Plans for a $6 billion futuristic city in Senegal, envisioned by U.S.-born singer Akon and impressed by the fictional Wakanda of Marvel’s Black Panther, have been formally deserted by Senegalese authorities following years of setbacks and failed building milestones.
Serigne Mamadou Mboup, head of the Senegalese tourism authority Sapco, said, “The Akon City venture now not exists,” confirming that the bold city growth shall be changed by a extra modest initiative in partnership with Akon.
Why It Issues
The cancellation of Akon City marks the collapse of some of the high-profile pan-African growth fantasies in a technology and highlights the dangers related to celebrity-driven megaprojects and unproven monetary fashions reminiscent of cryptocurrency. Akon, who spent a part of his childhood in Senegal, had promoted town as Africa’s answer to Wakanda and a launchpad for his Akoin cryptocurrency.
What To Know
Akon introduced plans for the city in 2018, billing it as a high-tech, eco-friendly metropolis to be powered by photo voltaic vitality and Akoin, his newly created cryptocurrency.
The designs, marked by futuristic skyscrapers and pan-African symbolism, drew direct comparisons to Black Panther’s Wakanda, with some media protection positioning town as impressed by Wakanda.
Preliminary work was marked by a high-profile launch ceremony in 2020, the place Akon, Sapco officers, and native dignitaries unveiled a commemorative plaque on a naked stretch of land.
Nevertheless, by mid-2024, the one construction on website was an unfinished reception corridor. “We’re still waiting,” native leaders mentioned, expressing the frustration of native communities who had anticipated jobs and speedy financial transformation. Residents described empty fields grazed by goats relatively than new buildings or vibrant metropolis life.
10 Design Structure
Akon City’s reliance on Akoin as its fee spine grew to become a key vulnerability. The cryptocurrency carried out poorly out there, dropping to as little as $0.003, and skeptical regulators in Senegal questioned its legality.
The CFA franc stays the one acknowledged authorized tender in Senegal, with the Central Financial institution of West African States (BCEAO) expressing reservations about cryptocurrency-based economies.
Akon reportedly struggled to safe the $6 billion needed, with a number of funds to nationwide companions missed. An ultimatum from Sapco set tight deadlines for Akon to reveal progress or face the lack of nearly all of his growth land.
Of their newest assertion, Sapco confirmed a mutual settlement to shift towards a extra lifelike, “totally supported” venture.
Akon publicly acknowledged that “It wasn’t being managed correctly—I take full duty for that.”
Officers indicated they might collaborate with Akon on a scaled-down plan extra more likely to obtain completion.
What Folks Are Saying
Serigne Mamadou Mboup, head of Sapco, informed BBC Information: “The Akon City venture now not exists.”
Akon mentioned: “It wasn’t being managed correctly – I take full duty for that.”
What Occurs Subsequent
The Senegalese authorities introduced that growth on the positioning would proceed however with a revised and extra modest plan involving Akon. The strategic Atlantic coastal land stays earmarked for potential new tasks, which can achieve urgency because the nation prepares for the 2026 Youth Olympic Video games and seeks to spice up tourism.
