James Whitmee
I am in Nouakchott in Mauritania. I was last here one year ago and there continues to be a lot of progress.
Most of the recent construction they have done here is of infrastructure. The new Nouakchott-Oumtouncy Airport is one of the best I have been to in West Africa, and it is efficient with a visa-on-arrival system.
Arturo Pavani
Sitting exactly halfway between Cairo and Cape Town, on a lush and green elevated plain, is Arusha. This quiet and little town is home to the East African Community Offices, and the point of departure for the many safaris in the area, like the ones to the famous Ngorongoro crater, or as starting point to climb mount Meru (4562 m), which is commonly considered to be a good warm up hike for those who then want to move on to the more challenging Kilimanjaro (5895 m).
James Whitmee
I am in Oran which is Algeria's second city after Algiers, and around 400 km from the capital.
There has been a lot of luxury apartment and touristic development here, and there is some major public construction taking place including new roads and the Stadium at Bir El Djir which is being built for the Mediterranean Games (taking place in 2021). There is a much wider choice of hotels here than in Algiers and they are generally better and cheaper.
Michael Lowes
I am back in Ulaanbaatar visiting with our client following an initial visit last month. Continuing my theme of providing a geographical fact on each city I visit I can inform you that Ulaanbaatar is classed as the world’s coldest capital city with an average annual temperature of -0.4°C. It is now spring time but the weather can still be very changeable, yesterday it was sunny and 24°C and this morning it has been snowing!
James Whitmee
I am in Georgetown which is the capital of Guyana. I am gradually working my way along this coast as I was in the neighbouring country, Suriname (former Dutch Guyana), last year.
Today I was out and about, walking the streets in the centre of the city and getting to understand the activity. The retail areas around Stabroek Market and the top end of Regent Street are bustling, but further north and up towards the Marriott Hotel it is very quiet and you see few people on the streets.
Jasen Leith
I am in The Hague in The Netherlands looking at the residential development market. Arriving at Schiphol on the red eye flight I am quickly into a brisk ‘’wake up walk’’ down the seemingly endless concourses to get through. That being said it is an immensely efficient airport and with my coffee to go I am quickly sitting on board my train to The Hague. Arriving some 40 mins later I wheelie my way to the hotel around the corner from The Hague’s aptly named ‘’Centraal Station’’ and it is not even 10 am.
Jasen Leith
A very welcoming and efficient walk through immigration at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and I am quickly outside in 33-degree heat and 89 per cent humidity being ushered to my taxi. Instinctively I get into a saloon but reprimanded almost immediately by the taxi boss who insists I must take the larger, sleeker, blacked out, multi-van. The heady mix of a leather armchair interior and AC set at 19 degrees, I was not going to argue a free upgrade. I am in Jakarta looking at commercial development land and the office market respectively.
Ian Lawrence
Street protests resulting from teacher pay disputes have meant being confined to the hotel for my first few days in Conakry, Guinea with the only consolation being that the new Sheraton is excellent in terms of service, design and quality. The quality of the Sheradon design and construction is in stark contrast to the majority of buildings on the market with the exception of several apartment buildings that have recently completed after a period of inactivity during the Ebola outbreak.
Charles Hector Whitmee
I am in the surprisingly sunny Yerevan this week, looking at the office market here. The city itself is indefinable in some ways, lying between eastern Europe and western Asia both geographically and culturally. Brutalist soviet monuments rub shoulders with Christian churches and Islamic mosques, all in the shadow of the awesome Mount Ararat (which is now in modern day Turkey, but has become a symbol of national pride for the Armenian people).
Ian Lawrence
I’ve recently returned from Maputo where the promise of an increase of economic activity arriving from the natural resource exploration in the north of Mozambique remains a promise that when mentioned in conversation with any discerning business person leaves a rye smile and distant look. It is true that there are now signs of the beginnings of an increase in activity that may herald a recovery - on a micro level the CEO of Exxonmobil has leased his new villa in Sommershield and ENI amongst others have started increasing the number of staff in country.
James Whitmee
I am in Constanta, a major port and touristic destination on the Black Sea in Romania. My timing for this visit was very bad as I flew into Bucharest as a blizzard was in progress and had to spend three days there because the road to Constanta was closed. On Friday the road was opened and I drove the 260 km to Constanta.
Michael Lowes
My surveying career has reached another high point as I am currently in Quito the capital of Ecuador and the second highest capital city in the world (behind La Paz, Bolivia) at 2,850 m or well over 9,000 ft. Quito’s other geographical claim to fame is that it is the capital city closest to the equator.
James Whitmee
I am in Kinshasa staying at the Cercle Elais which is a central and older-style hotel in Gombe. It sits on a large and lush site and is also a sports centre, with an Olympic-size outdoor pool with diving boards. I have stayed here a couple of times now and it is my favourite spot in Kinshasa.
In the residential sector of the real estate market, prices rose dramatically in areas which are regarded as good and safe between 2013 to 2015. However, since 2015 prices have stabilised and rental growth stalled.