Nova Cidade de Kilamba, or simply Kilamba is a large housing
development 30 km (18 miles) from Luanda, the capital city of Angola. It
is being built by the CITIC Group and is currently largely empty.
Kilamba was designed to accommodate 500,000 people and includes 750
eight-storey apartment blocks, over 100 commercial premises and a dozen
schools.
The cost is reported as US$3.5 billion, financed by a Chinese credit
line and repaid by the Angolan government with oil. It is probably one
of the largest construction projects in Africa.
As of July 2012, the buildings are largely complete but still
unoccupied. Only 220 apartments had been sold out of the first release
of 2,800. Sales have been slow because of the difficulty in obtaining
mortgage loans.
One school is in operation, but children are bussed in from other
areas as there are none living nearby. The government plans to use some
of the residential blocks as social housing.
Although Kilamba contributes to meeting the election pledge made by
President Jose Eduardo dos Santos in 2008 to build a million new homes
in four years, Angola does not have a large middle class able to buy
such homes.