Senegalese singer Akon has received a final notice to commence construction of the proposed $6 billion ‘Akon City’ project from the Senegalese authorities.
If he does not act, the government will take back 90% of the land granted to him.
Flashback
In 2020, Senegal gave the artist 136 acres of land on the Atlantic coast to build his Akon City, which was envisioned as a real Wakanda, by Black panther movie theater.
The project was to include condominiums, amusement parks and a beach resort. It would be solar powered and use its own Acoin cryptocurrency.
Between the lines
In his proposal, Akon stated that residents and visitors would use the Akoin cryptocurrency that would be released that year.
Akoin was launched in November 2020, but has dropped to just $0.003 as of December 11, the last available price on crypto exchanges.
Flash Forward
Six years later, the Akon City project has yet to take off with the Senegalese authorities growing impatient.
Digging deeper
According to sources, Sapco-Senegalthe state entity tasked with developing the country’s coastal and tourist areas, has no payments from Akon.
Akon City in Uganda
Although construction on the first Akon City in Senegal hadn’t even begun, Akon announced plans to build a second city in Uganda.
Yoweri Museveni, president of Uganda, allocated a square mile of land to the singer in 2021.
So far, the preliminary work is yet to start due to the commuters resisting the movement.
Uganda will hand over the land to the developer after the residents are compensated, but payments can only start from July 2025 because the government did not budget for them for the current financial year.
What they say
- “Akon City is a scandal,” Senegalese MP Bara Gaye told parliament in February 2023.What is the government waiting for his contract to expire??”
- Select Sec, project manager of Dakar-based Axiome Construction, said work at Mbodiene is progressing. “Akon City is happening“, said Sec. “We are just waiting for instructions on how to proceed.”
- Geotechnical studies, brush clearance and an inventory of protected plant species on part of the land are underway, according to a statement shared by Akon’s Dakar-based partners in late 2023.
- Akon is expected in the Senegalese capital in the coming weeks to reassure partners about the projects’ viability, his team said.
Source: Bloomberg
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