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Senegal Abandons $6 Billion Akon City for Scaled-Back Tourism Development
SENEGAL, JUL 4 – Senegalese authorities cited funding failures and legal hurdles for abandoning the $6 billion Akon City project after five years of delays and incomplete construction, officials said.
- Senegalese authorities formally abandoned the $6 billion Akon City project, initially announced in 2018 and located on an 800-hectare site in Mbodine near Senegal's coast.
- The project stalled due to halted construction, missed payments, legal challenges, and Akon acknowledging mismanagement and his full responsibility for the failure.
- By mid-2024, only a half-finished reception building existed, while local residents expressed frustration over missed job promises and unfulfilled economic benefits.
- The leader of Senegal’s tourism agency, Sapco, confirmed that the Akon City initiative has been discontinued, adding that a practical new plan is currently being developed with Akon's active participation and full backing from Sapco.
- The cancellation highlights risks in celebrity-led megaprojects and unproven cryptocurrencies amid Senegal’s effort to boost tourism with a scaled-back plan on strategically valuable land.
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Akon's $6 Billion 'Wakanda' City Dream In Senegal Collapses. Here's What Went Wrong
Akons dream of building a futuristic $6 billion city in Senegal, modeled after Wakanda, has been reportedly shelved. The project, once hailed as a haven for the global Black diaspora, is now being replaced by a more realistic venture.
·New Delhi, India
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Cryptocurrency News | Cryptocurrency Prices | Market CapSenegal ditches Akon's 'unrealistic' city project
Designed with curvy skyscrapers and sleek infrastructure, early renderings of Akon City drew comparisons to Marvel's fictional African metropolis Wakanda
·Pointe-Noire, Congo
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources18
Leaning Left3Leaning Right2Center2Last UpdatedBias Distribution43% Left
Bias Distribution
- 43% of the sources lean Left
43% Left
L 43%
C 29%
R 29%
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