The $10 billion proposal includes cities that are shaped like rhinos, giraffes and pineapples. With the genocide conflict still raging in the Darfur region, many say the expensive proposal is unrealistic. But with the southern portion of the country hoping to secede and form its own nation, oil riches and private investors could help bring the bizarre city plans into form.
"The plan in the war-torn region comes ahead of a scheduled January referendum on independence, which most people here believe will lead to the creation of the world's newest country. The south is rich in oil, but poverty and hunger is high throughout the region, which is struggling to recover after a civil war more than two decades long.
The $10 billion concept will take decades to carry out, officials concede, though it may never escape the planning stages. The southern government's own 2010 budget was only $1.9 billion, and the U.N. says more than 90 percent of Southern Sudan's population lives on less than $1 a day."
