Lawmakers in Guinea’s transition administration approved an agreement signed last year between the government and West Africa LNG Group, meaning a potential $3 billion investment in liquefied natural gas import infrastructure. West Africa LNG, or WA-LNG, is proposing to build an LNG terminal at the port of Kamsar as part of efforts to spur the development of Guinea’s mining industry. Plans also include construction of a 1,800-megawatt gas-fired plant to power proposed alumina refineries, Energy and Hydrocarbons Minister Aboubacar Camara said in a speech in parliament.
The approval by lawmakers gives WA-LNG the green light to launch the project, as soon as the country’s transition president, General Mamadi Doumbouya, endorses parliament’s decision, Saran Traore, a parliamentary spokeswoman said. The terms provide for work to start not later than three years after securing approval, she said.
Guinea is among the world’s top producers of bauxite, a raw material used to produce aluminum. The country also produces gold and has the world’s largest untapped deposit of iron ore. Mining companies produce most of their own energy using fossil fuel-fired thermal plants.
The project is expected to transform the country’s mining, agriculture and residential sectors through the provision of commercial quantities of affordable and environmentally-friendly liquefied natural gas. There’s over 2,000 megawatt of energy demand from the bauxite industry alone within a 100-mile radius of the terminal location, according to a feasibility study funded by the United States Trade and Development Agency.