COUNTRY ANALYSIS FOR DEVELOPMENTS, CONSTRUCTIONS TO BE CREATED IN REPUBLIC OF GUINEA
COUNTRY ANALYSIS
FOR DEVELOPMENTS, CONSTRUCTIONS
TO BE CREATED IN REPUBLIC OF GUINEA
TO BE CREATED IN REPUBLIC OF GUINEA
The World is now paying attention to West Africa, which
might be the production center of Africa and the next pantry as much as source
of raw materials of the World.
DEVELOPMENTS IN GUINEA
PRE-FEASIBILITY
STUDY OF MAFÉRÉYA NEW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT GUINEA
Mission
statement:
Our mission
is to create a gate from Guinea to the World, serving the interests of Guinean
people to promote the economic rise of the country. Our task is to create jobs
for local people and local enterprises, so that when the new airport is done,
the people of Guinea will consider it their own. We consider it important that,
as job-creating investments, a cargo and an aircraft repair base are built on
the airport, and a new Guinean knowledge center and central military hospital
are built next to the airport.
1. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT
1.1 Guinea is a future regional production center
Guinea started to develop during the
presidency of Alpha Condé; GDP has been increasing by 4,5% every year, which is
of course still not equal to the Chinese increase, but very attractive
development. If we are in Conakry, we can see also brand new, expensive cars; functioning
universities and schools; and well-dressed people.
On 4 April
2014, Prof. Alpha Condé, the president of the Republic of Guinea, threw a lunch
party in Brussels: "At the 5th EU-Africa summit in Brussels, the president
of Guinea, Alpha Condé, threw a lunch party, organized by the Belgian Chamber
of Commerce, which was visited by Dr József Steier, the honorary consul of the
Republic of Guinea in Hungary. The president emphasized the economic opening
and the fact that Guinea is waiting for the investors. (07 April 2014 -
SunwoZrt.)
Alpha Condé,
who is always on the opposing side, after his election in 2010, when he was 72
years old, counted as a real veteran in the Guinean political life. He started
his career in the 1950s, and he participated in the presidential elections for the
fourth time. As the critic of authoritarian regimes, people attempted to
sideline him several times: During the presidency of Sékou Touré, he was
sentenced to death in his absence; during the dictatorship of president Lansana
Conté he was in prison for two years. He lived in exile in the West for decades
and taught at the University of Sorbonne in Paris. Like everywhere in Africa,
the population voted fundamentally on the basis of ethnicity. The group that
constitutes 40 % of the population, the Fulani supported the candidate with Fulani origins, Cellou Dalein Diallo-t,
while the group that constitutes 35% of the population, the
Mandinka people
supported the candidate with Mandinka origins, Condé. This was the starting
point; nevertheless, these proportions were far too little for either of the
candidates to produce an absolute majority. But the Susu people tipped the
balance in favor of Condé. The election was closely fought; the Rainbow
Coalition won the election with 52,52%. Therefore, similar to the countries of
the Economic Community of the West African States (ECOWAS), democracy won in Guinea. Condé, the
pragmatic president, came to an arrangement with his rival, and he wishes to be
the president of all the people of Guinea.
President Alpha Condé
The issue of
power in Guinea is not an easy one: the palace of the president of Guinea was
shelled in 2011. (2011. 07. 19.) Many misfortunes happen
in the region. Hardly had the regional conflicts worn off, when the horrible
threat, Ebola appeared. President Alpha Condé announced a state of emergency in
Guinea, in order to increase health precautions, due to the Ebola epidemic
(hvg.hu - 14 August 2014).
The reasons for the power struggles in 2007, which almost led the country into a civil war, might be the ethnic, linguistic and religious divisions. The solution is to provide general material wealth, ethnic cooperation and the division of powers, based on the Swiss model. Creating an unified national consciousness will be a long process.
The national map of Guinea shows a varied ethnic division
The population can be divided into the following three main ethnic groups: Fulani 40%, Mandinka 30%, Susu 20%. The remaining ethnic groups (Kpelle, Kissi, Toma, Baga) together constitute 10% of the population. The official language of the country is French, but they also speak Wolof, Mandinka and several other tribal languages. The religions are the following: Muslim 88%, ancient tribal religions 7%, and Christian 5%. There is a need for a national cooperation, in order to make Guinea the production center of the area and to promote it to process its own raw materials.
Currently, Guinea
- in spite of its apparent wealth - is still a poor country, even according to
African measures. If Guinea
seizes control of its own natural resources in the future, then it might become
the production center of West Africa, relying on its rich (diamond, gold, iron
ore and excellent bauxite) natural resources. For this, the improvement of the transport infrastructure and cheap
electricity is needed, which means that there is a need for the utilization of
its huge hydro power potential, or maybe the creation of a nuclear power plant
in the middle of the country. The network of the water supply, the pipes and
the waste water treatment plants should be taken care of, so that the country
would not sell its natural resources as raw material, but as half-manufactured
or manufactured goods.
The leadership of
the country started the modernization of the infrastructure by improving
telecommunication and mobile telephone networks. This is supported by the fact
that the country is much more urbanized compared to other states of the region.
1.2 Socialist heritage
Guinea also introduced socialism after the colonial rule. At the beginning of the 13th century, Guinea was part of the Ghana Empire, which included present-day Mali and Mauritania as well. In the 16th century, the first Europeans arrived at the island in front of Conakry. The Portuguese called the island „Ilhos dos Idolos”, which means divine island. Its French name today is the following: „Îles de Loos”. The French arrived here in 1850, and they created the French colonies instantly. In 1893, the area was attached to the French West Africa colony.
