Diamniadio Lake City


Diamniadio Lake City is a government approved futuristic township based in Diamniadio, Senegal. The township is conceptualized to ease the residential and commercial clutter in the capital of Dakar, which is currently the home to a quarter of the country’s 14 million people.

History

The Diamniadio Lake City is part of President Macky Sall's plan to rebuild the city of Diamniadio and revitalize economy of Senegal. The project was approved in 2013 after Macky Sall became the President of Senegal in 2012. The development of the new city is taking place around 30 km from Dakar and it is close to the Blaise Diagne International Airport. The airport opened in December 2017.

Construction

The idea behind the development of Diamniadio Lake City is to ease the population pressure on Dakar. The project attracted a lot of bids from local and international companies, including Germany’s state-owned KFW Development Bank, ultimately won by the Semer Investment Group, based in UAE and Senegal. The Semer Group is led by its CEO Diene Marcel Diagne, a Senegalese entrepreneur. The developers are working with the Senegalese government and other companies for a successful completion.
The project is estimated to cost $2 billion and will extend over an area of 1644 hectares. The Diamniadio Lake City will contain residential areas and business districts to accommodate hotels, fashion centers, Abdou Diouf International conference area, Dakar Arena for sports, research centers, exposition center, government ministries, universities, and other entertainment areas. The Diamniadio Lake City is a LEED certified project.
On completion, the new city will be connected to Dakar through a 32 km express highway, which will reduce the travel time from 90 minutes to an average of 30 minutes. The first regional electric express train, the Train Express Regional, is scheduled to launch in the first quarter of 2019.
The time frame for building the new city is 10 years, as per the memorandum of understanding with the Senegalese government. The city will have several financial, transport, and educational hubs. The township as a whole, Diamniadio will be developed by 2035. Cheikh Kante, the Minister in-charge of the project, confirmed that the township is around 80% complete.

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