Ciudad de la Paz

{{Short description|Capital city of Equatorial Guinea}} {{about|the capital of Equatorial Guinea|the seat of government of Bolivia|La Paz}} {{Improve images|date=January 2026|type=updated}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2026}} {{Infobox settlement  | name = Ciudad de la Paz | native_name = | native_name_lang = | settlement_type = Capital city | image_skyline = Universidad Afro-Americana de África Central (AAUCA).png | image_alt = | image_caption = Afro-American University of Central Africa | image_flag = | flag_alt = | image_seal = | seal_alt = | image_shield = | shield_alt = | nickname = | motto = | image_map = | map_alt = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = Equatorial Guinea#Africa | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Equatorial Guinea##Location in Africa | pushpin_relief = yes | coordinates = {{coord|1|35|20|N|10|49|21|E|region:GQ|display=inline,title}} | coor_pinpoint = | coordinates_footnotes = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{flag|Equatorial Guinea}} | subdivision_type1 = Province | subdivision_name1 = Djibloho | subdivision_type2 = Region | subdivision_type3 = | subdivision_name2 = Río Muni | subdivision_name3 = | established_title = | established_date = 2015 | founder = | seat_type = | seat = | government_footnotes = | leader_party = | leader_title = Mayor | leader_name = Florentino Ncogo Ndong | unit_pref = Metric  | area_footnotes = <ref name=area/> | area_magnitude =  | area_total_km2 = 81.5 | area_total_ha = | area_land_km2 = | area_land_ha = | area_water_km2 = | area_water_ha = | area_water_percent = | area_urban_km2 = | area_urban_ha = | area_rural_km2 = | area_rural_ha = | area_metro_km2 = | area_metro_ha = | area_rank = | area_blank1_title = | area_blank1_km2 = | area_blank1_ha = | area_blank2_title =  | area_blank2_km2 =  | area_blank2_ha = | area_note = | dimensions_footnotes = | length_km = | width_km = | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = 454 | population_total = 2000<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2022/01/17/en-guinee-equatoriale-ciudad-de-la-paz-luxueuse-capitale-inaboutie-et-deserte_6109848_3212.html | title=En Guinée équatoriale, Ciudad de la Paz, luxueuse capitale inaboutie et déserte | newspaper=Le Monde.fr | date=17 January 2022 }}</ref> | population_as_of = 2022 | population_footnotes = | population_density_km2 = auto | population_demonym = | population_note = | timezone1 = WAT | utc_offset1 = +01:00 | timezone1_DST = | utc_offset1_DST = | postal_code_type = | postal_code = | area_code = | area_code_type = | iso_code = | website =  | footnotes = | area_urban_footnotes =  | area_rural_footnotes =  | area_metro_footnotes =  | blank_name = Climate | blank_info = Am/As }} '''Ciudad de la Paz''' ({{IPA|es|θjuˈðað ðe la ˈpaθ|lang}}, {{lit|City of Peace}}), previously known as '''Djibloho ''' or '''Oyala''',<ref>{{cite web |title=Oyala la futura capital de Guinea Ecuatorial |url=https://www.guineainfomarket.com/economy/2013/08/28/oyala/ |website=Guinea Market |access-date=8 January 2026 |language=es |date=28 August 2013}}</ref> commonly known as '''La Paz''', is the capital city of Equatorial Guinea, having replaced Malabo on 2 January 2026.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=Decreto Ley por el que se declara la Ciudad de la Paz, Djibloho, capital de la República de Guinea Ecuatorial |url=https://www.guineaecuatorialpress.com/noticias/decreto_ley_por_el_que_se_declara_la_ciudad_de_la_paz_djibloho_capital_de_la_republica_de_guinea_ecuatorial |website=Guinea Ecuatorial |access-date=8 January 2026 |language=es |date=2 January 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Fortin |first=Jacey |date=19 December 2012 |url=http://www.ibtimes.com/poverty-stricken-equatorial-guinea-builds-expensive-capital-city-middle-nowhere-949224 |title=Poverty-Stricken Equatorial Guinea Builds Expensive Capital City In The Middle Of Nowhere|website=International Business Times }}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120112084455/http://www.africa21digital.com/noticia.kmf?cod=12634524&canal=404 Empresas portuguesas planeiam nova capital da Guiné Equatorial]. africa21digital.com. 5 November 2011</ref><ref>[http://www.boasnoticias.pt/noticias_Atelier-luso-desenha-futura-capital-da-Guin%C3%A9-Equatorial_8697.html Atelier luso desenha futura capital da Guiné Equatorial] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015221744/http://www.boasnoticias.pt/noticias_Atelier-luso-desenha-futura-capital-da-Guin%C3%A9-Equatorial_8697.html |date=15 October 2015 }}. boasnoticias.pt. 5 November 2011</ref> Established as an urban district in Wele-Nzas in 2015,<ref name=inauguration>{{cite news |url=http://www.guineaecuatorialpress.com/noticia.php?id=6805&lang=en |title=Solemn inauguration of the new city of Djibloho |date=3 August 2015 |publisher=Equatorial Guinea Press and Information Office |access-date=25 September 2017 |archive-date=30 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330204713/https://www.guineaecuatorialpress.com/noticia.php?id=6805&lang=en |url-status=dead }}</ref> it is also the administrative headquarters of Djibloho, Equatorial Guinea's newest province created in 2017, and is located near the town of Mengomeyén.<ref>[http://www.archdaily.com/187398/djibloho-equatorial-guinea%E2%80%99s-future-capital-city-idf-ideias-do-futuro/ Djibloho – Equatorial Guinea's Future Capital City/IDF – Ideias do Futuro]</ref> In 2017, the city was officially named ''Ciudad de la Paz'' ("City of Peace").<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.guineaecuatorialpress.com/noticia.php?id=9337&lang=en |title=Prime Minister presents draft laws before Chamber of Deputies |date=25 February 2017 |publisher=Equatorial Guinea Press and Information Office |access-date=25 September 2017 |archive-date=31 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331042625/https://www.guineaecuatorialpress.com/noticia.php?id=9337&lang=en |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://equatorialguineanewswire.com/swearing-in-of-new-offices-for-directors-at-ministry-for-national-defence/ |title=Swearing-in of new offices for directors at Ministry for National Defence |date=3 August 2017 |publisher=Equatorial Guinea Press and Information Office |access-date=25 September 2017}}</ref>