The country achieved independence in 1958, when the state seized control of the economy and built a socialist economy based on Eastern European and Eastern African models. The transition into market economy started in the 1980s. Owing to the division of agriculture into cooperative societies and to the low purchase prices, the country, which had been well-supplied up to that point, had to import food products. This could not be altered by the new liberal economic policy either.
The socialist Sekou Touré, the first president of the independent Guinea, liked African music. "Ballet Africain" and "Ballet Djoliba" are famous dance companies that have already given performances in Europe as well. "Les Amazones de Guinée", the female dance and music company is also well-known in the country.
1.3
Colonial heritage and modern economy
The foundation-stone of the United
States Capitol in Washington was laid on 18 September 1793, organized by the
Freemasons of Maryland and of the local box of George Washington. Black slaves,
maybe even Mandinka people, were employed at the construction sites too, in
order to reduce the wages of white skilled workers. Their owners gained 5
dollars per slave, every month. Black people smashed stones and uprooted the
trees of the Capitol hill.
The
leadership of the USA, which is lecturing the rest of the world about
democracy, consists of the descendants of slave-owners. Slavery did not bother
the Founding Fathers either. Both Washington and Jefferson owned slaves.
Participants of the constitutional
convention were much more concerned about the division of the executive and the
judiciary branches of power, that is the superficial rule system of a two-party
democracy, than about the human rights of the slaves. The label
"slave" is not even mentioned in the original American constitution,
although 40% of the population (3,5 million people) consisted of slaves.
Children from a village in Guinea –
doctors, engineers and teachers of the future
The reasons
for the American slavery system were the need for labor force (due to the
extermination of native Indian people) and the trade triangle: black people
were shipped from Africa, then the money from selling them was used to buy
colonial goods (sugar, rum, cotton, tobacco), which were sold in Europe. Then
the manufactured industrial goods were sold for slaves from Africa again.
Business was good, and money was pouring. At that time, slaves were shipped
mostly from Guinea.
1.4 Genocide is a war crime
Capturing, torturing and destroying slaves during the long journey on
the seas, is a war crime. According to international law, it shall not lapse,
not even during 230-300 years. From this point of view, all the countries of
Europe, the USA and North and South America, where slavery appeared, are war
criminals. They have the blood of hundreds of thousands of African slaves on
their hands. If rights could be really enforced and the West would truly obey
its pseudo-democratic rules, then they would pay compensation and reparation
for Africa, hence Guinea too, accompanied by an apology. Not only does the West
not pay any compensation, but they also remove heads of state, destroy and
bring chaos to African countries, like Libya and Tunisia. The democratically
elected Muslim Brotherhood was displaced in Egypt, because it supported the
Hamas in Palestine. Furthermore,
recently, the West has organized and funded an intervention against Syria,
which exterminated the Christians living in Syria and Iraq for thousands of
years; setting Syria on fire, which had been a stable country up to that point.
Now they are destroying Iraq.
The world conference of the UN (United Nations) against racism was held
in the Republic of South Africa, in Durban, between 31 August and 7 September
2011. On the land of apartheid, a relevant world political question, the Middle
East interfered with the shaping of events. At that time, just like today,
Israel disciplined, that is massacred the Palestinian Arabic civilians.
Therefore, three thousand representatives of African non-governmental civil
organizations (NGO) marked Israel a racist, apartheid state. Israel and the USA
left the conference, because they considered the criticism directed at Israel
unjust. Nevertheless, Arabic people actually are firing rockets at Israel,
which has the right to defend itself. The "Iron Dome" truly protects
the unusually shaped country - which is at some locations 40-60 km wide - from
the thousands of rockets. Thus, the side event of the world conference against
racism, held in the South African Durban, got hold of the main role , when it
adapted the resolution condemning Israel. If Zionism is equated with racism,
then a shadow is casted over the "primary" discussion with the
participation of 153 government delegations, as well. Nelson Mandela met Fidel Castro. The participating African
countries demanded the European and American former colonizer countries to pay
a compensation for slavery. The USA and Israel left. Afterwards, the USA, in
order to distract attention from the rightful demand of Africa, organized its
real estate development performance of the demolition of the WTC by explosion,
on 11 September, There was a new casus belli.
1.5 Mining is still the most
important sector today
The countries of the Guinean coastline entered the colonial
trade soon, with their tropical monsoon, equatorial and savanna climate crops,
their varied mineral resources and their "living goods", that is the
inhabitants. This heritage is maintained even today. The industry of the
countries of the Guinean coastline is practically based on the mining and
extraction of mineral resources. Guinea possesses one of the richest bauxite
reserves in the world, and the main sources of income for Ghana, Liberia and
Ivory Coast are gold and diamond. Guinea, Liberia and Togo is rich in iron ore.
Chad, which is farther from the Guinean coastline, excels in uranium ore
mining.
1.6 Decay of the exchange
ratio
Tibor Palánkai, academician,
explained the process, already in 1985, how the capitalist powers of the West
prevent other countries from developing economically. How they loosened
politics with mass impoverishment. He writes about the methods and processes of
the following: to exploit external economic relations in order to achieve an
economic damage intentionally; to ruin economic indicators of certain
countries; to destroy the value of the savings of communities and individuals;
to achieve that incomes are reduced; to induce unemployment; to enforce certain
types of waste; to upset the external and internal balance in an economy.
The
West is still waging a silent war against Africa, with silent weapons. It
consumes the economic power of Africa. Industry constitutes only 15% of the
employment structure of Africa. Only mining has an importance on the global
market, however, the right to exploit mineral resources is mostly in the hands
of American and Western European companies; but China has joined the game too.
Several countries try to control the extractive industry by nationalization or
by the purchase of shares. The processing industry of the black continent is
the least developed of all; its share of the world production is hardly more
than 1%, and 40% of that is in the Republic of South Africa. The lack of
capital and professionals is significant. Primarily, it is the first processing
phase of mineral resources and raw materials of agriculture and wood industry,
that is done on the continent (e.g. sawmills, ore concentrators, non-ferrous
metallurgy). The amount of production of manufactured goods is also far behind
internal needs. At the same time, the lack of cheap workforce and environmental
laws could be appealing to the traditional heavy industry and the assembly
plants. Generally speaking, foreign capital is still not utilized gladly in
this region. Currently, the inflow of Chinese capital can be observed, which
primarily shows the increasing need of China for raw material: for building
infrastructure, they receive concessions and purchase political influence in
turn. But it seems that the Chinese diplomacy is closer to the
"South-South cooperation" concept, than to the interference in the
domestic affairs of the countries of the continent." - stated the journal
of the Latin American Society, 19 May 2014.. This is true about Africa, as well.
However, generally speaking, foreign capital is still not utilized gladly in
this region – the unstable political conditions, tribal wars, and exotic
diseases discourage investors. But not the Chinese. "An
unprecedented amount of foreign capital investment, 80 billion dollars will
flow this year into Africa, according to the most recent report of the African
Development Bank" – stated the Napi
Gazdaság (Daily Economy) on 20 May 2014. China is planning to invest 1000
billion dollars, only in Africa, in the next 12 years. Angola is the second oil
supplier of China, after Saudi Arabia. In Algeria, Chinese captives build
thousands of houses. They mine bauxite in Guinea and oil in South Sudan.
Hunger for
raw materials: In the embracing arms of China (Image:
chinasouthamerica.com)
During the EU offensive against Libya, the Chinese evacuated 34 thousand
oil workers. "China in Africa: investment or exploitation?" – asks a
reporter of Aljazeera TV the Chinese president in connection with his tour in
Africa, on 4 May 2014. It is obvious, that China, in exchange for its
infrastructural investments, wants to have raw materials, political and
economic influence and market.
The replacement of dollar as a world currency and reserve currency is
also in progress. The BRICS countries (including South Africa) created their
alternative world bank with its center in Shanghai. Instead of a Eurasian
cooperation, Europe is preparing a free trade agreement with the USA on secret
negotiations, which intends to pass the gigantic national debt of the USA to
Europe. While Europe "shot itself in the leg" (Lavrov) with the disintegration
of the synthetic, recently artificially created buffer state, Ukraine, and with
the almost-revolution funded by the USA, sanctions and counter-sanctions and
the possibility of an open war with the Russians – in accordance with American
interests – is pushing us, but mainly the old continent, towards a competitive
disadvantage that cannot be made up.
The Bretton Woods Agreement (New Hampshire, USA) from 1944 lived
70 years, may it rest in peace.
This agreement was the final act of the process of the privatization of the
dollar, that is, transferring the state monopoly of issuing currency to the
private sector, and forming it into a world currency, in 1913, according to
which Washington created the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World
Bank, and caused the debt spiral to appear in the troubled countries after
World War II. At the same time, it declared that dollar cannot be exchanged to
gold any more. The reserve currency system of dollar is making it possible for
the USA to follow the so-called "pork barrel politics" policy, which
means that it consumes the sources of power of the dollar-using part of the
world. BRICS was created against this. The economy of the USA has been
controlling 30% of the world trade since 1980s; however, today it is only 18%.
From the BRICS countries, the economy of China has gained 15% out of the world
trade, and this number is continuously increasing.
BRICS
countries possess 50% of the world's currency reserves today, while the USA and
the EU has only 8%. The
synthetic financial bubble accumulated in the banks of the Western world,
created by trading with the derivatives, is currently 227 trillion dollars. The Fortaleza Declaration (Brazil) of
2014 created the New Development Bank (NDB), an alternative to the IMF-World
Bank pair.
The
replacement of the dollar primarily accelerated in the oil trade; Gaddafi had
to die, because he wanted gold for the oil, but China cannot be punished like
this, because they balance accounts in national currency at the oil import.
Owing to the attack of the BRICS against the hegemony of dollar, the USA is
waging war against Moscow, and they make us, Europeans, pay for it. According
to Tao-Wen-Chao (American-Chinese researcher at the Tsinghua University), the
continuing emergence of the developing countries will result in a significant
change in the global economy and the world political scene, and it will have a
long-term effect on the world. In addition, one might say that these changes
are happening as fast as an earthquake these days. Guinea could be the part of
this economic development.
1.7 Africa, as the source of raw material in
the world
Although the share of Africa, and thus Guinea, in the
international trade is only a few percents, their external economic relations
are crucial for them. The import of African countries is wide scaled: they have
to buy machines, energy resources and food. At the same time, their export is
composed of only one or two manufactured products. The majority of their export is composed of mineral raw materials
(oil, copper, iron ore, phosphate), while the minor part of their export is
composed of the products of tropical agriculture (coffee, cocoa, cotton, wood).
The one-sidedness of
its export makes their economy rather vulnerable; they are very sensitive to
the fluctuation of world market prices, and their situation is more and more
distressing due to the decay of the exchange ratio. The directions of
foreign trade still reflect the former colonial relations. The EU offers trade preferences and investment aids for most of
the African countries. This might be a small comfort for the fact that the
colonial system has survived, in a different form. This results in the collapse
of the region, chaos and anomie (the internal disintegration of the society) in
countries liberated from colonial rule.
