I am in Dakar in Senegal on a valuation project. I had intended to travel from here to Nouakchott in Mauritania, but the flight between the two countries has been temporarily suspended whilst the new Senegalese national airline is launched.

In the news here is the problem with power. Dakar has never been that bad for outages but at the moment it is very bad. Nothing like Lagos or Luanda, but a big step backwards which also affects business, of course.

The market here is not in bad shape but I can see evidence of developments having stopped or that may be going at a very slow pace. Office rents are in the order of CFA 7,000-10,000 /sq m /month and an ex-pat villa costs around CFA 1,300,000-1,500,000 /month.

Here are some photos. Les Mamelles and Les Almadies are to the north of the peninsular and close to the airport. Les Almadies in particular is a popular ex-pat area, and also the location of the new US Embassy where construction is underway. The statue is a new landmark which is monumental, and you can go into it and there is an eating area within the hat on the man's head. Apparently they had to lower the lady's skirt because the original was considered to show too much leg.

                                                               Les Mamelles and Les Almadies

                                                                 La Renaissance Africaine