The planned city's location was chosen for its easy access, milder climate, and inland location, as the 2004 Equatorial Guinea coup attempt raised fears about maritime access to the capital.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2012-12-14 |title=Equatorial Guinea: Obiang's future capital, Oyala |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-20731448 |access-date=2026-01-22 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> It was designed by the Portuguese Studio for Architecture and Urbanism ''FAT – Future Architecture Thinking''. It is projected to have around 200,000 inhabitants,<ref name="ABC">[http://www.abc.es/internacional/20121226/abci-oyala-nueva-capital-obiang-201212251815.html Oyala, una nueva capital para la megalomanía de Obiang]. abc.es. 26 December 2012</ref> a new Parliament building, a number of presidential villas and an area of 8150 hectares.<ref name="piniweb.com.br">[http://www.piniweb.com.br/construcao/urbanismo/arquitetos-portugueses-projetam-nova-capital-para-guine-equatorial-240902-1.asp Arquitetos portugueses projetam nova capital para Guiné Equatorial] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510212439/http://www.piniweb.com.br/construcao/urbanismo/arquitetos-portugueses-projetam-nova-capital-para-guine-equatorial-240902-1.asp |date=10 May 2013 }}. piniweb.com.br. 10 November 2011</ref><ref name="greensavers.pt">Mauricio Lima (4 November 2011) [http://www.greensavers.pt/2011/11/04/atelie-portugues-desenha-futura-capital-da-guine-equatorial/ Ateliê português desenha futura capital da Guiné Equatorial] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120122153733/http://www.greensavers.pt/2011/11/04/atelie-portugues-desenha-futura-capital-da-guine-equatorial/ |date=22 January 2012 }}. greensavers.pt.</ref> The construction of this new capital has been criticized by the political opposition to President Teodoro Obiang, who was the driving force behind the initiative. The government of Equatorial Guinea began to move to the city in early 2017.<ref>{{cite news |date=8 February 2017 |title=Equatorial Guinea government moves to new city in rainforest |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-38911573 |work=BBC |access-date=1 February 2026}}</ref>

