(CNN) — The award-winning R&B singer Akon is going ahead with ambitious plans to build a "futuristic" city in Senegal that he says will be a real-life version of Wakanda, the hi-tech nation portrayed in Marvel blockbuster "Black Panther." On Monday, Akon, real name Aliaume Damala Badara Akon Thiam, laid the first stone for Akon city in Mbodiene park, 100 kilometers from Dakar, the country's capital city, and said work would begin next year. He added that his hope is for Senegal to be the go-to tourist destination in Africa as a result of Akon city. Alioune Sarr, the Senegalese tourism minister, cheered Akon's decision to invest in the country at this time when the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the nation's economy. Akon, you have chosen to come to Senegal and invest $6 billion in the coming years," Sarr said.

Source: CNN September 02, 2020 16:07 UTC