Mongolia
Once a sleepy backwater of the communist bloc, Mongolia is now host to the biggest resource bonanza in the world. Deep within its soil lie some of the greatest un-tapped deposits of coal and mineral wealth in the world. Now it is opening its doors to foreign investment and the great mining multi-nationals of the world are racing to secure the massively lucrative contracts and profits that will be made there. Money and investment are pouring into the country and will potentially transform it over the next decade into something unrecognizable, and with it the inequalities rise.
As the multi-nationals scramble to be the chosen ones the risks of corruption, accountability and environmental vandalism are high. The finance pours in but predictably the vast majority of the population sees little or none of it. Seventy per cent of the capital's population in Ulaanbaatar live in the shantytown known as the Ger district, an area without clean water or sewers. Yet they see only private apartments and offices being built in the distance, and little of the money is being spent to alleviate local poverty.
These images are the start of a project that will examine if all the proclamation of the Mongolian political class and the international organization that back them up can deliver a market driven solution to the issues of development. Will the wealth created be spread fairly amongst the population or just service the interests of capital and the wealthy. Can the recourses be mined without massive environmental degradation?
The hope is that this time a country like Mongolia can get it right. But if history is the judge these kinds of free market approaches always ends up enriching the wealthy and disenfranchising the poor.
Only time will tell.