Senegal has officially pulled the plug on Akon’s ambitious plan to build a $6 billion futuristic city along its Atlantic coast. The government says the project never took off and that the singer failed to meet key financial and construction commitments.

The project, first unveiled in 2020, was meant to turn the quiet village of Mbodiène into a tech-focused smart city, complete with solar power, advanced infrastructure, and Akon’s own cryptocurrency. It was heavily inspired by Marvel’s fictional Wakanda.

But five years later, very little progress has been made. Aside from a youth center, a basketball court, and an information booth, none of the promised development has materialized.

Now, Senegal’s government has reclaimed most of the 136 acres of land originally given to Akon. “That project no longer exists,” said Serigne Mamadou Mboup, head of the government’s coastal development agency, SAPCO, in an interview with local media.

Instead, the government will move forward with a new, scaled-down tourism project on the same site. This new plan is expected to cost around $1.2 billion (665 billion CFA francs) and will be backed mostly by private investors.

Akon will keep only 8 hectares of the original land, which will be integrated into the new government-led project.

Despite the failed vision of Akon City, officials are optimistic about the revised plan. They believe it could create up to 15,000 jobs in its first phase, bringing long-overdue economic activity to the Mbodiène area.

The original blueprint included a hospital and other major facilities, with the first phase once set to finish by 2023, a target that was never met.