1.8 Mineral resources in
Africa
Sea oil exploration sectors of
Guinea
Africa is a continent that is rich in mineral resources,
especially heavy metals, non-ferrous metal ores and precious metals. Some parts
of the mineral resources are undiscovered. The richest mining district of the
continent is in the Republic of South Africa.
The country is a global leader in mining gold,
platinum, chrome, vanadium; and second in the world in minding diamond for
jewelry. The extraction and manufacturing of silver, uranium ore, black coal,
nickel ore, iron ore, manganese ore, copper ore and phosphate are also
significant.
Besides the Republic of South Africa as a mineral
great power, other African countries also excel in the mining and exploitation
of the following minerals: diamond in Botswana and the Democratic Republic of
the Congo (Zaire); copper ore and cobalt in Zambia and the Democratic Republic
of the Congo (Zaire); iron ore in Liberia, Guinea,
Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt; manganese ore in Gabon; bauxite in Guinea; phosphate
in Morocco and Tunisia; chrome ore and black coal in Zimbabwe; uranium ore in
Namibia, Niger and Gabon; oil and gas in the countries of the Sahara: Libya,
Algeria; and the country of the Guinean coastline, Nigeria, processes wood and
minerals. Its heavy industry is represented by petroleum refining, aluminium
smelting, non-ferrous metallurgy and ore concentrators; nevertheless, its share
in the world production is minimal (1%). GAC, the aluminum processing plant of
Guinea, is a good example, because it is a new level in the development of
Guinea.
In November 2012, Tullow announced that it has entered into an agreement
with SCS Corporation, a subsidiary of Hyperdynamics Corporation, for the
farm-in of a 40% gross interest in Hyperdynamics’ oil and gas exploration
concession offshore Guinea and the transfer of operatorship to Tullow. The deal
was completed in January 2013. Tullow brings its drilling and technical
experience and expertise in this region of the Atlantic Margin off the coast of
West Africa to the partnership, particularly in the Transform Margin play that
is present in the Guinea acreage.
In 2009, in Sierra Leone, it was announced that they have found oil under
the territorial water of the country. The announcement was followed by a
consortium that included the Andarko Petroleum Corporation from the USA, the
Woodside Petroleum Ltd., the Spanish Repsol and the Brittish Tullow Oil. The
USA would like to obtain oil in the future from the Gulf of Guinea, instead of
the Middle East. The region is advancing towards a huge development, for which
airports, oil-producing sea platforms and security is needed.
The consortium, the Gulf of Guinea is the "oil-producer" of the
region –- oil was already found in Ghana before, and recently, besides the
discovery in Sierra Leone, the media also talks about oil-producing
opportunities in Ghana, Liberia and Ivory Coast.
1.9
A good example: Guinea Alumina Corporation
The Guinea Alumina Corporation is a
new phase in Guinea’s development. 24th November 2013 marked an important
milestone for Guinea’s mining industry, with the signing of an agreement
between the Republic of Guinea and GAC which set out a phased development
program for the development of a bauxite export mine, followed by an alumina
refinery. The GAC development plan will deliver USD 5bn of foreign investment
into Guinea and will create 14,000 direct and indirect jobs during the course
of the project.
The main
components of the agreed project development approach include:
Construction
of a greenfield bauxite export mine in Sangaredi that will be operational in
2017
Development
of a multi-user port in Kamsar by 2017
Construction
of an alumina refinery with an initial capacity of 2 million tonnes per annum,
with works to begin in 2018
Guinea
Alumina Corporation manages a mineral resource project in the Republic of
Guinea that will provide high-quality raw materials for the aluminium
production value chain.
Guinea
Alumina Corporation (GAC) is a joint venture between Mubadala and Dubai
Aluminium (DUBAL) that manages a bauxite and aluminium project in the Republic
of Guinea, home to the world’s largest proven bauxite reserves. Bauxite is a
key raw material used in the production of aluminium, and GAC provides Mubadala
and DUBAL with upstream development potential that is key to the UAE’s
intention to establish the country as a global aluminium hub.
Mubadala
and DUBAL collaborate as sole owners of GAC as a result of the acquisition of
project interests from former joint venture partners Global Alumina and BHP
Billiton in July 2013. Mubadala first entered into the GAC joint venture in
2007 with an 8.33 percent stake.
GAC
holds a 50 year renewable mining concession on an approximately 1.3 billion ton
bauxite deposit. As of May 2013, approximately US $740 million has been spent
to develop key project infrastructure such as a port and container quay,
refinery earthworks, a bridge and an access road.
The
company has an exceptional safety record and in April 2013 celebrated 11
million work-hours without a lost-time incident.
GAC
operates under a well-established Code of Business Conduct that sets an
uncompromising standard on issues of business conduct. The company focuses on
transparency, respect and equality, key qualities that underpin the success of
the project. To this end, the project also applies the principles of the
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.
Communities
adjacent to the project are benefitting from GAC’s commitment to sustainable
development and local partnership, and several initiatives to improve health
clinics, schools, water access, health care programming and pedestrian safety
have been implemented.
1.10 The economy of Guinea
Guinea is an agricultural country that
could develop into an industrial-agricultural country in the next 20 years. The
most important center of the country is the capital, Conakry,
which is the foreign trade center of the country and most important railway
lines depart from here. The economic sectors are the
following:
Agriculture:
This
sector means the livelihood for most of the population. In the most rainy
coastal regionsrice-fields can
be found, besides banana and oil-palm
plantations. On the slopes of higher hills, pineapple,
coffee and
citrus plantations can be found. In the Eastern part of the country, there is
no production of goods; millet and rice that is produced here provides only for
the needs of local people. Livestock production centers around the Niger
River, especially the breeding of cattle,
owing to mainly grazing-based farming. Pig- and cattle-breeding large scale
farming and meat complexes, slaughter-houses and cold stores bases are yet
unknown to the region.
