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Inside $4,000,000,000 'mega ghost city' that's 6 times the size of New York with a fraction of the population

Home> News

Published 12:30 20 Aug 2024 GMT+1

Inside $4,000,000,000 'mega ghost city' that's 6 times the size of New York with a fraction of the population

The capital city of Myanmar remains a ghost town

Rikki Loftus

Rikki Loftus

Did you know that there is a 'mega ghost city' that is six times the size of New York with just a fraction of the population?

The $4,000,000,000 city is around four and a half times the size of London but with a tiny population in comparison, housing just 924,608 residents, while London has roughly 8.98 million.

The city is called Naypyitaw and has been the capital of Myanmar since 2005 after the country moved it from Yangon.

The city cost $4 billion to build (STR/AFP via Getty Images)
The city cost $4 billion to build (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

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The Guardian reports that it cost around $4 billion to build the new city, complete with golf courses, hotels, shopping malls, restaurants and free WiFi.

The project included room for future expansion and it was hoped that it would become the beating heart of the country.

They even built 20-lane highways to prepare for the traffic a large population would bring.

However, it’s failed to attract a substantial amount of locals or tourists.

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Instead of bustling roads, rush hour doesn’t exist and the roads remain clean and landscaped.

The huge 20-lane highways are empty (STR/AFP via Getty Images)
The huge 20-lane highways are empty (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

According to The Guardian, on a Sunday afternoon “the streets are silent, restaurants and hotel lobbies empty.

“It looks like an eerie picture of post-apocalypse suburban America; like a David Lynch film on location in North Korea.”

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The bizarre city has captivated people online and, taking to social media to share their thoughts, one user wrote: “This city looks like sim city created by someone who plays it [for the] first time.”

Another user said: “Love this city. Beautiful, charming, peaceful.”

One person had their own interesting theory about the giant highways, adding: “Fun fact: The vast roads of Naypyitaw were never meant to support dense traffic but rather to enable the emergency landing of the military planes.That is why there is nothing between the right and left lane.”

The city hasn't been able to attract a large amount of locals or tourists (STR/AFP via Getty Images)
The city hasn't been able to attract a large amount of locals or tourists (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

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This prompted a reply from a user who wrote: “Thank You. It struck me as very odd how there's no barrier, no trees in the center of the roads. Also, very, very difficult to get anywhere in this place without owning a car. Nothing is designed to be accessible. You really can't walk anywhere.”

Another person shared their own thoughts on why the city was built, writing: “The capital was built to host the political power of the military junta so it makes it much harder for them to be overthrown.

“It is extremely far from population hubs, and built with natural defense built in.”

Featured Image Credit: STR/AFP via Getty Images
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