Guinea: over $3 billion for 160 km of rail and a port

A Chinese consortium led by SPIC and Chinalco has presented a project in Conakry worth over $3 billion to connect the mining area of Santou to Cape Verga via approximately 160 kilometers of railway and a deep-water port. The plan, detailed on September 17 by the Guinean Prime Minister’s office, aims for an evacuation capacity of 77 million tons of bauxite per year.

The port terminal is designed to accommodate vessels with a capacity of up to 200,000 tons. The promoters plan to simultaneously construct the railway line and the port over a projected period of 48 months, with at least 10,000 local jobs expected during the construction and operational phases.

However, the project remains in the negotiation stage. Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah announced the establishment of a multi-sector government team, coordinated by the Prime Minister’s office, to lead discussions with the consortium. The ministries of Mines, Transport, Environment, Infrastructure, and Energy are expected to participate in this initiative.

According to the Prime Minister’s office, the corridor is intended to open up several mining areas in the central-western part of the country, strengthen the national transport network, and support the industrialization of the regions it traverses. The government has welcomed the proposal but has not yet provided a start date for the work or a detailed financial plan.