Deals involving an industrial park, an oil pipeline, and a uranium mine have been discussed between China and Niger Republic in West Africa.
According to a tweet from Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum’s official account, China’s ambassador to Niger, Jiang Feng, stated that China will create an industrial park that would have an impact on industries like agro-food, manufacturing, mining, and real estate. It said that the agreement came about as a result of the April China-Niger Investment Forum.
“China does what it says and says what it does,” said Jiang.
The tweet also mentioned that the Chinese ambassador inspected the Niger-Benin Export Pipeline’s beginning recently and found it to be “very impressive.”
The roughly 2,000-kilometre-long pipeline, whose developer is the China National Petroleum Corporation, would enable the landlocked Niger to increase its oil production and access global trade via a terminal on Benin’s coast, according to officials.
Days before remarks on these agreements were made, a delegation from the National Uranium Company of China (CNUC) talked about restarting uranium exploration and mining in northern Niger nine years after the project was shelved due to weak demand for the mineral on global markets.
“Prices [of uranium] are now favorable internationally. It is for us to better develop this sector with all the partners, including the CNUC, who already have operating permits,” said Ousseini Hadizatou Yacouba, Niger’s minister of mines.
On June 27, Yacouba and Xing Yongguo, president of CNUC, agreed to a new agreement in Niamey to revive operations at the uranium site in Arlit in the northern Niger area of Agadez.
“It is great that they are back at work. We have been waiting for them to return. This will generate jobs for our people. It will help the economy,” said Ahmed Mousa, mayor of Ingall, a town in the Agadez region.
The project is part of an ongoing effort by Beijing to invest in African countries. China is Africa’s largest trading partner with two-way trade totaling over $200 billion per year. More than 10,000 Chinese firms have forged partnerships across the continent since 2005, with an estimated $300 billion investment in projects, according to a report by the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Some civic groups in Niger oppose the plan, warning that mining poses environmental dangers.
