Land Values Capture: A method to finance urban investment in Africa?

26.02.2014

The UCLG Local Finance and Development Committee has just published a study on “Capturing Land Values: a route to financing urban investment in Africa?” conducted in partnership with the Global Fund for Cities Development, and with the contribution of UCLG Africa, SCET, AFD, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cities Alliance.

The UCLG Local Finance and Development Committee has just published a study on “Capturing Land Values: a route to financing urban investment in Africa?” conducted in partnership with the Global Fund for Cities Development, and with the contribution of UCLG Africa, SCET, AFD, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cities Alliance.

What are the advantages, risks, and legal and institutional basis for the implementation of this method of funding? The present publication provides a brief overview on the issue, illustrated by several projects conducted on the African continent. It aims to incite the various actors to go further and develop, for each national context, the conditions necessary to ensure this development potential can be exploited. The proposed reforms are certainly ambitious but can Africa afford to not develop this method of financing?

“For a long time, land has played a central role in financing urban infrastructure. Cities such as New York, London or Paris, and more recently Chinese cities, made it a major component for financing their urban infrastructures. By producing immediate substantial revenues, which significantly allows the reduction of the dependence on debt, the use of the various techniques of financing through land value capture appears well adapted to the cities witnessing a particularly fast urban growth. » Fathallah Oualalou, Mayor of Rabat and President of the UCLG Local Finance and Development Committee.

Financing urbanization through land values is today an evident conclusion as we consider the size of investment requried against the restrictions of traditional development financing.

Access the publication.