Singer, entertainer and philanthropist Akon has established a contract with a United States engineering firm KE International for the development of the next two phases of the cryptocurrency run city called Akon City. The $4 billion agreement will have the consulting and engineering firm use the funds in a large scale 10 year development plan for the the city, which which was first announced by Akon in January 2020.
The first phase will see residential areas, hotels, a mall, a solar power plant and a hospital, among other developments. It is expected to be complete by the end of 2023.
While most services and districts will be complete by 2023, the press release states that the city is already 85% complete and has 35,000 residents. Phase 2 has a 5 year development plan that runs from 2024 to 2029, and will end with the city operating completely on Akoin.
The city, which was revealed in January, will use the Stellar-based Akoin as its currency and will feature numerous districts as part of its high-tech, futuristic city including airport, grid, golf, industrial and plaza districts. Akon elaborated on the eventual plans for the city in the Blockdown 2020 conference held in April 2020.
The city has already seen $2 billion dollars of investment (bringing the total investment to $6 billion) and has grand ambitions, with press releases stating that it expects a minimum of “one million transactions in the first year in this City and growth to 100 million transactions annually within five years.”
KE Engineering has prior experience in designing green cities in Africa, having worked on the Mwale Medical and Technology City (MMTC), which also plans to use Akoin. Dubai-based Bakri & Associates Development Consultants will lead the architectural design for Akon City.