Industry:
1/4
of the discovered bauxite reserves of good quality of the world (10
billion tons) can be found in Guinea, and due to the great extraction (17
million tons per year), it is second among the countries of the world. Mineral
resources are transported with trains from the biggest mines (Boké, Sangarédi,
Kindia) to the ports of Kamsar and Conakry, from where they are shipped to
France, the EU and the countries of the CIS.
The map shows that the discovered
mineral reserves are in the coastal zone of the country.
In
Fria, an alumina plant was created, built on the extracted bauxite.
Over time, aluminum industry plants could be built on the huge and so far
unexploited hydro power reserves of the state. However, in the future, steel
production could begin based on the huge iron ore reserves. It would be
advisable to utilize the Hungarian expertise in the creation of arc furnaces,
steel foundries, oil extraction pipes and high pressure gas pipelines; we also
have some references in designing such a factory. Moreover, Hungarian water
engineers are among the word leaders in designing power plants.
They
are planning the exploitation of the hematite reserves along the eastern
borders, but there is no sufficient infrastructure for this yet (a railway line
should be constructed towards the port of Buchanan).
Trade:
Import
products: oil-products, metals, technical equipment and component parts,
vehicles, textile, seeds and general food products. Main trading partners: France, Belgium, the
USA,
Ivory Coast, Russia, China, the Netherlands.
Transport:
At the beginning of the 20th century, rail transport began. Today, the full length of
the railway lines is 1185 km[1]. The most important railway line
runs between Conakry and Kankan. The length of the public roads is 30.500 km. There are six
airports and three ports in the country.
The length of the railway network of Guinea is 1.185 km, from which a 947 km long part has a track gauge of 1000 mm, and a 238 km long
part has a track gauge of 1.435 mm.[1] The railway network of the
country is composed of two parts. There are no electrified railway lines in the country.
The railway network of Guinea
The most important job of the railway is to transport mineral
resources from the inside of the country into the ports. Main freight: iron ore, bauxite, oil-products and sodium carbonate. The
majority of the railway lines are operated by foreign (Russian, Brazilian)
mining companies. The national railway undertaking is called Office
National des Chemins de Fer de Guinée (ONCFG),
which was established in June1957.
Currently, there are three railway undertakings operating in the
country:
- Chemin de fer de Guinée (ONCFG),
- Chemins de fer de la Compagnie des
Bauxites de Guinée
- Chemin de fer Conakry (CBG) and Chemin de fer de Boké.
National
railway undertaking
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Statistics
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Year of
the survey
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Length of the network
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Full
length
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0 km
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0 km
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Track gauges
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Main
track gauge
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1,000 mm
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1,000 mm
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1,435 mm
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Internal
air transport
The means of
public transport is internal air traffic, owing to the fact that the extended
road network is of poor quality and the railway network is rather short. This is served, currently, by the following
airports:
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(the marked cities have international airports)
The majority of the airports are
simple, with exposed fields or grounds covered with grass, and they are
suitable only for receiving small airplanes. The runway of the airport of the
capital is covered with asphalt. However, until the motorway and railway
network of the country is built, aircraft is the only option for efficient
internal passenger transport. Hence, after building the airport near Conakry,
the airports of rural areas should also be improved; furthermore, a national
airline should be established, which would manage the regular internal aircraft
network. It is not worth it to double the
institutional network and infrastructure of civil and military aviation, as
many countries do; hence, constructing and developing the airports of rural
areas would also mean safety. This airport network should be treated as one
unit, when designing the air traffic control system and the radar network, and
it should be synchronized with the neighboring countries, Sierra Leona and Liberia.
2. AIPORT DEVELOPMENT IN GUINEA
2.1
HUB airport, as developmental goal
Owing to
the geographical location of the rapidly developing Guinea, it is advisable to
develop a HUB-system airport, that is a collector-distributor airport; the
capital itself, Conakry, could be the air transport hub of the West African
region, which is halfway from both the USA and Europe to the bigger countries
of the African continent. Nevertheless, the improvement
of aviation is needed for this rapid development.
2.2 The location of the proposed airport
The decision of the Guinean government to build a new
international airport with a capacity of 3 million passengers per year in
Maférénya, 60 km from the capital, Conakry, is a very forward-thinking one. The
airport development, in which we would like to participate as designers and
constructors, would be the starting point of an opening towards an economic and
a cultural rise.
Guinea forms one natural unit with Sierra Leone and Liberia
2.3 Market construction with the exploration
of the pull factors
Guinea is located equidistant from the center of
Europe and the southern part of Africa
If we construct an airport, then it should produce its
own cost of maintenance, and at least a little profit. For this, market is
needed, which will not create itself. Much work has to be done before we can
fill the central airport of Guinea with flights, which will then pay airport
charges, buy kerosene and repair their aircraft there. Thus, we have to explore
those main pull factors that will encourage passengers to go to the capital of
Guinea, instead of the rival countries.
Therefore, we will investigate those steps that have to
be done in parallel with the construction of the airport, so that the new
aerodrome could operate immediately, not just stand there vacantly and generate
loss.
The new airport has to be a public investment,
generating profit - not a prestige investment. The following three main sectors
attract passenger to Guinea and fill the airport with flights:
1.Tourism industrial
sector: tourists coming on vacation or for adventures; conference and
health tourism; sport tourism
2.Economic and
business turnover: the sector of financial services; the banking sector and
the insurance industry; the mining industry; and the processing industry and
the power plant sector.
