Epic £4bn seaside city with bendy skyscraper designed by Akon suffers huge blow
Ambitious plans to build an uber-futuristic city by the coast to the tune of $6 billion (£4.4bn) has hit a major setback.
Bizarrely spearheaded by singer-songwriter Alioune Badara Thiam (commonly known as Akon), the mega project aimed to transform an 800-hectare site in Mbodiène - a seaside city in Senegal, Africa - into a modern metropolis run entirely on renewable energy.
Mock prints of the development - which has been compared to the fictional city of Wakanda from the Marvel universe - show an unusually bendy skyscraper dominating the centre, alongside a slew of equally Black Mirror-esque buildings and green spaces.
Back in 2022, the Smack That star said his eponymously named 'Akon City', was '100,000 per cent moving' despite no significant construction following the initial launch ceremony. Phase one of the bold development was supposed to see a hospital, shopping mall, police station, school, waste station and solar plant all completed by the end of 2023.
However, after five years of constant setbacks, it's clear Akon City remains a mere dream - as the site in Mbodiène remains 'mostly empty'. It is said the only structure in place is an 'incomplete reception building'; roads, housing, and even a power grid have yet to be established in the area - provoking outrage from those living nearby.
"We were promised jobs and development," one local resident told the BBC. "Instead, nothing has changed." Serigne Mamadou Mboup, head of Senegal's tourism development body, Sapco, confirmed to the publication that Akon City 'no longer exists'. Officials blamed a lack of funding and halted construction efforts for the project being shelved.
However, it says it has now reached an agreement with the celeb - who spent his childhood between Senegal and the US - to produce a more 'realistic project' that can still benefit the area. Specific details on how much the project would cost, or when it is expected to be finished, have yet to be confirmed.
When Akon City was announced, plans for residents to use a brand new cryptocurrency called Akoin as as their primary payment method were also unveiled. According to the BBC, there have been questions over whether this would even be legal, as Senegal currently uses the CFA franc, which is both regulated and issued by the Central Bank of West African States.
Akoin has also struggled to repay its investors over the years, with Akon reportedly admitting: "It wasn't being managed properly. I take full responsibility for that."
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