Thursday, July 10, 2025 - Senegal has officially cancelled singer Akon’s ambitious plans to build a multibillion-dollar city along the country’s Atlantic coast due to insufficient progress and financial complications, replacing it with a $1.2 billion resort project.
In 2020, Senegal granted Akon 136 acres of land to build his
ambitious “Akon City”, a futuristic smart city envisioned to transform the
quiet farming village of Mbodiène into a tech-driven urban hub.
Last August, Akon received a final formal
notice from the Senegalese government to commence construction on his
proposed $6 billion futuristic city or risk losing the land. The notice
followed missed payments to Sapco, the state-owned agency tasked with
developing coastal and tourism zones.
Now, the government has reclaimed most of the land
originally allocated for the project inspired by Marvel’s fictional Wakanda
after little progress was made, according to Bloomberg.
“That project no longer exists,” said Serigne Mamadou Mboup,
head of Sapco-Senegal, the state agency responsible for developing coastal and
tourism zones, in comments to Senegal’s national press agency.
The land will now be used for a scaled-back project led by
Sapco, Senegal’s coastal development agency, which plans to invest 665 billion
CFA francs ($1.2 billion) to transform the area into a major tourism hub.
The government expects to raise 600 billion CFA francs from
private investors, with the remaining 65 billion CFA francs to come from state
funds.
Akon will only retain 8 hectares of land for a less
ambitious venture.
Despite the downsized scope, authorities say the new project
will still deliver some of the benefits originally promised. Sapco estimates
that the first phase could generate around 15,000 jobs, offering much-needed
economic momentum for Mbodiène and nearby communities.
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