Guinea: MPs approve agreements with Kimbo, SMB
(SMB-WINNING) – Almost a month after signing the agreements with the government, dated November 26, 2018, the project of the Consortium SMB-Winning was ratified unanimously Monday, December 24 by the deputies of the National Assembly of the Republic of Guinea, in the presence of the Minister responsible, the Minister of Mines and Geology Abdoulaye Magassouba, and the entire Directorate of the Consortium.
The three ratified Conventions cover several development projects, including the construction of a 135km railway line, the production and industrial exploitation of bauxite in the new areas of Santou Il and Houda and finally the construction and construction of operation of an alumina refinery in the Boké Special Economic Zone. Among the community development projects planned by the SMB is an agricultural development corridor that will be set up along the railway to promote the exploitation of the surrounding fertile plains.
According to the contents of the report of this integrated project, presented by Honorable Camara, president of the Mines Commission of Parliament, Guinea will be able to create more than 9,000 direct jobs in the construction phase and 50,000 indirect jobs. The operational phase will create more than 5,000 direct jobs, not to mention the benefits of the railway construction. The opportunity was taken advantage of by the Chairman of the commission to salute the role of Fadi Wazni, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the SMB, as a “pioneer of the Guinean mining sector”.
After the presentation of the report by the committee on the merits, the commission in charge of mining, it was the turn of the Minister of Mines and Geology to answer a few questions from the elected representatives of the people. During their interventions, all the presidents of the different parliamentary groups, all tendencies, urged the deputies to welcome this project “because it is part of the logic of the integrated mining development of Guinea”. The deputies finally voted unanimously, without any abstention.
Fadi Wazni, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the SMB-Winning consortium, commented: “For an investment of 3 billion US dollars, these agreements will constitute a real economic lever for Guinea. I can guarantee you that we are going to realize all these projects, for an extremely simple reason, it is that we have succeeded in securing almost all the financing. ”
Frédéric Bouzigues, Director General of the SMB, said: “We are particularly proud that the project has received the unanimous support of parliamentarians. We are still more determined to implement all our know-how to succeed this gigantic challenge of major investment in the Republic of Guinea. I would like to welcome in passing the dynamism in the relations with the communities on the impact areas of the project. They will be the first beneficiaries. ”
About the SMB-Winning consortium
Founded in 2014, the SMB-Winning Consortium brings together three global partners in the field of bauxite mining, production and transportation: Singapore’s Winning Shipping Ltd, a leading Asian shipowner; UMS, a transport and logistics company present in Guinea for more than 20 years; Shandong Weiqiao, a leading Chinese aluminum company with 160,000 employees and annual sales of US $ 45 billion. The State of Guinea, partner and member of the consortium, is a shareholder of 10%. Since its inception, SMB-Winning has invested more than US $ 1 billion in extractive activities in the Boké region. The consortium, which directly employs over 9,000 people, also built and manages two river terminals. For more information, visit smb-guinee.com