The capital city of Myanmar, Naypyidaw, is 7,054 square kilometres in size, roughly four and a half times the size of London (1,569 square kilometres), according to The Independent.
But the city is a ghost town. Its population is only 924,608, compared to London’s 2016 estimate of 8.63 million.
The capital of Myanmar was moved from Yangon to Naypyitaw (which means Seat of the King) by the then-military regime in November 2005.
According to The Guardian, it is rumoured to have cost $4 billion (3.2 billion) to construct the city, with 20-lane highways and wide streets designed for a future of expansion. It has reliable electricity, golf courses, hotels, shopping malls, and restaurants and cafes with fast and free wi-fi, uncommon throughout the rest of the country.
However, despite billions in government investment, the city has struggled to attract Burmese locals or substantial numbers of tourists. Guardian reporters who visited the city in March 2015 said: “The vast highways are completely empty and there is a stillness to the air. Nothing moves.”
This post was published at Business Insider
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