China Harbor Engineering (CHEC), a state-owned construction company based in Beijing, is seeking to secure a contract to build a fishing port and processing center in the West African country of Guinea, becoming the latest Chinese company attempting to cash in on African infrastructure projects.
CHEC recently held negotiations with Guinea Minister of Fisheries Fatima Camara to work on redeveloping the fishing port in the western city of Kamsar.
Redevelopment plans in Kamsar include an upgraded fishing port, refrigerated warehouses, and fish-processing facilities, according to Camara’s office.
China, as well as CHEC, has a vested interest in developing Guinea’s ports, as the African country’s Simandou iron ore mine started operations this year and is run by a joint venture between British-Australian multinational mining firm Rio Tinto and its biggest shareholder: Aluminum Corporation of China Limited (Chinalco), another state-owned firm.
CHEC has a 2.5 percent stake in the Chinalco subsidiary running the mine, and much of the ore mined there is shipped to China.
If negotiations on the fishing port are successful, CHEC would become the latest Chinese company to lock up fishing port redevelopment contracts across Africa.
Chinese construction companies are currently working on two ports in Mauritania – Tanit and N’Diago – and the African country has stated that it wants more Chinese investment in ports, processing facilities, and aquaculture so that it can further develop its seafood sectors as a bulwark against poverty and food insecurity.
Sierra Leone has also announced that it is in talks with China to get a fishing port project off the ground, even as local environmentalists and fishermen have protested the possible environmental damage and impact of large Chinese trawlers on local fish stocks that the project would have.
Nevertheless, China isn’t the only country keen to build, finance, or manage ports in Africa. The United Arab Emirates has been investing in Africa, where it sees demand for port space to extract natural resources including fish.
The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development agreed in 2021 to provide USD 6.5 million (EUR EUR 5.9 million) for modernizing the Tanit fishing port in Mauritania. UAE firms Abu Dhabi Ports Group and DP World have also both signed deals to develop and operate ports across Africa.
