Shanghai Zendai to Develop $7.8 Billion ‘New York of Africa’

After purchasing a $104.6 million plot of land in Johannesburg, a spokesperson for real-estate developer Shanghai Zendai Property has said that the company plans to invest $7.8 billion over 15 years to turn it into the “New York of Africa.”

Chairman Dai Zhikang said on November 5 that in addition to a finance and trade center, an exhibition center, and an African culture theme park, it plans to develop ten hotels, ten shopping malls, an industrial center, and 33,000 units of residential housing on the plot of land purchased from South Africa’s AECI Limited.

This is Shanghai Zendai’s first foray into Africa, where Chinese firms are ratcheting up investment in fields from natural gas to consumer goods. The property developer hopes to transform its new holding into a hub for Chinese companies investing in the continent. “It will become the future capital of the whole of Africa,” Dai said of the development.