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Thu March 28 2024

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Construction contract awarded for ‘real-life Wakanda’

18 Jun 20 A US$6bn contract has been awarded for construction of a new city in Senegal that has been described as a real-life version of a futuristic country in Marvel movies.

The vision for Akon City
The vision for Akon City

US-based KE International has been awarded the US$6bn (£4.8bn) construction contract for Akon City,

The project is being spearheaded by Senegalese-American musician and philanthropist Akon, who has previously likened plans for the city to the high-tech African country of Wakanda in the Marvel science fiction universe. The idea is that the city will be run exclusively on a cryptocurrency called Akoin, after Akon.

KE International has secured US$4bn from investors for the first and second phases of execution of Akon City, and will have Dubai based Bakri & Associates Development Consultants lead the architectural designs under KE International guidance.

Akon City's Phase 1 is expected to complete by end of 2023, and includes construction of roads, a hospital campus, homes, hotels, a school, a waste facility and a solar power plant.

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Phase 2 will run from 2024 to 2029 and is intended to include parks, universities, a stadium, hotels, and an industrial complex.

One of the co-development partners is Senegal's state tourism agency Sapco. The government of Senegal’s president Macky Sall has earmarked Akon City as a special zone with tax breaks to encourage investment.

Akon City is located on 2,000 acres by the ocean, less than an hour drive South of the new International airport in Dakar. KE International said that it will build Akon City to be LEED-certified.

Current KE International work includes the design and execution of the US$2bn Mwale Medical & Technology City, a ‘green’ city in Western Kenya, which began in 2014 and is due for completion in December this year.

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