Akon City was first announced by the singer in 2018. The futuristic city in the Wakanda fashion is gathering steam post covid. Here’s all you need to know.
What is Akon City?
The Senegalese-American singer in an interview with the BBC on Saturday revealed his ambitious city-building project is moving forward in Senegal. The news comes years after Akon first revealed his plan of making a futuristic pan-African smart city in the mold of Wakanda.
Wakanda is a fictional technologically advanced place in Africa, depicted in Black Panter. However, as per a BBC report, the land for the metropolis remains a “waste ground”. The singer blamed the pandemic for the delay, stating “We’re trying to get the city built as fast as possible”.
As per a 2020 CNN report, “100 kilometers from Senegal’s capital, Dakar, Akon City will be built on 2,000 acres of land, gifted to the singer by the country’s government”. The project will total at least $6 billion and so far, the singer has managed to raise about one-third of it. As per the city’s official website, it will contain several districts. They will be featuring offices, shopping malls, healthcare, luxury homes, eco-friendly tourist centers, and skyscrapers. It also showcases drawings of curvaceous, surreal skyscrapers inspired by traditional African village sculptures.
More on the project
With Akon city, the singer is planning to create jobs for people in Senegal. The city will be training people to “develop the capacity and analytical skills that drive local economies, create new industries, support civil society, lead capable governments, and make critical decisions that will affect the entire economy,” as per the website. Additionally, the singer is hoping to make a “home back home” for African Americans and other oppressed groups across the world.
“The system back home (in the US) treats them unfairly in so many different ways that you can never imagine. And they only go through it because they feel that there is no other way. If you’re coming from America or Europe or elsewhere in the diaspora. And you feel that you want to visit Africa, we want Senegal to be your first stop,” stated Akon. Moreover, the project involves the usage of Akoin, an app-based crypto for financial transactions.
