Monaco’s Hong-Kong-style plan to reclaim the Mediterranean to house the world’s super-rich
The project will add six precious hectares to the tiny principality
Construction has begun on a US$2billion scheme to reclaim land from the sea around Monaco so that more luxury apartments can be built for the thousands of extra millionaires expected to move to the principality in the next 10 years.
Nearly 35 in every 100 Monaco residents are millionaires and more of the global super-rich want to join them. Around 2,700 more are expected to call Monaco home by 2026, according to research by estate agent Knight Frank, taking the total to 16,100 out of a total population of under 38,000.
But the sovereign city state – which is only slightly bigger than 2 sq km – has run out of space for those seeking the “fiscal advantages” that the tax haven offers.
The new Portier Cove ecological neighbourhood, near Casino de Monte-Carlo, is regarded as vital for the continued growth of the principality; according to state statistics body L’Institut monégasque de la statistique et des études économiques (IMSEE), not one new-build apartment went up for sale last year.
Previous plans for a larger reclamation scheme were dropped after the financial crisis and environmental concerns. But Bouygues, the construction company behind the project, has promised there will be no detrimental effect on the environment. Important species on the seabed have been moved to a new reserve and the company said 3D-printed artificial coral reefs on the 18 trapezoid reinforced concrete caissons used to create the boundary of the new land would provide an artificial reef for wildlife.
Edward de Mallet Morgan, global super prime residential partner at Knight Frank, said huge demand and a severe lack of supply had sent Monaco prices “through the roof”.