==Geography== ===Location=== La Paz is located near the center of Río Muni, the continental part of Equatorial Guinea. It is located between the cities of Bata and Mongomo and 20 km from the airport of Mengomeyén. The power supply relies upon the 120 MW Djibloho Dam in the Djibloho Evinayong district.<ref>[http://www.guineaecuatorialpress.com/noticia.php?id=864 Mines Minister visits the site of Djibloho] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190802161005/http://www.guineaecuatorialpress.com/noticia.php?id=864 |date=2 August 2019 }}. guineaecuatorialpress.com. 16 September 2010</ref>

===Climate=== Ciudad de la Paz has a tropical climate that borders between a tropical monsoon climate and a tropical savannah climate. Despite not being classified as having a tropical rainforest climate, it is nonetheless located within a region of tropical rainforest. It has high overall rainfall, averaging 2142 mm a year. There is an extensive wet season, spanning 10 months of the year from September to June, and a brief and slightly cooler dry season covering the remaining two months, July and August. There is also a noticeably drier, though still wet, stretch in December and January. Temperatures remain very warm throughout the course of the year, albeit lower than one might expect in other places with the same climate, especially considering its proximity to the equator.{{Citation needed|date=August 2025}}

{{Weather box |location=Ciudad de la Paz |width = auto |metric first = yes |single line = yes |temperature colour = |Jan high C = 27.7 |Feb high C = 28.2 |Mar high C = 28.4 |Apr high C = 28.2 |May high C = 27.8 |Jun high C = 26.4 |Jul high C = 25.2 |Aug high C = 25.6 |Sep high C = 26.3 |Oct high C = 26.9 |Nov high C = 26.9 |Dec high C = 27.1 |year high C = 27.1 |Jan mean C = 23.1 |Feb mean C = 23.2 |Mar mean C = 23.2 |Apr mean C = 23.3 |May mean C = 23.1 |Jun mean C = 22.2 |Jul mean C = 21.1 |Aug mean C = 21.2 |Sep mean C = 21.9 |Oct mean C = 22.3 |Nov mean C = 22.4 |Dec mean C = 22.9 |year mean C = 22.5 |Jan low C = 18.5 |Feb low C = 18.3 |Mar low C = 18.1 |Apr low C = 18.4 |May low C = 18.4 |Jun low C = 18.0 |Jul low C = 17.0 |Aug low C = 16.9 |Sep low C = 17.6 |Oct low C = 17.8 |Nov low C = 17.9 |Dec low C = 18.7 |year low C = 18.0 |Jan rain mm = 89 |Feb rain mm = 181 |Mar rain mm = 228 |Apr rain mm = 270 |May rain mm = 240 |Jun rain mm = 125 |Jul rain mm = 14 |Aug rain mm = 37 |Sep rain mm = 233 |Oct rain mm = 352 |Nov rain mm = 254 |Dec rain mm = 119 |rain colour = green |source = Climate-Data.org |date=17 June 2019}}

==Planning and construction== In the middle of the undeveloped rain forest, the government planned to build a new city as the future seat of government.<ref name="ABC"/><ref name="BBC171212">{{cite news |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-20731448 |title=BBC News: Equatorial Guinea: Obiang's future capital, which was then known as Oyala |author = Stephen Sackur |work=BBC News |date = 17 December 2012 |access-date = 5 February 2013}}</ref> It would be the headquarters of the president, government, administration, police and military leadership<ref name="BBC171212"/> and replace the then capital Malabo. The city was designed to house 160,000–200,000 people, living in an area of 81.5 km<sup>2</sup>.

A golf course, a university, a luxury hotel, and a six-lane highway were finished in 2013.<ref name="BBC171212"/> Other buildings planned include government buildings, a financial district and residential areas. Three bridges and highways have been completed or are under construction. A connection between the city and the new airport in Mengomeyen was constructed.

Funding for construction was provided through AICEP Portugal Global. The plans came from a Portuguese architectural office. The construction work was supported by China, Poland, Brazil and North Korea.<ref name="BBC171212"/> Construction faced delays such as, according to unconfirmed reports, President Obiang ordering a building to be moved because he did not like the view.<ref name="BBC171212"/> Additionally, while many specialized components were imported, the city’s foundational construction relied heavily on locally sourced materials. This was made possible by the establishment of domestic quarrying operations, which provided high-quality stone and aggregates essential for infrastructure and large-scale development within the Oyala region.

