Senegal Cancels Akon’s $6 Billion ‘Akon City’ Project Over Inaction, Missed Payments

Senegal has officially scrapped plans for singer Akon’s ambitious $6 billion “Akon City” project after years of delays, unmet financial commitments, and no visible construction activity, according to a report by Bloomberg.

First unveiled in 2020, Akon City was promoted as a futuristic, tech-savvy city inspired by Marvel’s Wakanda. The smart city was to be built in Mbodiène, a quiet coastal village, and powered by renewable energy and Akon’s own cryptocurrency, Akoin.

However, five years later, Senegalese authorities have reclaimed the bulk of the 136-acre site initially allocated to the Senegalese-American artist. Officials cited a lack of progress and failure to meet agreed milestones.

“That project no longer exists,” said Serigne Mamadou Mboup, head of SAPCO-Senegal, the government agency responsible for developing coastal and tourism zones, in a statement to the national press agency.

Instead, SAPCO will move forward with a smaller-scale, state-backed tourism project in the same area. The new development is estimated to cost 665 billion CFA francs (around $1.2 billion) and will be largely funded by private investors.

Akon will retain just 8 hectares of the original land allocation, which officials say will be integrated into the broader government-led development.