A completely new town is expected to spring up in the desert areas of the US state of New Mexico by the end of 2020. But this settlement will be completely different from anything seen so far because it will be the 1st newly built ghost town in the world, reports Wired magazine.
The building plans are for a medium-sized town, capable of having a population of nearly 40 000. There will be tall office buildings, modern suburban areas, stores, gas stations, kids' playgrounds and even underground infrastructure.
However, not a single person will actually be living in the town. The point of the location, 30 miles (49 km) from the northern border of Mexico, is to serve as a laboratory for producing new and avant-garde technologies.
The 1st projects that the endorsers of the modern ghost town from the Center for Innovation, Testing and Evaluation will be working on will have to do with developing package delivery drones and driverless cars. The town will take up an entire 24 square miles according to plan.
"Our goal is to provide the opportunity for carrying out large-scale technological experiments in conditions similar to the real world, without anyone being hurt, " states Bob Brumley, managing director of the Center for Innovation.
He is hoping that the infrastructure will be built within 2 years, while the town above it will be completed between 2018 and 2020. According to preliminary estimates, the value of the project will reach $1 billion.
The predominantly desert and low populated territory of the state of New Mexico has often been chosen as a testing range for the American government. The most well-known tests, including those carried out in Nevada, were the nuclear tests done in the state. According to unofficial data, there have been more than 32 test detonations of nuclear weapons since the mid-40s of the 20th century.
The most famous town in the state is Roswell, famed for the claims of the UFO crash in 1947 and as the town in which the popular actress Demi Moore was born in.
