Mining firm Rio Tionto Alcan grants to invest CFA F2500b in Cameroon

Mining firm Rio Tionto Alcan will be investing about CFA F 2500 billion in Cameroon from 2011, geared toward financing three major projects in the country. The pact for the investment was signed in Yaounde, Cameroon Wednesday between the firm and the Cameroonian government. Rio Tinto Alcan is one of five product groups operated by Rio Tinto, a leading international mining group and a global supplier of high quality bauxite, alumina and aluminium. The first project aims at building a hydro-electric dam with a production capacity of 930MW in Song Mbengue, near Edea, situated some 200km away from Yaounde. The second project will see the building of an aluminium production unit in Kribi, a district located 250 km the Cameroonian capital city, with an expected annual production of 400,000 tonnes. The third project will be development of the deepwater harbour in Kribi. According to the chair of the group, Jean Philippe Bouygues, who signed the agreement with Cameroonian Prime Minister Philemon Yang, investments will start in late 2011 and operations will begin in 2016. It is one of the biggest investments ever in sub-Saharan Africa and will help develop the country's hydro-electric production capacity. According to Mr. Bouygues, the project is expected to generate close to 30,000 jobs in its construction stage and 5,000 when completed. source:www.afriquejet.com