Monaco, the world’s second smallest country, is starting a $2.3 billion coastline extension project. The project aims to add 15 acres of coast into the Mediterranean and create what’s to be called the “Portier Cove.”
Portier Cove will be a new district in Monaco that is expected to be completed by 2025.
The extension is expected to be a luxury extension of Monaco, which will have 1,000 Monaco apartments for sale. Villas will also be for sale. Economists predict that Portier Cove will be one of the world’s most expensive cities and will include a landscaped park, marina and seafront.
The project is funded by private investors and being overseen by the Monaco government. Investors predict that the coastline extension will bring in excess of $4.1 billion in revenue. Reports from 2017 suggests that 183 square feet of space can be purchased for $1 million in Portier Cove. In comparison, 280 square feet can be purchased in New York for $1 million.
The projections are based in 2025.
Monaco is already the world’s most expensive place to live, making it a haven for millionaires and billionaires. The country’s population consists of 33% millionaires, with Monaco expected to have 16,100 millionaires by 2026. The total population is just 38,000 people, with locals only accounting for 10,000 residents.
CNBC reports that Monaco is the world’s most expensive place to live in 2018, where $1 million will buy just 172 square feet, or the size of a walk-in closet. Hong Kong ranked second on their list, where $1 million will buy 236 square feet of space. New York ranks third in the world, where $1 million buys just 270 square feet of space.
Monaco’s coastline expansion is not the first of its kind. Monaco has been enlarging its landscape since the 19th century, adding 20% of its total land, or roughly 100 acres, to the country.
European commercial property investment on a whole rose by 8% in 2017, according to recent reports. Investment values swelled to €231.8 billion, with €80.7 billion in transactions in the fourth quarter of the year. The fourth-quarter saw an 8.4% increase in transactions compared to the same time period a year prior.
The UK experienced a surge of capital from Greater China, which helped the country regain its number one position as the most active market in Europe. Germany remained the most active market through the first two quarters of the year, with full-year investments reaching €50.9 billion, a ten-year high.
Commercial investment in the UK started the year off slow before rallying in the last half of the year to bring in €59.3 billion in investments.
France’s investment market remained sluggish for most of the year before picking up momentum in the final quarter. The fourth-quarter resulted in more investment than in the first three quarters of the year combined.
Local investors helped spur the rise in commercial investment, with local investors accounting for 70% of all investments in the final quarter of 2017. Political uncertainty was to blame for the lull in investment in France.