Akon moves ahead with ‘Akon City’ in Senegal

R&B Singer Akon is working on plans to create a futuristic pan-African city. He announced on Monday that the construction will be started next year on the $6 billion projects.

Smack that singer has described his idea as a “real-life Wakanda,” comparing his set up with the fiction blockbuster movie “Black Panther”.

According to the news agency AP, Akon hopes that Senegalese will be able to get jobs through this project. He also hoped that his project will work as a “home back home” for Black Americans and others facing racial injustices.

“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 feel that there is no other way,” he said.

“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.”

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The popular singer visited with the government officials the grassy fields Mbodienne some 100 kilometers (62 miles) outside the capital where construction has yet to begin. He said that the project already has secured about one-third of the $6 billion needed, but declined to publicly identify his investors, citing non-disclosure agreements. After construction begins in early 2021, the first phase of the project alone could take more than three years, he said.

Akon was born in the United States to Senegalese parents. Only 44 percent of rural households in Senegal had electricity even in 2018. Senegalese authorities have praised his efforts to work for the betterment of people and investing in Africa.

Tourism Minister Alioune Sarr has also appreciated the singer. He said that his launch comes at a time when private investment is badly required.

“COVID-19 has sown doubt everywhere. This means that those who had doubts about the attractiveness of Senegal, and Africa, in general, must convince themselves that there are men and women who believe in Africa,” he said.