Outside
of Luanda (Angola’s Capital city), China has recently built a giant ghost
town. Known as Nova Cidade de Kilamba,
it is a residential development with 12 schools, 750 apartment buildings, and over
a hundred stores. Chinese firms have
constructed this 3.5 billion dollar project, and several other cities like it
across Angola. This particular city was
built to house around half a million people, and covers about 12,355 acres.
The
city and its complexes are very nice, especially in comparison to where the
large majority of Angolan’s live, so it would appear that this project would
help Angolans. However, the GDP per
capita in Angola is just over $5,000 and the apartments cost between $120,000
and $200,000 which is of course far out of the reach of most Angolans.
Why
then, would the Chinese build these cities?
With Angola serving as China’s largest supplier of oil in Africa, it is
likely China is investing in Angola to gain further favor with the Angolan
officials and the people. Just like the
U.S. and the USSR did during the Cold War (and as the US and Russia still do in
many ways to this day), China is investing in a country to help ensure a strong
a economy that will further benefit them as it grows.
I chose this article, because
presented a fine example of China’s economic investments in Africa, as well as
its ever growing presence on the continent. With some of China's investments falling off (as seen in Mauritania with the railway project), and others failing, it is hard to say whether or not these new cities will have any sort of positive impact on Angola. Judging my the mere cost of the apartment's and the limited success of similar cities in China, my vote is for no.
By: Mamta Badkar
Interesting. I'm not really familiar with business, but I'm wondering why it would be beneficial to spend $3.5 billion on a development where you know your investment won't be returned. I don't really understand the motive here for Chinese firms. Is the Angolan government paying Chinese firms to build it? Otherwise I don't really know why this would occur. The article isn't terribly clear.
ReplyDeleteCharlotte, I imagine you're right; the Angolan government is paying Chinese firms for these projects. The article says its part of president Dos Sanos' "Kilamba social housing project".
ReplyDeleteI think this was a really interesting post. This looks like a shocking waste of resources, and seems to be motivated by the "marshall plan" type thinking that has made aid so ineffective in Africa . I'm writing my country report on Angola and this is a good example of waste and corruption under the dos Santos regime. I'll probably use this in my paper, thanks!
China may invest large amounts of money in Angola, however, they are not going to invest in a project where they will not get a return profit. China may seek resources but their pattern of investment across African countries has shown that their investments are not based on resources but on the political structure of the country.
ReplyDeleteKyle, I agree with you. China picks its countries closely and carefully. This is interesting. China is cementing itself before the party happens, first in line. I would like to see how this ghost town is in the future. Maybe a future haven for rich Chinese?
ReplyDeleteThis article is very interesting. Like some of you said above, it doesn't make sense why China would build these towns when they wont see a return on their investment. Unless there countries are giving them oil and these projects do not represented an even exchange even those the price of these homes are high. From what we've learned this semester on the aid that China gives to Africa, they do not seemed concerned with actually improvements in the country but rather just the exchange of goods. The idea of exchange of goods and services rather than monetary exchange is great in theory but does not seem optimal when there types of stories are reported. I wonder how the states react to this? Doesn't seem like an country and understand how to give aid and it be entirely effective.
ReplyDeleteAs you have all mentioned, I also find it perplexing that the Chinese would invest in such a 'dead end' project. While it does provide the country with a lot of jobs when creating an entire town, I assume they intend on creating a return investment. As Emmanuel mentioned, maybe it's going to be a future hot spot for the Chinese. Another possibility is that as Angola is China's top oil-producing country in Africa, they are simply preparing for the large influx of oil executives and their families that will be moving their in the future. Clearly the article (or China) is not letting the rest of us in on something. We all know China is much smarter than to simply build a ghost town.
ReplyDelete