Akon Metropolis’ Scrapped After Being Deserted By Its Namesake

[ad_1] by Kandiss Edwards July 10, 2025

Rapper and Millionaire, Akon's deliberate Akon Metropolis will not be a actuality. The Senegalese authorities will now construct a resort in its stead.

Plans for a futuristic African metropolis backed by New Jersey-born music mogul and entrepreneur Akon have been scrapped, and the positioning in Senegal will now be developed as a $1 billion resort, Bloomberg reported.

Senegal’s tourism company rescinded Akon’s multibillion-dollar “Akon Metropolis” plan in early July and shifted course towards a luxurious resort mannequin with personal funding, Enterprise Insider Africa r eported.

The unique imaginative and prescient, a $6 billion “actual‑life Wakanda” powered by Akon’s cryptocurrency, Akoin, didn't materialize. Up to now, the property has solely constructed a welcome heart. In August 2024, Akon was warned that failure to satisfy deadlines and fee schedules to the tourism company ,Sapco, may end result within the forfeiture of the property.

In a press release, Senegal lawmakers stated Akon Metropolis had stalled. The land has returned to state management, and the resort venture will prioritize in a single day tourism and hospitality infrastructure over city growth.

Akon Metropolis has been scrapped in Senegal, after 7 years of delay for a extra life like venture.

Akon is engaged on a brand new venture within the space. pic.twitter.com/doNJfncwp2

— Africa Details Zone (@AfricaFactsZone) July 9, 2025

“That venture not exists,” stated Serigne Mamadou Mboup to Senegal’s nationwide press company.

The collapse of Akon Metropolis is a setback for the creating nation. Pivoting in the direction of large-scale tourism will permit the nation to capitalize on the gorgeous panorama. But, native community-centered growth will take a backseat. Akon, whose internet value is estimated at $80 million, first unveiled his Senegal blueprint in 2018. The “Locked Up” rapper partnered with the Senegalese authorities on a plan that included a hospital, college, photo voltaic grid, and high-tech infrastructure. Regardless of enthusiastic launch occasions, building by no means progressed past a foundational marker set in 2020.

The pivot to a resort mannequin displays a extra typical strategy to attracting international capital and producing income. Senegal’s tourism company emphasised that the brand new venture will likely be “life like and sustainable.” Particulars about builders and building timelines are anticipated to be launched later this month. Akon’s dream of constructing a high-tech megacity in his ancestral homeland has ended, however the revised resort plan affords a extra tangible alternative for financial affect.