Letter from Minmidt to Mintransports: The Bestway/AutSino Consortium makes an update

FYI...

Released yesterday, Cameroon's Minister of Mines has obviously just caught up with the controversy surrounding how Bestway/ANS managed to proceed so quickly with the feasibility studies.

Note that Alexandre Mbiam's statement does not attempt to directly answer the question (in typical politician style), and only provides a wash/rinse/repeat summary of the project.

Somewhat troubling?
Let's hope the Cameroon Government do not get cold feet, and rip up the two "binding" agreements.
Let's face it, Africa does not have a good reputation when it comes to sovereign risk, and why the continent remains underdeveloped.

I expect we'll here more of this in coming days.

IMO, it would be beneficial for all concerned if the ICC hearing (as well as the legal action via the Supreme Court of WA) were both completed with definitive outcomes, so everyone can move on with clarity. But this could be years away. Can't rush these blood sucking lawyers and their exorbitant day rates.




Letter from Minmidt to Mintransports: The Bestway/AutSino Consortium makes an update

By Bougna.net - March 15, 2022

PRESS RELEASE

A letter from Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development, addressed to his colleague in charge of Transports, dating from October 28, 2021, scum, recently, social networks.

The author of the missive wondered about the method and procedures used by Bestway Finance Ltd and its partner AustSino Resources Group Ltd, to achieve, in one such a short time, to complete feasibility studies following the signing of the memorandum of understanding dated June 25, 2021, relating to the construction of the Mbalam/Kribi railway and the multimodal ore terminal in Port in deep waters of Kribi.

Through this update, Bestway Finance Ltd would like to bring light on a certain number of points.

On June 25, 2021, the Minister of Transport and MINMIDT signed, with Bestway Finance Ltd and AustSino Resources Group Ltd, the agreement in principle which marked Cameroon's desire to join the Republic of Congo in the development of iron deposits located along the Kasai Congo craton.

It is strictly speaking a memorandum of understanding relating to the construction project of nearly 600 km of railway line to connect the three mining sites of Avima, Badondo and Nabeba in Congolese territory to the seaside town of Kribi and a multimodal ore terminal with a capacity of 100 million tons of iron/year at the deep water Port of Kribi.

Eight months to the day after the signing of the MoU relating to the construction of these two large-scale structures, the binding agreements relating thereto were signed on February 25, 2022 for a period of 50 years. From now on, we are faced with a complete administrative framework which notably engages the private party as to its desire to build these two infrastructures within the Republic of Cameroon and Congo. From an administrative point of view, all the conditions are therefore met to allow the effective start of the construction of the two infrastructures.

The ceremony of February 25 was made possible thanks to the personal involvement of Presidents Denis Sassou-Nguesso and Paul Biya and the tremendous work done by the members of the Technical Team set up by decision of the Minister of Transport , which he personally supervised. This team was responsible for monitoring and evaluating the activities of the MoU signed on June 25, 2021.

Composed of representatives of the various public administrations involved in the implementation of the project, namely CARPA, MINTP, MINT, MINFI, MINEPAT, MINFOF, MINDCAF, MINMIDT, MINEPDED and PAK, the Technical Team has multiplied sessions and workshops over the past eight months. These notably enabled the validation of the synthetic feasibility studies of the project, which received the anointing of the KPMG firm, with established notoriety.

Cameroon benefits free of charge from large-scale rail and port infrastructure that will allow the production of iron ore extracted from the Congolese subsoil to be evacuated by Bestway and its partner AustSino.

These two projects represent an overall investment of nearly 5,500 billion CFA francs, entirely financed by the consortium formed for this purpose. The overall financing of the project is provided by private companies, it is completed without the participation of the State.

Although the agreements signed on February 25 are not intended to start operating the Mbalam iron ore deposit, it should be noted that, with a transport capacity of 200 million tons of iron on an annual basis, the double-track railway will be well-positioned to facilitate the exploitation of the more than 10 national mineral deposits it crosses.

The commissioning of the railway and the ore terminal will generate significant tax revenue for both States and create tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs during the construction and commissioning phases. In figures, during the life of these contracts, Cameroon will earn more than 25 billion dollars, or 12 trillion FCfa and just like Congo. Above all, it will enable the State of Cameroon to develop its still underexploited mining sector through the exploitation of the iron deposits of Mbalam and Nkout, respectively in the East and South regions.

Other considerable advantages: the opening up of several rural areas located along the railway corridor, the possibility of opening the railway infrastructure to the transport of goods and people, as well as exchanges in neighboring localities, without forgetting the construction of factories for the first processing of iron in Cameroon. This will undoubtedly promote the take-off of an embryonic sector and, by extension, that of a country in search of emergence.

The 600 km of railway will be built by a Chinese company that is part of Bestway. In parallel, the mines will be built in order to be able to extract and transport the ore through the railway.

The total number of direct and indirect jobs is estimated at 20,000. According to the agreements signed on February 25, the members of the consortium must give priority to Cameroonian and Congolese workers and subcontract as much as possible with companies from both countries.

The mining aspect will generate 700 jobs during the mining phase, including 2,100 jobs on the Congolese side. On the Cameroonian side, there are more than 10,000 jobs that will be generated in terms of the construction effort between Cameroon and Congo and in the operating phase, more than a thousand jobs for the way iron, then more than 500 jobs in the ore port and more than four times that for each of the two countries in indirect terms.

Done in Yaoundé, March 15, 2022

(é) Patrick TCHOUWA

Director of Communication and Public Relations

Translated source:
https://bougna-net.translate.goog/2022/03/15/contact/lettre-du-minmidt-au-mintransports-le-consortium-bestway-autsino-fait-une-mise-au-point/?_x_tr_sl=fr&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc