It has now been more than 7 years since Joris van Dijk, director of the family business Dijkstaal, made the first contacts in Guinea for the development of the project with bridges.
The contacts focused on the development of bridge projects to improve access to the Conakry peninsula. Together with a local partner, Big Machinery from Velddriel (NL)-which until recently had a branch there, van Dijk worked hard to realize this infrastructure project for Conakry.
It involves the construction of five modular steel bridges, so-called "Warren Truss Bridges including assembly and associated infrastructure, as abutments, piers and roads. The bridges will be delivered as a meccano construction kit in containers. A supervisor from Dijkstaal supervises the installation of the bridges. One 96-meter-long bridge will replace an existing bridge. In addition, two 144-meter bridges will be installed and another two 192-meter bridges. In addition, 12 kilometers of roads will be laid towards the bridges.
This project is needed because of the daily problems for commuter traffic. These bridges relieve the main roads and also allow pedestrians to safely cross the rivers, especially during the rainy season. So the development of these is very relevant to the local population and creates quite an economic impact.
Van Dijk: "Ballast Nedam is the main contractor for this project with a total project sum of about EUR 60 million. With Dijkstaal we are responsible for about a quarter of the contract, which includes the engineering, fabrication, conservation, transport and delivery of the bridges including supervision of the construction of the steel bridges in Conakry. With that, this was quite an ambitious project for us, and it was important for us to work with a contractor who has experience in this type of international infrastructure project. We wanted for the financial feasibility (Guinea is unfortunately a LIC= low-income country and therefore could really use all the support) to qualify for the DRIVE facility (Development Related Infrastructure Investment Vehicle), a subsidy scheme of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs that helps to establish the functional public infrastructure of developing countries. Especially in the early days, there was also a lot of support from the RFO in the form of advice and support. For example, they also contributed to the procurement of the necessary studies through a subsidy scheme. The DRIVE facility was just being offered at that time and we were able to take advantage of the momentum."
The Netherlands is sticking its neck out as much as possible to realize this project and to create local impact. We at Ballast Nedam are proud to be able to make an important contribution to this beautiful project as an EPC Contractor.
DRIVE-facility
To qualify for the actual DRIVE grant, an intake was first required. Subsequently, preparatory studies were necessary, including a feasibility study and an ESIA (Environmental and Social Impact Assessment) study. At that time, BAM International also joined the project because of their international experience with large projects of this kind. In 2021, this project was taken over from BAM by Ballast Nedam International Projects.
BAM's substantive knowledge was secured because when the project was taken over, some of the employees also transferred to Ballast Nedam. In this way, the continuity of the project could be guaranteed.
Assessment challenges
Even after positive advice based on preliminary studies, an agreement for this transaction was far from certain. In early 2020, an Ebola outbreak caused delays, and then last September there was a coup d'état that prolonged uncertainty about the project. Namely, it was not certain whether the Dutch state would also be behind the project. But in December 2021 the project was thankfully approved. Still, much needed to be done for the environmental and social assessment.
Because relocation would be part of the project, this had to be handled very carefully. There are clear requirements set by Invest International because they are in fact the executor of the DRIVE grant which pays for about half of the project. But they also provide the remaining commercial funding. This makes Invest International fully responsible for funding the project and that does make it clear.
Because of the coup last year, Guinea has an increased political risk. And the relatively weak government finances are also a concern. That's why Atradius DSB's insurance and guarantees ensure that this project can be carried out with sufficient certainty. For example, the manufacturing risk and the credit risk are covered, and a prepayment guarantee, performance guarantee and a retention guarantee have been provided. This also gives the client in Guinea, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, the guarantee that the project will be completed.
It is a wonderful project where the Netherlands has clearly taken the lead, and I am super proud of that! Moreover, quite an effort was required from RVO, FMO and later Invest International and Atradius DSB to arrange the financing, the subsidy and the insurances and guarantees. So herewith my heartfelt thanks, also on behalf of the inhabitants of Conakry. It is a miracle that the project finally got off the ground, given the turbulent times and all the uncertainties involved.
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