3.Aircraft
repair and maintenance: the creation of a regional aircraft repair plant
with Hungarian cooperation
4.Creation of a
national airline: the Guinea Airlines: its main airport would be one next
to Conakry, and it would produce 40% of the traffic.
Aviation for touristic purposes requires hotels, good
quality roads, cleanness, order and peace. Aviation for business purposes
requires a functioning economy. Finally, the aircraft repair plant generates
jobs and draws airplanes into Conakry.
2.4 The pull factors and the infrastructure
All of the three pull factors require such
infrastructural improvements, which have to be done in the future anyway. Some
examples are the improvement of public health and education, since the dynamic
development of Guinea is possible only if there is a mental and physical rise
in the country.
It is
advantageous that the population of the country is evenly distributed
If we put the
airport development into a broader context, then it can be constructed in such
a way that would make it possible to extend it in the future without any
obstacles. In the following sections we will try to outline the connection
between tourism and public health, and between the producing economy and education,
from the point of view of the designing and constructing process. Afterwards,
we will turn to the third pull factor, which creates an aircraft repair plant
with a job-creating investment.
2.4 Aviation tourism and public health
Guinea is
predestined to be the touristic center of the West African region, due to its
natural beauty, its 320 km long seashore and The National Park of Niger. This
touristic development might seem a bit illusory during the time of an Ebola
epidemic; nevertheless, this national program could be realized step by step,
as an income source. For this, transport infrastructure and health care
infrastructure has to be improved.
Today, as far as we know, there is one doctor for every 100.000 inhabitants.
As if there was only one practicing doctor in every district of Budapest. The
hygienic knowledge of the population is also rather deficient. There are no
clean drinking water networks in the towns. But the main problem is the lack of
doctors. Guinea could train its own efficient medical staff only with an the
establishment of an intensive Guinean medical training and the strengthening of
the medical training already existing in Conakry. A remote faculty of the
Semmelweis University of Budapest could be of assistance in this matter. Moreover,
it would also be advisable to adapt the word-class Hungarian public health
system in Guinea.
The improvement of public health is possible gradually,
in a series of steps. These steps are the following:
1. The creation of a national public health and medical
officer service, similar to the Hungarian ÁNTSZ, and providing it with official
authority; we would also attach epidemiological stations to this service and
create the network of assigned laboratories, which would be responsible for the
food security and vaccination of the counties.
2.We would establish the national ambulance services of Guinea, create
ambulance stations in the counties and districts and organize the air ambulance
services.
3.Primary care has to be established by the organization of the network
of GP surgeries.
4.Specialty care services has to be created, filled with specialists, in
the rural towns and in the district centers, independently or integrated into
the county hospitals.
5. In the bigger towns, within the radius of 150 km, the network of
hospitals has to be created; patients would be referred there from the
specialty care services. Ambulatory care and the care of trauma patients would
be conducted in these hospitals, where the ambulance would carry the patients
to.
6. University clinics and central hospitals mean the peak of health care
–- the central military hospital would be just like these, next to the airport.
We could undertake to design this too, and we could organize the professional
exchange of experiences with the proposed central military hospital.
7. If the development of infrastructure starts, than the system of health
insurance, the Guinean social security also has to be created. Furthermore, in
order to maintain the new system, social security contribution and pension
allowance have to be integrated into the tax system. The careful adaptation of
the Hungarian legislation and social security practices could be advisable in
this area too, if there is financial coverage at disposal for this. The
population of the two countries is almost similar.
The amount of damage that a serious epidemic can cause
can be observed now, at the time of the horrible Ebola epidemic. The SARS
epidemic in 2003 caused a damage of 50 billion dollars. Western companies are
withdrawing their professionals and workers from the factories again; they
leave their projects half-done. The Ebola outbreak mainly concerns the mining
industry. According to the estimation of the World Bank, the GDP growth rate
decreased by 1% in Guinea and by 5,9% in Liberia. The whole tourism industry of Africa is at a
loss due to Ebola – although it appeared in isolated regions – and it will take
years to entice tourists back to the continent.
The rescue
aircraft of GAC will transport the workers of the company, if necessary
That is why it would be important to construct a civil
and a military hospital, simultaneously and in connection with the
international airport. Besides Ebola, the most serious diseases to fight
against are the following: malaria, typhus, tuberculosis, yellow fever,
hepatitis A-B, and HIV/AIDS.
The network of occupational doctors at GAC – that is
the Guinea
Alumina Corporation, the national alumina industry super major – is a good
example for the connection of aviation and health care. A really good example.
In the following draft we recite the review of GAC of its own sustainable
public health goal:
Sustainable
Development: Health - Employee Health: At GAC we deliver targeted health
programs for employees. We have established and are continuing to implement a
Malaria Management Plan, Occupational Health and Hygiene Program, Medical
Services Program and a HIV/AIDS Management Plan to address and manage the
health of all employees. Further training and education programs will be
developed to ensure employees are aware of precautions and actions to take to
enhance their health.
To ensure appropriate medical services for all
employees within Guinea, GAC has established on-site medical services,
including the ability to effect medical evacuation of critically ill patients
if necessary.Future project activity includes the establishment of fully
equipped and professionally staffed medical services at the port and refinery
sites. Community Health: Our approach to community health is underpinned by our
desire to support a healthy community, which for generations to come will be
the source of healthy and valuable employees.
Guinee Fouta Djalon Petteh Djiga
2.6
The network of public health and administration
The administration of Guinea follows
the French example, and it is exemplary. This prefecture network should be
followed by the public health system that covers the whole country. Owing to
the epidemics, unified and strong military border protection should be
provided, with the establishment of a separate border police. The regions that
should be complemented by the central hospitals are the following:
The map of the regions
Above: the map of the prefectures
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The prefectures are the following:
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Primarily, they train professionals for agriculture,
mining, metallurgy and the building industry. With the cooperation of the
Gamal Abdel Nasser University of Conakry and the Semmelweis University in
Budapest, supported by the Hungarian pharmaceutical companies, there would be a
possibility to establish a teaching hospital and a remote medical university.
For the time
being, Guinea is struggling with illiteracy. The literacy rate of Guinea is one of the
lowest in the world: in 2010 it was estimated that only 41% of adults were
literate (52% of males and 30% of females).[65] - Primary education is compulsory for
8 years, but most children do not attend for so long, and many do not go to
school at all. - In 1999, primary school attendance was 40 percent. -
Children,
particularly girls, are kept out of school in order to assist their parents
with domestic work or agriculture, [66] or to be married: Guinea has one of
the highest rates of child marriage in the world. -
They also lack a network of high schools. It would be advisable to establish
educational centers in bigger towns, which would include primary and secondary
education, too, would be equipped with gym, swimming pool and library; and
would take responsibility for public educational tasks. At these institution
mass catering would be organized by the use of food produced locally that would
be checked by the Guinean national public health and medical officer service.
The training of skilled workers for agriculture, the developing industry,
services and foreign tourism should also be resolved.
The operation of the airport requires more than one thousand local skilled employees. The designing process of the airport and the education of this highly skilled professional layer should begin at the same time. This requires young people who graduated at least from high school, but preferably from university, and speak English. The supplier company of ground handling services at MALÉV and the Hungarian air traffic control system would be of great assistance in this matter.
There
are two universities in the country: one in Conakry and one in Kankan. There
are about 6000 students. The Gamal Abdel Nasser University of Conakry (in
French L'Université
Gamal Abdel Nasser de Conakry), is the largest university in Guinea and located in the suburbs of the Guinean capital Conakry. The
name is generally shortened to the University of Conakry. The university was
established in 1963 (not 1974 as the source says[1]) as Polytechnical Institute of Conakry (in French Institut Polytechnique de Conakry) being
the first higher education institution in Guinea. It was built with technical
assistance from the Soviet Union.
Guinea has
six neighboring countries, which means good conditions for trading
The school continued carrying the name until 1984, when it was
changed to Gamal Abdel Nasser University named after the Egyptian president and
popular political leader Gamal Abdel Nasser. The university has 13 schools and faculties, including medicine.[1] It was established during a period of progressive economic
development in the country after independence.[2]
The proportion of illeterate people is 56% in the country. Only 1%
of the whole population attend university.
2.7
The location of the airport
The airport in the capital receives
100%of the international flights. Currently, it has a capacity of 300,000
passengers per year. The set traffic goal of 3 million passengers per year
means that traffic has to be increased to a number ten times as much. Such a
traffic could make the new airport economical and profitable; so market
construction, that is the organization of flights into Conakry, should begin in
parallel with the designing process. The majority of the traffic would be
transit traffic, if the airport is designed to be a HUB system airport from the
beginning.
The
development of Conakry began with the connection of the island of Tombo and the
mainland. The curved archipelago in front of the peninsula looks like a new
Atlantis.
In that
case, it would be possible for Conakry to distribute the flights from the
overseas, Europe and the Middle East, with smaller transport airplanes, to the
neighboring countries, such as Guinea-Bissau , Gambia, Senegal, Mali, the
western counties of Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone, or even farther. This district next to the airport would be connected with the center
of the capital and the port by a high-speed railway and a motorway. Guinea is developing rapidly.
Similar to the rest of the world, there
are ambitious plans emerging in Guinea as well, in parallel with the revival of
the economy. Every country builds it own Manhattan, its own Pudong district.
Plan
"Centre-Ville de Conakry"
The
business center designed by Kobi Karp Architecture and Interior Design Inc.,
would be built on a filled peninsula, in front of the oil stock The ambitious
plan would raise skyscrapers in the middle of the peninsula, based on a simple
chessboard-like floor plan, while on the seashore, elegant city villas and
company centers would be built. All of this would be embedded into nature, with
enormous parks and promenades. The development of a modern trade, commercial
and residential area will dramatically improve the political and the
socio-economic status of the capital of Guinea- Conakry./ - The advanced and modern
technology solution to the sewage purification plant of 50,000 square meters
meets the international environmental standards for the establishment of a
sewage purification plant.
The scope of the project:
Residential area: 900,000 square meters
Office area: 600,000 square meters
Trade and services area: 500,000 square meters
Total area: 2,000,000 square meters
Estimated total cost: $1.5-2.0 billion dollars
If 2 billion dollars are invested into
an ultramodern business district, it cannot be accessed trough a road on the
seashore. If
somebody invests 2 billion dollars into a new business district, then it should
have good connection with the airport.
Summary of the plans
of the new business district: an ambitious plan – if it was realized, then the
capital could make it the business and financial center of the region
Hence, we suggest that the airport is linked with a
railway station built on pillars (based on the example of Shanghai), the "Centre-Ville de Conakry" , which would run above the seashore swamps and the river delta.
Naturally, it is important to take care of the environment when building and
operating the new airport.
