(CNN) Following many years of political turmoil and civil conflict, business is back – and booming – in the Ivory Coast.
This prosperous West African country is Africa’s fastest growing economy in 2016, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The country’s phenomenal growth rate of 8.5 percent greatly contrasts with the rest of sub-Saharan Africa which has only seen three percent growth.
But not every Ivorian is reaping the rewards. While the economy powers ahead, many citizens have been left behind, with the World Bank estimating that nearly half of the population still lives in poverty.
Despite the reality for many on the ground, the IMF predicts the country’s GDP will increase by an average of 7.4 percent between 2017 and 2020.
Investing in the Ivory Coast
After a decade of absence, the African Development Bank returned in 2014, moving its headquarters from Tunisia back to Abidjan.
“As soon as the bank came back and prior to that, the growth opportunities from peace and stability were tremendous,” says African Development Bank Senior Vice President, Frannie Leautier.
In recent years, the African Development Bank has contributed to one of the biggest private infrastructure projects in the country: the impressive Henry Konan Bedié (HKB) bridge.
Bridging the gap
The HKB bridge spans across the Ébrié Lagoon, connecting the wealthy residential side of Abidjan in the north to the city’s business and industrial districts in the south.
The bridge has greatly improved the quality of life in Abidjan, cutting 30 minutes off the average driver’s total commute time.
Building the expressway took three years and cost a mighty $250 million. The African Development Bank contributed $65 million toward its completion. “These are usually expensive projects. You need to bring in multiple players,” says Leautier.
Bringing power to the people
Further key investments in the country can be seen in the rapidly advancing energy sector. In the past 20 years, independent electricity producer, Ciprel, has invested $560 million to meet the growing demand.
“Power demand has grown by 10 percent each year for the last five years,” says Ralph Olayé, Business Development Director of Ciprel’s parent company, Eranove.
New industry rises from the ground
The Ivory Coast has the fastest-growing economy in Africa, which is projected to grow 8.5% this year, and it is increasingly looking to mining to sustain this progress.
The country is believed to hold vast resources of unexploited gold, as it sits on the Birimian Greenstone mineral belt, and a new industry is rapidly developing around the precious mineral.
Residents of central Ivorian village Angovia wash gravel in search of gold.
Thousands of laborers from the village have reportedly abandoned traditional agriculture for the greater potential rewards of the precious mineral.
Even tiny fragments of the gold can dramatically improve livelihoods.
A recent Reuters report found that laborers can make $430 in a few weeks of prospecting, about the same as they would from a year on a cocoa plantation.
Night view of the Tongon mine in the north of the country, majority-owned by Pan-African Randgold Resources, one of the earliest gold mines, which has produced around 8 tons since 2011.
Ivory Coast has seen rapid increases in gold production in recent years. From an output of seven tons in 2010, the government is aiming to produce 22 tons this year.
Randgold CEO Mark Bristow predicts the country can overtake neighboring Ghana, which is among the world’s top 10 producers, with an output of 85 tons in 2015.
The Tongon mine employs around 2,000 people, according to Randgold, with the vast majority Ivorian.
The company is steadily expanding infrastructure at the site as it aims to increase production by 16% this year.
Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara, CEO of the Randgold Resources Marc Bristow and Ivorian Mines Minister Adama Toungara hold a gold bar coming from the Tongon gold mine during the official inauguration of the facility in 2011.
Ouatarra is a strong supporter of the gold industry and has encouraged growth through tax incentives for mining firms.
Work begins at the largest known reservoir of gold near the capital Yamoussoukro, with estimated reserves of 200 tons.
The Yoaoure mine will be controlled by British firm Amara Mining. The company has invested around $400 million on the site, which is expected to begin production in 2017.
A geologist examines a rock at the Yaoure mine site.
Amara CEO John McGloin predicts the site could produce 10 tons a year and become one of the top 10 gold mines in Africa.
Employees at work at the Agbaou gold mine in the South of the country, which opened in 2014 and is operated by Canadian company Endeavour Mining. The mine has around 850 employees.
Annual production at the Agbaou plant is approximately three tons, making it one of the most lucrative mines in the country.
The first gold ingot produced at the Agbaou mine, worth over half a million dollars.
Employee inspects mineral samples at the Agbaou gold mine.
A man holds a metal detector as gold diggers work in the forest of Bore village near Dimbokro, central Ivory Coast.
The government is keen to develop new sites, but has been forced to contend with a shadow industry of illegal mines.
Ivory Coast authorities recently shut down a site near the village of Gamina, allegedly controlled by a rogue army officer.
UN officials estimated the vast site employed 16,000 workers and produced gold worth almost $100 million a year.
The government claims to have closed over 150 illegal mines in the country, but many more remain.
Human rights groups say the illegal trade is fueling violence, child labor, and organized crime.
With the national poverty rate at 46%, it remains to be seen whether the legal gold mining industry will provide benefits for the wider population, or merely an elite.
Ivory Coast is blessed with both natural resources to produce hydropower and gas to produce thermo-power. According to Olayé, the country “serves a powerhouse for the region”.
Despite the country’s extensive national grid, meaning more than 80 percent of residents live a few meters from the electricity line, only a small portion of Ivorians have access to power at home.
“Currently the number of population that is connected to the grid is in the tune of 40 percent,” says Olayé.
This is owing to the fact that many Ivorians cannot afford to buy and install meters. The government is working on doing away with the initial cost of providing a meter through a program called “Electricité pour tous” (Electricity for All).
“We expect growth to become more inclusive so that the population will benefit more than what is has,” says the IMF’s Ivory Coast Mission Chief, Dhaneshwar Ghura.
Source link : https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2016/10/26/africa/marketplace-africa-ivory-coast-economy
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Publish date : 2016-10-26 07:00:00
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