Guinea: train to transport bauxite in service soon

Guinea’s new railway line will begin the transportation of bauxite by June 2021.

The international SMB-Winning consortium responsible for the $3 billion project made the announcement, Friday.

The project aims to exploit new bauxite deposits in the Santou and Houda region (250 km north of Conakry), then to transport and process the ore for export, thanks to an alumina refinery to be built in the Boké special economic zone, a city close to the border with Guinea-Bissau.

The construction of this 135-kilometre railway will be carried out by two Chinese companies.

Guinea derives most of its income from the exploitation of mines such as bauxite, making it the 3rd largest producer in the world.

Conakry thus aims to catch up on its infrastructure backlog in order to exploit its rich mining potential, in particular.

The international SMB-Winning consortium, composed of Guinean, Singaporean (40%) and Chinese (23%) interests, will operate the railway for 33 years, before returning it to the state, on the basis of a public-private partnership.