Billionaire Plans to Build New City in the Desert, Project Will Cost R5.6trn & Accommodate 5 Million People
- A United States billionaire identified as Marc Lore has revealed plans to build a new city in the North American country
- The new city, which will be built in the American desert, is going to cost a whopping $400 billion
- According to reports, the city's layout is intended to allow residents to get to work, school or anywhere else within 15 minutes
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An ex-Walmart executive, Marc Lore, has unveiled plans to build a new city in the United States which will be inhabited by five million people.
CNN reports that the project is called Telosa, a $400 billion sustainable metropolis the billionaire hopes to create from scratch in the American desert.
What to expect
The city will have eco-friendly architecture, sustainable energy production and a purportedly drought-resistant water system.
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According to the planners, Telosa will eventually grow to 150,000 acres, supporting 5 million people. That stage, however, is at least 40 years away, IGN Africa reports.
The first phase will take between 10 and 20 years to achieve, and will support one million people in Telosa.
According to New York Post, in June, Lore hired a Copenhagen-based architectural firm, Bjarke Ingels Group, to design the city.
Residents of Telosa will be able to get to their workplaces, schools or anywhere else within 15 minutes.
While there's no specific location for the project, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Texas and the Appalachian region are being considered for it.
Social media reacts
Many social media users soon flooded CNN's post on social media to react to the plans.
Jorene Soto said:
"Why would you build a massive city in a part of the country that is running out of fresh water?"
Maureen Merchant commented:
"Oh, in the desert. Where they are already running out of water at a frightening pace. Brilliant.
"Also, I’m curious how they’re going to embody “the social and environmental care of Scandinavian culture. At a minimum, this would require higher taxes and a massive change in the cultural and political ideology of the conservative states contained on his proposed list."
Jim Beal wrote:
"The description sounds like it would be packed with progressive-thinking people. Put it on the Idaho-Utah border and turn both of those states blue."
Debbie Hesse said:
"Another city of 5 million in the desert -- where there is no water -- great idea."
Allan Robinson wrote:
"How are they going to build a city without water?"
Singer Akon unveils plans to build futuristic city in Senegal
Briefly News previously reported that legendary Senegalese-American singer, Akon, spoke on his plan to build a futuristic place called Akon City in Senegal.
While speaking at a conference on Monday, August 31, 2020, the Smack That crooner said that the idea behind the city was to welcome Africans in the diaspora to a ‘home back home’.
Akon said that while growing up in America where his family moved to when he was seven, he ran into a lot of African-Americans who did not know a lot about their culture and that it prompted him to want to build a city that would motivate people about their homes.
Source: Briefly News
Maryn Blignaut (Human-Interest HOD) Maryn Blignaut is the Human Interest manager and feature writer. She holds a BA degree in Communication Science, which she obtained from the University of South Africa in 2016. She joined the Briefly - South African News team shortly after graduating and has over six years of experience in the journalism field. Maryn passed the AFP Digital Investigation Techniques course (Google News Initiative), as well as a set of trainings for journalists by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at: maryn.blignaut@briefly.co.za
Kelly Lippke (Senior Editor) Kelly Lippke is a copy editor/proofreader who started her career at the Northern-Natal Courier with a BA in Communication Science/Psychology (Unisa, 2007). Kelly has worked for several Caxton publications, including the Highway Mail and Northglen News. Kelly’s unique editing perspective stems from an additional major in Linguistics. Kelly joined Briefly News in 2018 and she has 14 years of experience. Kelly has also passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at kelly.lippke@briefly.co.za.