Development - New Cities
Akon Hasn’t Even Built his First ‘Futuristic’ City yet, By Andy Mukherjee with Danielle Paquette in Dakar, Senegal
A computer model of the $6 billion “futuristic” city Senegalese American singer Akon announced he plans to build on the coast of Senegal. (KE International)
R&B ARTIST AKON has yet to come anywhere close to realizing his ambitious vision for a “futuristic” city powered by a cryptocurrency called “Akoin” and built on land given to him by the Senegalese government. But that isn’t stopping the “Smack That” singer from making plans to build a second Akon City — this time in Uganda. The East African nation has agreed to identify “a place suitable in Uganda that has not less than one square mile, which will be made available to him and his team,” Isaac Musumba, Uganda’s minister for urban development, said at a news conference Monday. Akon will be in charge of attracting
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investment and managing the project, and will consult with the Ugandan government to come up with a theme for the “satellite city.” “We would like to emulate what has been done elsewhere for us to have an Akon City here,” Musumba said, according to local media outlets. A Missouri native whose family hails from Senegal, Akon, 47, has spoken expansively about his desire to create a real-life version of Wakanda, the futuristic African kingdom portrayed in Marvel’s “Black Panther.” His plans for the first Akon City involves building luxury condominiums, a seaside resort, office parks and even a university in tubular, seemingly
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