22 Sep 2019 - CAR (Bangui)
James Whitmee
I am in Bangui in Central African Republic looking at the real estate market.
The city has an attractive setting with wooded hills to the east and to the south (Democratic Republic of Congo across the Oubangui River).
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29 Aug 2019 - Jamaica (Kingston)
James Whitmee
I am in Kingston, Jamaica, looking at the real estate market, mostly in New Kingston.
The office market has been flat in terms of growth for 5+ years at USD 12 /sq ft /year, although there has been little new development and there is a perception that USD 15 could be achieved if there was good, new space available. Most of the recent activity relates to call centres.
There is an office investment market, but there is no real international interest and it is local, mostly Jamaican pension funds, yields being around 10%. Neighbourhood commercial in strata title sells for USD 200-250 /sq ft.
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17 Jun 2019 - Malawi (Lilongwe)
James Whitmee
i am in Lilongwe in Makawi, looking at the office market.
I have based myself in City Centre which is the location of all of the principal institutions and embassies in the city. Just adjacent and to the north of this area there is Capital Hill (a Government reserved area), Parliament, Bingu International Conference Centre, and the Peermont and Sunbird Capital hotels.
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15 May 2019 - Senegal (Diamniadio)
Charles Whitmee
I am in Senegal looking at the office market in Dakar, although I have also had an opportunity to look more closely at Diamniadio.
Until recently Diamniadio was a relatively small and unremarkable town with a population of just 12,000. However, under the leadership of President MackySall, Diamniadio has become the focus of a plan to revitalise the Senegalese economy and ease the population pressure on Dakar. The development of the new city is taking place around 30 km from Dakar, close to the Blaise Diagne International Airport, which opened in December 2017.
I have been driving around the area today, and it is currently largely characterised by empty, unused land and is sparsely populated. However, dotted around this zone there are some significant new developments, including the Dakar Arena, Sphere Ministeriellebuilding, Centre des Conférences de Diamniadio and the Radisson Blu.
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