SMB-Winning consortium to invest $3bn into construction in Guinea

The SMB-Winning consortium has announced its plans to build an alumina (aluminium oxide) refinery in Dapilon, Guinea, along with a railway running through Boffa.

The total cost of the project will be an investment of US$3bn (GNF27trn), with a feasibility and social environment impact study commencing in 2018.

 “This investment illustrates our ambitions for the Boké region and our contribution to Guinea’s economic and social development,” commented Frédéric Bouzigues, Managing Director of Société Minière de Boké (SMB).

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“The mining sector, together with agriculture, is the lung of the country’s development and, in our approach as a mining operator, must also focus on facilitating a local redistribution of the benefits, especially in favor of the communities, education, jobs, and priority sectors such as the agro-industry.”

The start of construction works is anticipated to begin in 2019, creating 10,000 jobs, and the railway is expected to be completed by 2022.

“The local processing of raw materials is one of the biggest challenges for a more inclusive growth in Africa because it creates more value locally while leading to economic diversification,” stated Fadi Wazni, Chairman of SMB.

“This commitment to Guinea also demonstrates our confidence in the continued improvement of both its business environment and macroeconomic stability.”

“This project also demonstrates the technical and financial complementarity of our Franco-Sino-Singaporean consortium to carry out this type of ambitious projects.”