Famous R&B singer, Aliuane Thiam, popularly known as Akon is going ahead with his plans to build a smart, high style and solar powered $6 billion city, called ‘Akon City’, in Senegal, where nationals can live and work and where Africans in diaspora will always be welcome.
The 48-year-old Senegalese-American singer, known for hits like “Smack That” and “Lonely,” said despite COVID-19 pandemic, construction of ‘Akon City’, which is expected to begin this year, will go ahead as planned.
According to Akon, the city will not only benefit the Senegalese but will also be a haven for a African-Americans.Residents of the city will use a cryptocurrency dubbed “Akoin.”
The 800-hectare city is located in Mbodiène, a coastal village, 94km from Dakar, the country’s capital.
The project is expected to take years to build, and Akon City will be certified LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). The singer-turned-philanthropist’s company, Akon Lighting Africa, already provides electricity to rural villages in about 25 countries on the continent.
Speaking at the unveiling of the project in 2020, Akon said:”We are looking at Akon City as the beginning of African future. Our idea is to build a futuristic city that will incorporate all the latest technology, cryptocurrencies. The future of African society should be coming in the future.”
The project, which was first touted by the singer in 2018, will feature a sprawling luxury seaside resorts for tourists, high-rise condos, recording studios, a stadium, eco-friendly tourist centres, luxury houses and shopping malls.
Akon City, designed by Bakri & Associates Development Consultants, will also provide a new home for African-Americans who face racial injustices.
“I want to build a project like this, that will give them motivation that there is a home back home and something they can relate and are familiar with. That they don’t have to fear and they also have a choice because the system back home treats them unfairly in so many different ways that you can never imagine. And they only go through it because they believe there is no other way,” Akon said.
He also added that the project is geared toward stimulating the local economy and creating much-needed jobs for the Senegalese.
“So 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,” the singer told AP.
