(Ecofin Agency) - Giant rapper Akon (pictured) broke the ground on the construction of the green city ‘Akon City’ in Senegal. Construction works are expected to begin in the first quarter of next year.

The Wakanda-like city is valued at $6 million, or about 80% of Senegal’s state budget for 2020. Akon said 20% of the required investment is already available. The project is being implemented by US company KE International in collaboration with Bakri & Associates Development Consultants, which designed the city.

Akon City will cover 2,000 ha. Phase I of the project is expected to be completed in 2023 allowing the construction of roads, a campus, a hospital, a mall, residences, hotels, a police station, a school, a landfill for waste, and a solar plant to power the city with.

The city will be certified LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), a North American system of standardization for high environmental quality buildings created by the US Green Building Council. A second phase between 2024 and 2029 will allow the completion of the city, which will operate exclusively with the “Akoin” crypto money. The project has already obtained the status of a special tax zone, which will allow it to benefit from the reduction of imports.

Gwladys Johnson Akinocho