TL;DR Breakdown
- So far, there has been little or no progress made in developing Akon crypto city.
- Locals had high hopes Akon crypto powered city would better their lives.
- With little progress made on the crypto city, locals are getting worried as hopes diminish.
- Engineering firm developing crypto city says over $4bn has been raised for crypto city project.
Locals in Senegal are beginning to express worry over the promising and glomming Akon crypto city as the project has experienced little or no progress since 2020, when a ceremonial stone was laid in a field near Mbodiene.
News outlets in Senegal reveal that the Akon crypto city has not progressed beyond the stone’s erection, with a small placard promoting Akon City having since fallen from its perch on top of the block.
Senegalese are now worried about the project not only becaue there has been no significant progress but also because of directs benefits they are to enjoy from the project which now erodes slowly.
What Akon crypto city promised Senegalese
Akon, the popular music star, touted the crypto city to own a police station, waste center, solar power plant, shopping center, hospital, and school by 2024 and would be completed entirely by 2030.
According to Akon, the smart city was inspired by the Marvel movie Black Panther. It would emerge as a “beacon of innovation and human development” to bolster Senegal economy and the West African economy by extension.
The crypto-powered smart city was to be located near the Senegalese village of Mbodiene.
Locals in Mbodiene mainly are most worried as they had high hopes of a rise in employment and economic activity, but now, nothing looks right again.
In wake of diminishing promises, locals express hope
Mbodiene village youth association, David Seck Sene, said that he still has hope for the project, stating that he does not see how a project like it could stop soon.
Another village head, Philomene Bamimba, head of a local women’s association, emphasized the economic benefits the city’s construction could bring for Mbodiene, “This is big for us,” she said.
Raising hopes on the project, Paul Martin of the U.S-based engineering firm KE International — the company that won the contract to construct Akon City — asserted that more than $4 billion in funding has been raised toward the project.
