Watch: Turkey’s Akay Construction to build 5,000 homes in Maputo’s Zimpeto by 2020

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Watch: Turkey’s Akay Construction to build 5,000 homes in Maputo’s Zimpeto by 2020

10:35 CAT | 12 Apr 2017

TVM

About 5,000 homes are to be built in Maputo’s Zimpeto neighbourhood before 2022, most of them in a residential complex proposed by Turkey’s Akay Construction company in conjunction with the Maputo municipality.

Preliminary negotiations led to the signing of a memorandum of understanding on 23 December last year, and the parties finalised an agreement for the implementation of the project in Maputo yesterday. Construction work is scheduled to start next September and the first homes will be delivered by September 2018.

The construction company’s overall target is to complete a thousand homes a year, if initial demand reaches five thousand units. If only 2,500 applications are confirmed, it will deliver 500 homes a year.

David Simango, chairman of Maputo City Council, said the houses are designed for middle- and upper-income buyers, and the plan results in part from the twinning of Ankara in Turkey and Maputo.

“Maputo and Ankara are twin cities and, within this twinning, we have decided to prioritise housing, taking advantage of Turkey’s experience in building low-cost homer,” Simango said.

The project plan foresees the construction of two to three-bedroom apartment buildings over a area of 17 hectares. Without specifying an exact price, the mayor suggests that they will not cost more than US$100,000, taking into account current market prices ranging from US$60,000 to US$70,000.

Akay Construction representative Ertan Olgun said he hopes the government will provide support including tax exemptions, reduction of customs fees for the import of construction equipment, legislative advice and visa facilitation for technical staff.

Deputy Mayor of Ankara Ali Goksin says the construction of the residential complex is just the first step of many in building relations with Maputo. In addition to infrastructure, Turkey has interests in the areas of energy, agriculture and tourism.