Famous for his roles in the series The Wire and Luther, British actor Idris Elba now wants to take on a new kind of role: builder of a smart, eco-friendly city on an island in Sierra Leone. In the West African country from which his father hails, the star dreams of seeing a city emerge that redefines "the way Africa is viewed," as he told BBC. "It's about being self-reliant, it's about bringing an economy that feeds itself and has growth potential," he said.

According to the actor and his business partner, Siaka Stevens, grandson of the former Sierra Leonean president of the same name who, like Elba, grew up in London, the town could eventually be home to up to a million people and various businesses. All this on Sherbro, a 600-square-kilometer island two hours by ferry from the coast, where the 40,000 inhabitants live mainly from fishing, rice-growing and a little tourism.

Developed in one of the world's poorest countries, the project is intriguingly ambitious. "Sherbro Island could play the same role with regard to the West African market as Hong Kong does with China," Stevens told Le Monde, highlighting the project's trump card: a unique governance structure, based on a public-private partnership with the State of Sierra Leone.

The island is to be transformed into a special economic zone, with a separate economic and legal system, and placed under private-sector management. Several partners have already been associated with the project, including British insurer Lloyds, consultancy firms Sasaki and Frost & Sullivan, and European energy supplier Octopus, which is to build a wind and solar farm on the island. No budget has been set for the entire project. The timetable also remains unclear, although the promoters say they hope to see the first projects, including tourist facilities, materialize within the next five years.

Not the first project

Stevens hopes that the economic potential of the smart city and its future infrastructure – including a port and an airport – will also attract members of the diaspora. "Today, many of them are tempted to return, but they often find the country too difficult to live and work in. Sherbro Island could provide a suitable setting for them, as well as for multinationals, who will benefit from tax exemptions and numerous regulatory advantages." The island's strategic commercial location in the waters of the Gulf of Guinea is also highlighted. However, its distance from the mainland and other major urban centers raises questions.

Sherbro Island is far from being the first new town project to be initiated in Africa. Over the past 15 years, numerous projects have been announced or launched. Few, however, have actually come to fruition. In Senegal, for example, Akon City, the futuristic city championed by American-Senegalese rapper Akon, remains in limbo for the time being. The first phase of this metropolis, with an aesthetic inspired by Wakanda, the fictional kingdom in the Black Panther films, and at an estimated cost of $6 billion, should have been completed by the end of 2023 but work has still not begun.

Before that, Hope City, a technopark due to be built in 2016 near Accra, the Ghanaian capital, was meant to house the continent's tallest tower but never saw the light of day. In Kenya, Konza Technopolis, a smart city dedicated to innovation, is moving forward at a snail's pace. Still in search of inhabitants, it bears little resemblance to the city announced by the authorities over 15 years ago.

'Opening up to the international economy'

Sina Schlimmer, a researcher at the Sub-Saharan Africa Center of the French Institute of International Relations, said that "frequently, these projects come to a halt after the construction of a few infrastructures, or the reality on the ground turns out to be far removed from the original objectives. Building an urban center is a complex task, but these new cities are often presented with a sense of urgency, particularly on the part of governments hoping to use them to demonstrate their openness to the international economy."

However, as this specialist in urban development pointed out, the smart city or new city labels are applied to projects with different philosophies. The Sherbro Island project is resolutely long-term, with its promoters discussing a development timeline that could span decades.

"In any case, it's imperative to explore new ways of dealing with the continent's galloping urbanization," said Kurtis Lockhart, Director of the Charter Cities Institute, an American organization that promotes the creation of urban centers in developing countries. In Africa, the urban population doubles every 20 years. "Existing municipalities have limited financial and technical capacity," said the expert. "A new town involving the private sector and enjoying both a degree of autonomy and the support of the authorities could be an interesting response."

It remains to be seen whether Sherbro Island will be, as Stevens predicts, "the continent's first well-planned city." Or whether this "dynamic, international Afro ecocity," as he describes it, will in turn remain an urban utopia.