Africa’s Shenzhen – Industrial Parks Grow into Cities

Economic upswing also means social transformation. Industrial parks and special economic zones are sprouting up everywhere. But it has long since ceased to be enough to provide factories and electricity connections; new towns are springing up around the new factory halls. However, it is only sometimes those expecting to build roads, schools, and hospitals.

Shenzen’s growth: a model for Ethiopia’s industrial parks? View over Lianhuashan Park, Shenzen, 1998 vs. 2018. The population multiplied from about 300,000 in 1980 to six million in 1998; today it is over 13 million. As China’s first SEZ, it is now the third largest economic centre in China after Beijing and Shanghai, and one of the largest financial centres in the world. (Source: wanghongliu/wikicommons; Sparktour/wikicommons)

As in China, industrial parks in Africa play a key role in building up their industrial production for export. These intend to attract labour-intensive industries, leading to a vast population explosion around these parks and entire cities. These demand roads, public transport, and hospitals.

However, those who provide these public goods are not state or local authorities but private operators of those industrial parks. How these new economic centres are shifting the balance of power and changing the social structures between urban and rural areas in Africa’s Century – Is the Grip on Prosperity Working?