[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.7″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.7″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.7″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.7″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Speaking to France 24 on the sidelines of the IFTM Top Resa trade show in Paris, C\u00f4te d’Ivoire’s Minister of Tourism and Leisure, Siandou Fofana, announced that construction of Akwaba Park, a major theme park first promised back in 2018, is about to begin. We look at the project, its history and what this promise really involves.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.7″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.7″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/papacitoyen.reves-connectes.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/09\/cote-d-ivoire.jpg” alt=”Map of West Africa highlighting C\u00f4te d’Ivoire” title_text=”cote-d-ivoire” _builder_version=”4.27.7″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||1px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.7″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.7″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.7″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
C\u00f4te d’Ivoire on a map of West Africa<\/p>\n
On 16 September 2026, Siandou Fofana was the guest on France 24\u2019s Journal de l\u2019Afrique<\/a> (in French), presented by Meriem Amellal. The minister was in Paris leading the Ivorian delegation to IFTM Top Resa<\/a>, the major travel industry trade show held from 15 to 17 September at Porte de Versailles.<\/p>\n Most of the interview focused on the results of the \u201cSublime C\u00f4te d’Ivoire\u201d strategy, launched in 2018 and, in the minister’s words, now a genuine brand for promoting the country as a destination. But one announcement, billed as an exclusive, caught our attention: Akwaba Park, described as the largest theme park on the continent and as an \u201cAfrican-style Disneyland\u201d.<\/p>\n The name is not new. The foundation stone was laid on 3 July 2018 in Port-Bou\u00ebt, in southern Abidjan, on a 100-hectare site 14 kilometres from Grand-Bassam. The plans included a theme park, a water park and two eco-hotels, backed by 80 billion CFA francs, around \u20ac122 million, from Ivorian banks and investors.<\/p>\n The park was due to open in 2022. It never did. In 2019, the ministry even had to deny rumours that the project was moving and confirm that it would stay in Port-Bou\u00ebt. Since then, little had been heard of it.<\/p>\n On France 24, the minister placed the start of construction in Songon. This is not an Abidjan neighbourhood but a cluster of \u00c9bri\u00e9 villages west of Yopougon, which became a sub-prefecture of the Abidjan Autonomous District in 2001, some twenty kilometres west of the city. He spoke of a 100-hectare park, work starting in October, a first phase completed in 2028 and full delivery in 2030.<\/p>\n The location changes how we read the story. Songon is already home to another project announced in June 2026: the Parc Oriental de Songon<\/a>, led by the CRBC consortium. Its first phase represents more than 120 billion CFA francs, around \u20ac183 million, over 120 hectares. It includes a water park, children’s play areas and a hotel, with a snow and ice complex and a conference hotel to follow in a second phase. Its timeline sets the foundation stone for September 2026, construction for January 2027 and opening for October 2028.<\/p>\n The two timelines are strikingly similar. At this stage, no written source clarifies whether Akwaba Park has moved from Port-Bou\u00ebt to Songon, whether it has merged with the Parc Oriental, or whether these are two neighbouring projects. We will be following this closely.<\/p>\n The most interesting part of the phrase is not the Disney reference but what came with it. According to the minister, the park will showcase the African and Ivorian imagination and the legends of the continent. That is a promise of a true themed park, not just a collection of rides. Abidjan already has leisure parks that families enjoy, such as Paradisia, and Haliat Parc in Yamoussoukro won the National Excellence Award in 2026. A park built around African storytelling would fill a genuinely new niche.<\/p>\n To gauge the ambition, a French benchmark helps: Parc Spirou Provence<\/a> (in French), a themed park built from scratch in Monteux. It opened in 2018 on 4.5 hectares with around a dozen attractions, several of them from well-known manufacturers such as Zierer and Simworx. It relied on a financing package of almost \u20ac50 million, with total investment expected to reach around \u20ac85 million by 2024 for 25 to 30 attractions on nearly 10 hectares.<\/p>\n Akwaba Park’s original budget, around \u20ac122 million, is therefore higher than Parc Spirou’s, but for an area ten times larger that also includes a water park and two hotels. Earthworks and labour are no doubt cheaper in Abidjan. The rides, however, will most likely be ordered from specialist manufacturers, many of them European, and cost the same as they would in France: as early as 2018, the Dutch company Vekoma was among the partners received by the ministry. Unless new funding is announced, the known budget points to a large regional park rather than a resort on the scale of Disneyland Paris, one of our favourite parks, whose transformation into Disney Adventure World<\/a> (in French) alone involved \u20ac2 billion. The promise will need more detail: an updated budget, design partners and a first list of attractions.<\/p>\n The country can point to a recent success. From 13 January to 11 February 2024, C\u00f4te d’Ivoire hosted the 34th Africa Cup of Nations, and the Elephants won it, beating Nigeria 2\u20131 in the final at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Ebimp\u00e9. Beyond the trophy, hotels, restaurants, travel agencies and transport all benefited from the influx of visitors, with economic spin-offs estimated at \u20ac550 million<\/a> (in French). The country also used the tournament to promote \u201cSublime C\u00f4te d’Ivoire\u201d in the five host cities. AFCON proved a hosting capacity that a major park will be able to build on.<\/p>\n In June 2026, the ministry presented the results of \u201cSublime C\u00f4te d’Ivoire\u201d: 6.7 million visitors in 2025 and more than 1,100 billion CFA francs in revenue, or 8.7% of national GDP. On France 24, Siandou Fofana added that the number of hotel rooms had doubled and that Abidjan had become a regional hub for business travel, behind Nigeria and Morocco. He already cited this third place in Africa in a 2018 interview with Oxford Business Group<\/a>.<\/p>\n The aim is to turn business travellers into leisure visitors, make Abidjan the continent’s \u201cleisure crossroads\u201d and put the country among Africa’s leading destinations by 2030, with new five-star hotels on the way. The minister also highlighted the country’s parks and nature reserves, its UNESCO-recognised biodiversity, ecotourism and beach tourism.<\/p>\n The minister returned to the Grand-Bassam attack of March 2016, which he described as a trauma. He assured the country’s partners and travellers that C\u00f4te d’Ivoire is now a safe country with strengthened security. If you are planning a family trip, we recommend also checking your government’s official travel advice, such as the French foreign ministry\u2019s travel advice<\/a> (in French).<\/p>\n We welcome this announcement with interest, and with the caution its history calls for. A major park telling African legends is an exciting idea: it could create a truly distinctive place rather than a copy of European or American models. The Dragon Ball project on the former Mirapolis site<\/a> reminded us of one thing: the road from announcement to opening is a long one.<\/p>\n Three signs will tell us how solid the project is: construction actually starting in October, a budget and partners made public, and clarity on the link with the Parc Oriental de Songon.<\/p>\n This story also matters to us on a more personal level. As a mixed-heritage couple and a blended family, C\u00f4te d’Ivoire is one of the countries closest to our hearts, and we cannot wait to discover it together. If Akwaba Park lives up to its promises, we will be there to tell you all about it.<\/p>\nAkwaba Park, a project dating back to 2018<\/h2>\n
Songon, 100 hectares and a tight schedule<\/h2>\n
An \u201cAfrican-style Disneyland\u201d: what the promise implies<\/h2>\n
AFCON, a successful showcase<\/h2>\n
Business travel as a springboard<\/h2>\n
Safety, a message to visitors<\/h2>\n
Key takeaways<\/h2>\n
\n
Our take as enthusiasts<\/h2>\n