The former capital of the country (1900-1933) has been concentrating intense real estate activity for less than ten years. Social, economic or luxury housing abounds on the edge of Abidjan.
Heavy congestion and the high cost of housing in Abidjan – the economic capital – have encouraged a real estate boom in its suburbs. Bingerville, the former capital (1900-1933), benefits from this development born of the sustained economic growth observed over the past ten years. This growth has led to the emergence of a middle class seizing all kinds of opportunities to acquire decent housing. The proximity of this city, located 30 kilometers from downtown Abidjan, makes it a popular place for real estate developers and buyers, to the point that today the old and new capital merge.
Signaling and asphalting
Forests and vegetation have disappeared in favor of open-air sites and large earthworks. “Before, we only spoke of Bingerville for its psychiatric hospital. With the development of real estate, everything has changed, ”explains a long-time resident. The opening of Mother-Child Hospital of First Lady Dominique Ouattara also made the city even more attractive. The city, long confined around the only artery which crossed it on both sides – the avenue Nampé-Dioulo -, has experienced grandiose extensions. The battered asphalt of the past has been replaced, a “two-lane two-lane” has been built and a few side streets have been reshaped.
Several government construction programs, initially advertised as social housing, have evolved into economic, even high standing programs.
City tracks have even been signposted to better guide newcomers. But the old landmarks remain, such as the Bandji crossroads, or the rue Poto-Poto. It is not by chance that the government has decided to build a court of first instance, financed by France at more than 5 billion CFA francs, which will be the third in the district of Abidjan after that of Plateau and that of Yopougon. A center for the observation of minors is planned there.
Scheduled opening up
The availability of land, despite some disputes, is an additional motivation. Several government construction programs, first advertised as social housing, have turned into economic, even high-standing programs, excluding a portion of the low-income population. These are often mass productions of houses piloted by operators who have obtained contracts from the State.
During rush hour, residents experience an ordeal to reach Abidjan and sometimes spend hours in traffic jams
And the attractiveness of Bingerville should not be denied over the next few years: the government is planning several projects to open up this area, which is a peninsula. A bridge project is on the table to span an arm of the Ébrié lagoon and join Grand-Bassam. This infrastructure will prevent residents from crossing all of Abidjan to get to Félix-Houphouët-Boigny international airport. A second bridge will be built to link Bingerville to Bonoua, on the Assinie road; the seaside resort of the south-east being a major vacation resort, popular with both large fortunes and senior executives.
Rents and acquisitions at affordable prices
The real estate boom is also favored by the affordable prices of rents or acquisitions, the results of which can be observed in neighborhoods such as Eloka, Adjamé-Bingerville, Marina, residential Bregbo. Houses are growing there at a rapid pace, sometimes at lightning speed. Another major project: the construction of an infrastructure initiated by the government as a prelude to the organization of the African Cup of Nations in 2023, called “the bypass”, “the Y4”, or even “The ring road”, which will start from the cables of Abidjan airport, will pass through several municipalities and will have a junction not far from Bingerville. A project financed in part by the World Bank, and the spinoffs of which will benefit Bingerville, which will become even more attractive.
Because, at present, and despite all the road infrastructure works, the city remains partially isolated. During rush hour, residents experience an ordeal to reach Abidjan and sometimes spend hours in traffic jams. The city also continues to arouse the envy of construction groups: currently, six out of ten real estate developments underway in the district of Abidjan are located in Bingerville.
Despite the multitude of programs, nothing is planned for the moment concerning the establishment of shopping centers or leisure places.
The company Opes Holding, founded by the businessman Siriki Sangaré, President of the National Chamber of Approved Developers and Builders of Côte d’Ivoire (CNPC-CI), is developing, for example, a project of 15,000 housing units. “Bingerville is a city for the future. The air is still clean and there is no polluting industry. This will be the place to be in the next few years, ”he says. This real estate explosion has yet to meet the government’s objectives. At the end of September, the Prime Minister Patrick Achi met the promoters who were beneficiaries of State contracts for the construction of housing, with the aim of making a mid-term update with them and above all to discuss the difficulties of the sector.
« The place to be »
The development of real estate has indeed some flaws. Despite the multitude of programs, nothing is planned for the moment concerning the establishment of shopping centers, which would prevent residents from traveling several kilometers to stock up. Leisure places are also lacking for buyers. Issouf Doumbia, the mayor of the city, nevertheless wants to be confident: “Bingerville will soon be “the place to be”. Construction projects for places of recreation, catering and tourism are being considered, all along the lagoon. For the mayor, these transformations will allow his fellow citizens to no longer go to Abidjan except to work. A real change for what was long considered a simple dormitory city, whose only attraction was the botanical park and its many floral species.
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