On April 24, the Winning International Group and MB-Winning Consortium Railway Company signed with China Railway 18th Bureau Group and China Railway 14th Bureau Group the railway engineering and construction contracts for Guinea’s Dapilon Port-Santou railway line. It is located within the Boké and Kindia regions in country’s northwestern part.
The line, which will link Dapilon Port with Santou mine zone, will need a total investment of USD 3 billion. Stretching for a total length of 135 km, the entirety of the railway will feature 23 bridges, 2 tunnels and 6 depots.
Entering construction phase, the Dapilon Port-Santou railway line is expected to be operational in 2021.
“The official signing of the engineering contracts means that the SMB-Winning Consortium’s Dapilon-Santou railway has formally entered the construction phase. The target of formal operation of the Dapilon Port-Santou
Railway by June 16, 2021,” Tony Sun, the Vice President of Winning International Group, said.
At the end of March, President of Guinea, Alpha Condé, attended to the ground-breaking ceremony of the project.
The line was designed by China Railway First Survey and Design Institute Group Co. (FSDI), which is a subsidiary of China Railway Construction Corporation. It is the most important project supporting the mining and transport activities in Sentou mining area, serving the bauxite mining companies along the route.
Guinea is one of world’s largest exporter of bauxite, and with the railway project, it will further consolidate and strengthen country’s position on the global bauxite market.
The line is a crucial support for the SMB-Winning Consortium’s mineral extraction and recovery operation in the Santou mining zone, as well as a vital infrastructure facility that will serve bauxite companies such as Chico along its route. During its early and near-future phases, the railway will be primarily tasked with the transport of mineral rocks from the mining zone to the Consortium Boké Harbor No. 2 (Dapilon Harbor). In the future, it is expected that the line will be opened to serve third-parties, and to be integrated into the Guinean national railway network to better serve the country’s socio-economic development.
In September 2018, FSDI won the bid for the survey and design of the Dapilon Port-Sentou railway line, being the first overseas railway project that FSDI independently undertakes the entire line survey and design task with Chinese standards. Within three months, FSDI completed the survey and design of the entire route.
While promoting the further development of Guinean mining industry, the railway will also promote Guinea’s plan to build an industrial and agricultural economic corridor and drive the further development of the modern railway network in Guinea and even in entire West Africa, thereby promoting the economic development of the entire African region.
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