6 Smart and futuristic city Projects in Africa

New smart cities are beginning to appear across the African continent. These new cities reflect past trends in Europe and Dubai. There are fears that the cities are profit-driven enterprises and will appeal only to a privileged minority. These cities have been perceived to ignore the plethora of issues such as poverty and poor health that blight the continent. On the contrary, smart cities are investments that pave way for more investments that can impact the economy in a positive way. Before we hop on this countdown, kindly subscribe to our channel if you're new here and turn on our notification bell to always get notified each time we drop a video. Stay tuned. Acorn City In year 2018, international multi-award-winning artist and producer Acorn announced the Acorn City project which is a futuristic smart city with location in Senegal, Africa. The project has been grouped in three phases, with the first phase of construction to begin in the first quarter of 2021 and completed in 2023. This first phase will include construction of roads, a campus, a hospital, a mall, residences, hotels, a police station, a school, a landfill for waste, and a solar plant to power the city with. Residents of the new city will use an app-based cryptocurrency called Acoin to build the city's economy. Mentioning the digital currency for the first time in 2018, Acorn said citizens of the city could utilize it in ways where they can advance themselves and grow the city. The Wakanda-like city is valued at $6 billion. According to Acorn, 20% of the required investment is already available. Kunzha Technopolis City, Kenya Located 60 km from the center of Nairobi, Kunzha Techno City in Kenya is already famous as the Silicon Valley of Africa. The Kenyan government plans to complete the techno city sometime after 2030. The $14 billion satellite city will gather data from smart devices and sensors embedded in roadways and buildings, enabling optimization of traffic and infrastructure, smart communication services, and improved citizen participation. According to the smart city plan, the availability of data will enable Kunzha's population to participate directly in the operations of the city, practice more sustainable living patterns, and enhance overall inclusiveness. The site, spread across 5,000 acres, will not only be a center of technology and education, but will provide new homes and leisure activities with shopping malls and other amenities. Tatu City, Kenya This 5,000-acre development is among the largest private foreign direct investment in Kenya. Tatu City has grown to be one of the most promising urban developments in Africa, with its long-term goal of decongesting the crowded capital of Nairobi. It aims to be a new urban center outside the capital of Nairobi, and businesses are already located in the locality. In an attempt to lure companies, the city has a special economic status providing lower business taxes. Home to more than 150,000 residents, Tatu City was initiated by Rendevoir, one of Africa's largest property developers. This city offers amenities such as homes, schools, offices, a shopping district, medical clinics, nature areas, a sports and entertainment complex, and a manufacturing area. Tatu City represents a new way of living and thinking for all Kenyans, creating a unique live, work and play environment that is free from traffic congestion and long-distance commuting. Vision City, Rwanda Just outside of Rwanda's capital, Kigali, is Vision City, the country's largest housing project. It is part of the government's strategy to embrace smart cities. The town square will have free Wi-Fi and street lamps will be solar-powered. Vision City is a multi-phase housing development in Kigali, Rwanda, currently being built by Ultimate Developers Limited for the Rwanda Social Security Board. At 4,500 units and a total cost of $150 million, it is the largest residential housing project in the country's history. Work began on the project in November 2013. The first phase consists of 504-unit apartments aimed at high-income earners. This has caused some criticisms due to the Kigali's need for low-income housing. After missing the original completion date of mid-August 2016, the first phase was finished by July 2017 with around 30% initial occupancy. According to the developers, the next planned construction phase is a town center including of stores, restaurants, banking and educational services. Centenary City Projects Centenary City is the largest and most expensive construction project in Nigeria. It is estimated to cost $18 billion to construct. It is a planned city located at the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria. Centenary City is a master-planned development overseen by Centenary City developers in a joint venture agreement with Centenary City PLC and Front Range developers as part of Nigeria's vision to create the city of the future along the same lines as Dubai, Monaco and Singapore. The city is to be built from scratch on 1,260 hectares of virgin land located several kilometers southeast of Nigeria's capital Abuja and five kilometers from the international airport. The city will have a mixed-use urban center, a central business district and a financial center. Centenary City has been declared an economic city and approved for free trade zone status by Nigerian Export Processing Zone Authority. Eco-Atlantic City Being built on the 10 square kilometers of reclaimed land from the Atlantic Ocean, Nigeria's Eco-Atlantic City is officially an international commerce city in Nigeria and will be the smartest city in Africa. Eco-Atlantic is a privately funded project in partnership with the Lagos State Government. Once finished, it plans to be home to a quarter of a million people. This ambitious tech forward hub is following closely to the footsteps of predecessors like Dubai and Singapore. This is the reason why Eco-Atlantic is known as the Dubai of Africa. This city is bringing a new model in Africa where urban governance is shared between the private and public sectors. The city has already become an active value for popular Afro concerts and sports events like the Lagos City Marathon and Copa Lagos. Billed as the largest real estate project in Africa, Eco-Atlantic is being built on tons of sand dredged from the Atlantic Ocean off the coast. According to Bloomberg, Eco-Atlantic City's completion year is 2023. These steps are all about investment and growth. Billions of dollars have been put into these projects and we hope to see that these moves will yield as expected. 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