Sat. Jul 5th, 2025
BBC: Akon’s $6 Billion Senegal City Project Stalled

Plans for a futuristic city in Senegal, the brainchild of musician Akon, have been abandoned in favor of a more pragmatic project, according to authorities.

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

“Fortunately, an agreement has been reached between Sapco and the entrepreneur Alioune Badara Thiam [Akon]. What he’s developing with us is a realistic project, which Sapco will fully support.”

Akon, famed for his chart-topping hits of the 2000s, unveiled two ambitious initiatives in 2018 aimed at revolutionizing African society.

The first was Akon City, a project with an estimated cost of $6 billion (£5 billion). It was intended to operate using Akoin, a newly created cryptocurrency that constituted the second initiative.

Early designs for Akon City, showcasing its boldly curvaceous skyscrapers, drew comparisons to Wakanda, the awe-inspiring fictional metropolis from Marvel’s Black Panther films and comic books.

However, after five years marked by setbacks, the 800-hectare site in Mbodiène, situated approximately 100km (60 miles) south of Dakar, the capital city, remains largely undeveloped. The only structure present is an incomplete reception building, with no roads, housing, or power grid in place.

“We were promised jobs and development,” a local resident told the BBC. “Instead, nothing has changed.”

Meanwhile, Akon’s Akoin cryptocurrency has struggled to provide returns to its investors. Akon himself conceded, “It wasn’t being managed properly – I take full responsibility for that.”

Questions had also arisen regarding the legality of Akoin serving as the primary payment method for Akon City residents. Senegal utilizes the CFA franc, regulated and issued by the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), which, like many central banks, has voiced opposition to cryptocurrency.

The plans for Akon City were extensive.

Phase one alone was slated to include a hospital, shopping mall, school, police station, waste management center, and solar power plant, all to be completed by the end of 2023.

Located on Senegal’s Atlantic Coast, Akon’s high-tech, eco-friendly city was envisioned to operate entirely on renewable energy.

Despite Akon’s assertion in a 2022 BBC interview that the project was “100,000% moving”, no significant construction occurred following the initial launch ceremony.

The Senegalese government has now confirmed the widespread suspicions that the project had stalled beyond recovery, citing a lack of funding and suspended construction efforts as key factors in the decision.

While the original vision for Akon City has been shelved, the government states that it is now collaborating with Akon on a more “realistic” development project for the same location.

The land near Mbodiène retains significant strategic value, especially with the 2026 Youth Olympic Games approaching and anticipated growth in tourism.

Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.

Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica

There will be no state funerals until April 2026 – unless the president decides to make an exception.

The tax and spending bill, which is set to become law, includes sweeping changes to taxes, Social Security and more.

The two tourists were trampled to death by a female elephant that was with a calf, police say.

Trump says the fight would be part of next year’s celebration of 250 years of American independence.

Gen Assimi Goïta is set to remain in power until at least 2030 – his term can be renewed indefinitely.