Senegal confirms cancellation of $6bn Akon City plans

Senegal government have confirmed that plans for a futuristic city in Senegal, proposed by singer Akon, have officially been scrapped.

“The Akon City project no longer exists,” said Serigne Mamadou Mboup, head of Senegal’s tourism development agency, Sapco.

“Fortunately, an agreement has been reached between Sapco and the entrepreneur Alioune Badara Thiam [aka Akon].

What he’s preparing with us is a realistic project, which Sapco will fully support.”

Akon, famous for his 2000s music hits, was born in the US but raised partly in Senegal.

In 2018, he announced two bold initiatives: a $6 billion smart city and a cryptocurrency called Akoin, intended to power the city.

Initial designs showed sweeping, curved skyscrapers that reminded many of Wakanda, the fictional African city from Marvel’s Black Panther.

But after five years, the 800-hectare site in Mbodiène, about 100km south of Dakar, remains largely untouched.

The only building is an incomplete reception center. There are no roads, no power supply, and no homes.

“We were promised jobs and development,” one local resident said. “Instead, nothing has changed.”

Akon admitted the Akoin cryptocurrency faced problems repaying investors.

“It wasn’t being managed properly—I take full responsibility for that,” he said in a past interview.

There were also concerns about legality. Senegal uses the CFA franc, controlled by the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), which—like many central banks—is wary of cryptocurrencies.

The city was originally supposed to include a hospital, mall, school, police station, waste center, and solar plant—all by the end of 2023.

Akon City was meant to run fully on renewable energy and boost the country’s image on the world stage.

Despite Akon’s claim in 2022 that the project was “100,000% moving,” no significant progress followed the launch ceremony.

Now, the Senegalese government has confirmed the project has stalled beyond recovery.

They blame lack of funding and stopped construction efforts.

Although Akon City has been canceled, officials say a more “realistic” project will replace it on the same land.

The site in Mbodiène still holds strategic value, especially with the 2026 Youth Olympic Games on the horizon and expected growth in tourism.

(BBC)

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