Zuko Komisa

The ambitious Akon City project, spearheaded by American-Senegalese music star Akon and envisioned as a futuristic metropolis near Dakar, has been officially cancelled by Senegalese authorities.
“The Akon City project no longer exists,” Serigne Mamadou Mboup, director of Senegal’s tourism development agency (Sapco), confirmed to the BBC.
Launched in 2020, the project garnered significant global attention, promising a 500-hectare development inspired by the fictional Wakanda from Marvel’s Black Panther.
Plans included luxury hotels, skyscrapers, a technology hub, and even its own cryptocurrency, Akoin. Akon had promoted the initiative as a catalyst for local economic growth and technological advancement in West Africa.
However, the project faced multiple delays, initially attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic and later to financing challenges. Despite symbolic groundbreaking ceremonies, no actual construction ever commenced on the designated site, which has remained undeveloped.
The BBC reports that Senegalese authorities have now formally revoked the land allocation for the project, effectively bringing the ambitious venture to a halt.
While the original Akon City concept has been abandoned, the Senegalese government indicates it is now collaborating with Akon on a more “realistic” development proposal for the same location.
Mboup concluded,
“Fortunately, an agreement has been reached between Sapco and entrepreneur Alioune Badara Thiam [Akon]. What he is preparing with us is a realistic project, which Sapco will fully support.”



