Arthur Greene
It is to be called Akon City, Uganda, and it looks like something a creative director would dream up for a sci-fi movie.
Senegalese-American RnB megastar, Akon, has agreed a deal with the Ugandan government to build such a city, to be completed by 2036.
Akon City, Uganda, is the second city the singer-turned-mogul has agreed to build on the African continent after he agreed plans for a city – also called Akon City – with the Senegalese government in 2018.
Akon, whose real name is Aliaune Thiam, announced last year that he was pressing ahead with plans to construct the city in Senegal, and that he had laid the first stone for the city in Mbodiène, a coastal village 62 miles from the capital, Dakar.
Like its sister city, Akon City, Uganda will operate on Akoin cryptocurrency.
However, Akon, real name Aliaune Thiam, can’t say how the city will be financed, though Akon City, Senegal reportedly cost $6 billion (R88 billion).
In an interview about how the Ugandan city would be financed, Akon said: “This is irrelevant. Money is everywhere, I have the potential to pool resources.”
The Ugandan government has allocated one square mile of land on which to build. The city is likely to follow the blueprint laid in Senegal which includes a hospital campus, its own school, and a police department, bas well as parks and other recreational facilities.
When asked whether the average Ugandan will be able to afford these amenities Akon said the development of crypto-currency will bring the country much-needed opportunities and allow Ugandans to invest in themselves.
“I know if I put it there, they’re going to find a way to afford it because it’s going to motivate them,” Akon said.
Picture source: @Akon
