinese firms built Kilamba. And then the apartments seemed to stand empty. Visiting Western journalists photographed the long, lonely expanses of buildings. Kilamba City was filled, it seemed, by ghosts.
Kilamba: credit Voice of America

Until recently. Or so it seems. According to the official Angolan news agency, some 40,000 people moved into Kilamba after their families took advantage of long-term, low-cost mortgages to buy flats with prices ranging from US$70,000 to US$140,000. One account said people are standing in line for days to buy one (photo left).
The news stories on Kilamba, the “ghost town” mainly date from 2012. If it is actually now becoming a thriving town, why hasn’t anyone gone back to report on it?

Readers: have you seen Kilamba? Your comments and stories are very welcome.

18yw7jrxeh4hmjpg 18yw7kzc39bscjpg 18yw7lsxoy45hjpg 18ywa5psfmr0yjpg 18ywa6nbv8sh0jpg 18ywa523xnwc4jpg 18ywb50g65u7pjpg 18ywb67v3slj5jpg 18ywbb5fsblpvjpg 18ywbc1079tdijpg 18ywbcqnldt1xjpg 18ywbdk96cksyjpg 18ywcfnjpcoiwjpg 18ywk6oi152aljpgimage

https://www.google.com/search?q=brand+new+empty+city+in+china&newwindow=1&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=JcUZVb7bDZHlsAS_noLoDQ&ved=0CDwQsAQ&biw=1920&bih=857#imgdii=_

Author: tatoott1009.com