The International Finance Corporation (IFC), World Bank’s arm for private sector, announced in the past six days, that it would inject $395 million in two projects developed in West Africa.

First, the institution will pour $195 million into the expansion of the Tema harbour, 30 km from Accra, Ghana’s capital. It will be IFC’s most significant port investment and commitment in an infrastructure project, in sub-Saharan Africa. Besides IFC’s contribution, three commercial banks (Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and Standard Bank), and the Dutch Development Fund, FMO, will invest $475 million in the project.

IFC’s second investment in the region is $200 million loan to the Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée. The firm will use the funds to finance extension works at its Sangaredi mine which has been active since 1973, and holds high grade bauxite deposits. Maturity period for the loan is 15 years, thus thrice what is traditionally given to private sector in Guinea. The West African nation holds 28% of the world’s reserves of bauxite, a resource used in aeronautics, packaging, and making fuel-efficient vehicles. Analysts at IFC said expanding the mine would help generate $150 million yearly for the government and preserve 2,300 direct jobs and 2,900 indirect jobs (contractors).

Idriss Linge