Ghana-China road deal settled

The agreement between Ghana and China over a road construction project has been settled. The deal will see Ghana effectively trading bauxite from a mining operation with a Chinese firm, which will build road links in the West African nation. The deal is called the Sinohydro Bauxite Barter Arrangement and has been set up with Ghana’s Government. Ghana will supply the firm with around 5% of its refined bauxite production under the agreement.

Construction work is commencing on the first stage of the project, with the work being carried out by Chinese contractor 5544 Sinohydro Corporation. This package of works is worth around US$646 million and involves building 442km of roads. The links comprising the first stage of the agreement include 100km of roads in Kumasi and 84km of roads in the capital Accra.

In all the deal will be worth around $2 billion. However there has been some criticism of the arrangement as it includes the development of mining operations in areas of environmental interest.