Popular actor Idris Elba plans development Serbro Islandan island off the coast of Sierra Leone in an eco-friendly smart city.
Details
Elba has enlisted a childhood friend Siaka Stevensgrandson of a former president of Sierra Leone of the same name, in the play.
In 2019 they created Sherbro Alliance Partners (SAP) and made an agreement with the government of Sierra Leone for the development of the island.
The project will be financed through a public-private partnership and the island will be designated a special economic zone with a separate legal and economic system from the rest of Sierra Leone.
For power generation, wind and solar farms, including five wind turbines, an array of solar panels and battery storage, will be built by Octopus Energy Productionone of Europe’s largest investors in renewable energy sources.
Octopus said construction was scheduled to begin later this year in 2024, although the timing depends on weather conditions.
Zoom out
The island had a population about 30,000 people in 2013, when the last available figures were recorded – and it is about 600 square kilometers (230 sq mi). This is slightly larger than the Isle of Man off the UK and about twice the size of Malta.
By The Numbers
Only 28% of Sierra Leone The population currently has access to electricity – and rural areas such as Sherbro Island have no mains power.
The budget of the project has not been made public, but investments from different sources suggest that the smart city project will likely be executed billions of dollars.
Projects Graveyard of African Smart City Projects
This is not the first time that a proposal has been put forward to build smart cities in Africa.
Popular musician Akon proposed a project for construction Akon City in Senegal but this not yet implemented. Other smart city projects include Hope City in Ghana and Konza, Kenya Tecnocity they failed to bear fruit.
What they say
“We believe Sherbro Island City will be an economic engine for our country and our neighborsJulius Maada Bio, President of Sierra Leone
“If you’re going to do it, make sure you do it right“, ldris Elba he said, reflecting on his late father’s advice.
“You do it well, you do it with all your heart because that’s the best you can do.”
Source: BBC
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