Chinese presence in Africa has been strong on the infrastructure front over the last decade with several roads, railways lines, dams and even the Africa Union office under their belt. But a new project in South Africa is being built on a scale never before seen on the tip of the continent.

On the outskirts of Johannesburg a new city, dubbed the ‘New York of Africa’ which is one of the largest real estate deals by a Chinese firm in Africa, is being built by Hong Kong-listed Shanghai Zendai.

The 1,600-hectare development called the Modderfontein New City project, is set to cost as much as US$7 billion and when completed will become a mini city with more than 100,000 residents.