Akon’s $6bn futuristic city reveal met with mixed reactions

R&B singer Akon, who hails from Senegal but resides in New Jersey USA, visited his home country this week to unveil his plans and blueprint for a multibillion-dollar futuristic city he wants to build in the West African country.

The singer tweeted in at the beginning of 2020 that he had finalised an agreement to build the 2,000-acre (809-hectare) “Akon City” in Senegal, which he has said would be like a “real-life Wakanda”, a reference to the futuristic African country in the 2018 film Black Panther.

The musician’s plans to build the city was first announced at the Cannes Lion Festival in 2018.

Speaking at the unveiling in Dakar, the capital of Senegal, this week, Akon said: “I want the buildings to look like real African sculptures that they make in the villages.”

Although well-meaning in his intention to move Senegal into the future with his ambitious plan, Akon’s city construction has been met with mixed reviews.

According to the Washington Post, some questioned how the buildings constructed with concrete, glass, copper and steel matched Senegal’s warm, dry climate as huge windows tend to invite uncomfortable heat.

“People are going to have to have the air conditioning on all day long,” said Mamy Tall, a local architect who runs the Instagram page DakarLives, which has 297,000 followers.

Akon says construction is set to begin early next year.

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