The city was officially declared the country's capital on 2 January 2026, with the president giving a one year deadline to transfer public services to the city.<ref name=":0"/>

==Design== The city was designed by the Portuguese urban architecture firm FAT – Future Architecture Thinking. Estimates of its ultimate population size have been revised from 65,000 initially<ref>{{cite web|title = Guinée équatoriale: grands travaux pour convert a village in métropole |author=AFP |date=2 December 2011 |publisher=Romandie News}}</ref> to between 160,000 and 200,000.<ref name=area>{{cite web |url=https://www.guineainfomarket.com/gobierno-guinea-ecuatorial-se-muda-malabo-oyala/ |title=El Gobierno de Guinea Ecuatorial se muda de Malabo a Oyala |language=es |date=11 February 2017 |access-date=25 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170926052234/https://www.guineainfomarket.com/gobierno-guinea-ecuatorial-se-muda-malabo-oyala/ |archive-date=26 September 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The city was built on an area of 8,150 hectares (81.5 km<sup>2</sup> or 20,100 acres).<ref name="piniweb.com.br" /><ref name="greensavers.pt" />

==Progress== {{Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo sidebar}} In 2021, a video sponsored by the China State Construction group, which is part of the building consortium, showed what appeared to be an overpass of completed, but not yet functioning, highways to Ciudad de la Paz, Bata, Mongomo and Mengomeyén airport.<ref>[https://electomania.es/oyala28m21/ CSCEC Video]</ref> The video continued showing viewers around parts of the new city, where work on a six-story cylindrical tower-building for the ministry of infrastructure remained partly built, and most other structures appeared far less advanced.

However, 2022 videos show two glass towers, the gateway to the campus of the Afro-American University of Central Africa,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://uaac.gq/ |title=Universidad Americana Del Africa Central |access-date=22 October 2022 |archive-date=22 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221022091723/https://uaac.gq/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> several administrative style buildings and the Grand Hotel Djibloho all appearing functionally complete.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lX7xIGqM5a4 2022 video of the city site]</ref> The 380-room hotel has a golf course, wellness center and facilities for conferences as large as 1200 people, though its own website describes itself as being surrounded by tropical forest, which suggests that it is not in the heart of a city.<ref>[https://grandhoteldjibloho.com/ Hotel website]</ref>

<gallery> File:Dschungel bei Oyala.JPG|Forest File:Brückenbau in Oyala.JPG|Bridge on the scheduled presidential residence (2010) File:Autobahnbau in Oyala.JPG|Highway under construction (2010) </gallery>

On 2 January 2026, a presidential decree by Obiang officially moved the nation's capital from Malabo to Ciudad de la Paz.<ref name=":0"/>

==Participating companies == * Director of planning, roads, highways and urban network diagram: CSCEC, Vinci SA, Egis Route<ref name=ja052012>{{cite web|title=Guinée équatoriale – BTP: Oyala, la folie des grandeurs |author= Muriel Devey |publisher=jeuneafrique.com|url=http://www.jeuneafrique.com/Articles/Dossier/JA2677p086.xml0/architecture-malabo-btp-infrastructureguinee-equatoriale-btp-oyala-la-folie-des-grandeurs.html|date=14 May 2012}}</ref> * Perimeter Highway: ARG * Bridges: Bouygues, Besix, Vinci SA, General Works * Buildings: CSCEC, Piccini * Universities: Unicon * Regional parliament: Summa * Presidential palace: Seguibat * Ministry buildings: CSCEC

==References== {{reflist|30em}}

==External links== {{wikivoyage}} * {{Commons-inline}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20120122153733/http://www.greensavers.pt/2011/11/04/atelie-portugues-desenha-futura-capital-da-guine-equatorial/ Ateliê português desenha futura capital da Guiné Equatorial]

Category:2015 establishments in Equatorial Guinea Category:Populated places in Djibloho Category:Planned capital cities Category:Capital cities in Africa Category:Populated places established in 2015