As part of a reelection campaign in 2008, Angola’s long serving president, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, committed to build one-million homes within four years for Angola’s long-suffering population. The new town of Kilamba, 30km south of Luanda, was to be the flagship of this million-homes program, intended to accommodate a population of 500,000 residents. The first phase of the project was built in just over four years for $3.5 billion by China’s state-owned CITIC Group in partnership with Sonangol, the public agency in control of Angola’s oil resources. Four years after dos Santos’ declaration, hundreds of apartment buildings had been constructed, but remained largely unoccupied. Sales were slow due to the affordability of the housing units for the average Angolan. As a result, prices of the smallest units were reduced, and in turn Kilamba’s population increased to 80,000 in 2015, still well-below the original planning. With ongoing financial difficulties amongst the Angolan middle class, and few job opportunities for residents of the new town, Kilamba struggles to resolve the housing shortage it sought to improve.
