Muammar Gaddafi and Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade laid the foundation stone on Wednesday

 of a $250 million (143 million pounds) tower block in the Senegalese capital to be called "Gaddafi Tower". The project, entirely funded by a Libyan investment fund, will stretch over 48,000 square metres with a five-star hotel, a conference centre, offices and shops."This will be one of the major buildings in Africa," said Abdoulaye Balde, executive director of the organisation of the Islamic Conference, speaking at the stone-laying ceremony. The building will be in Dakar's downtown area opposite the historic island of Goree, a symbol of the colonial-era slave trade in Africa. Gaddafi arrived in the West African state on Monday for a four-day official visit, coinciding with Senegal's April 4 Independence Day celebrations.Both Wade and Gaddafi are proponents of pan-Africanism.