Guinea Opens Box Port in UAE Bauxite Complex
Guinea opened a new container terminal on Wednesday, part of a bauxite complex being developed in the West African country by Abu Dhabi investment fund Mubadala.
Mubadala signed a $5 billion agreement with Guinea in 2013 to develop a bauxite mine, alumina refinery and a port in Guinea to secure raw material for the United Arab Emirate's aluminium plants.
The terminal in the new port of Kamsar will be used by the complex as well as by third parties as an alternative to container facilities in Conakry.
"This project remains an important milestone for my development programme for Guinea," President Alpha Conde said in a statement.
Guinea has around seven billion tonnes of bauxite resources, over a quarter of the global total, the statement said.
Guinea Alumina Corporation's (GAC) mine is in the Boke region of north-west Guinea, which holds over 1 billion tonnes of bauxite. Commercial production at the mine is expected to begin in 2018.
GAC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Emirates Global Aluminium.
Reporting By Stanley Carvalho