If 2 billion
dollars were invested into an ultramodern business district, it cannot be
accessed trough a road on the seashore. If somebody invest 2 billion dollars into a new business district,
then it should have good connection with the airport. Hence, we suggest that
the airport is linked with a railway station built on pillars (based on the
example of Shanghai), the "Centre-Ville de Conakry" , which would run
above the seashore swamps and the river delta. Naturally, it is important to
take care of the environment when building and operating the new airport.
With the railway connection, travel time could be
reduced to 20-30 minutes. This would encourage transfer passengers to stop at
Conakry and hence use the hotels, restaurants and shopping centers. If we
distribute passengers to the countryside and other countries of the western
African region from the new airport, then one part of the traffic will
temporarily conduct its business in Conakry.
This will have a multiplying effect on the economy and
it will also increase the tourism of the capital; therefore, it will mean a
secondary profit for the country. The proposed double-track railway would bring
passengers into the heart of the business district, and they would be
distributed from here with the use of public transport. We undertake to design
the railway, utilizing our experiences from our Shanghai project. The
architectural design of the metro stations of the newly built metro line 4 in
Budapest could be exemplary when building the two final stops.
2.8 The current international airport
In order to build a new airport, we should examine the currently operating one, that is the Conakry International Airport (source: Wikipedia):
Conakry International Airport
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CKY - Location of
Airport in Guinea
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Summary
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Airport type
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Public
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Serves
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Location
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Conakry,
Guinea
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72 ft /
22 m
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Length
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Surface
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ft
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m
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06/24
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10.826
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3.300
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Asphalt
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Statistics (2009)
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Passengers
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248.248
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Conakry International Airport (IATA:
CKY, ICAO:
GUCY), also known as Gbessia International Airport, is an airport located in Conakry, the
capital of the Republic of Guinea in West Africa. It is divided into
domestic and international terminals. A number of West African, North African
and European airlines serve Conakry. / A “Conakry International Airport (IATA:
CKY, ICAO:
GUCY, that is the Gbessia International Airport is in Conakry, the capital of
the Republic of Guinea, West Africa. It has a domestic and a foreign terminal.
It is used by many West African, North African and European airlines.
History
In the 1970s Soviet Naval Aviation was granted facilities at the airport to serve as a staging base for Atlantic maritime reconnaissance patrols by Tu-95RTs aircraft.It was reported in 1975 that most of the Guinean air force's aircraft were based at Conakry-Gbessia airport.[2] Current air force operations are conducted out of the Conakry-Gbessia airport.
All non-ECOWAS foreigners are required to have a valid Guinean visa and a vaccination card in order to be granted entry. Yellow fever vaccination cards are verified upon entry into the country at Gbessia.
As of 2010, the airport possesses no radar and guides all planes in by sight. Night flights by European airlines require pilots to do a fly over of the runway following a near miss of a landing Air France A330 from Paris and a departing Air Senegal Internationale to Dakar.
The airport parking lot is also a popular destination for students preparing for exams, as it is one of the few places in the country which is freely accessible to the public and always illuminated by electric lamps.[3]
Airlines and destinations
Airlines
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Destinations
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Dakar (suspended)
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Restriction because of the Ebola epidemic:
Gambia (beginning in July 2014) and Côte d'Ivoire (beginning 11 August 2014)
have banned all flights and passengers from Guinea, Liberia, & Sierra Leone
due to the ongoing Ebola outbreak. ASKY & Emirates have also suspended all
service to these countries.
With a goal to increase annual
passenger capacity to 1 million passengers, in 2009 renovations began on the
main terminal. The airport currently has 300,000 passengers per year.
Renovation costs amounted to 60 billion GNF (Around 85 million EUR).[10] The government debated in 2007
whether to relocate the Conakry Airport to Forecariah, although no official
changes have been declared as of 2011.[11] Traditionally passengers
embarked on all flights directly on the tarmac with transfers to the airport
either by foot (most inter West African flights) or by buses for all European
flights. The new renovations included gateways and an improved passenger departure
lounge. As of January 2011, no changes have been made to the arrivals (customs
and luggage carousels).
Incidents
- On 1 July 1983 a CAAK (predecessor to Air Koryo) Ilyushin 62M on a non-scheduled international passenger flight from Pyongyang, North Korea (Sunan International Airport) to Conakry, Guinea (Conakry International Airport) crashed at the Fouta Djall Mountains in Guinea. All 23 persons on board were killed, and the aircraft was written off.
- On 19 November 2000 a now defunct Ghana Airways landed an MD DC-9 without landing gear in Conakry. The plane was written off.[12]
- On 28 June 2003 a missing Boeing 727 N844AA was found repainted at the Conakry Airport by Canadian AirServ pilot, Bob Strother.[13]
- In 2003 or 2004, AirServ landed a Beechcraft King Air 400 without front landing gear. Damage was subsequently fixed.
- In 2007, a Guinean Airforce Mig 21 departing from GUCY crashed into the Radio Television Guineenne headquarters. The Russian pilot ejected and was unharmed.[14]
Renovations
Departure
Lounge – January 2012.
2.9
Environmental protection in connection with the planned airport
Airports have to obey strict environmental regulations all
over the world, but especially in Europe. An environmental impact assessment
would be part of the planning process, and it would take into consideration the
security zone of the airport, too. We are not familiar with the local
environmental laws. However, Hungarian environmental laws are among the
strictest ones in the world. Regulations about aviation are exemplary as well.
If there is no all-encompassing environmental regulation system there, a
cooperation with Hungarian authorities should be considered. In order to
preserve the Paradise that is to be found in Guinea today and to prevent it
from becoming an environmental pollution hell, much work has to be done, mainly
in the mind of people. Strict environmental regulations should relate to
incoming foreign companies as well, from waste management, to hazardous waste
management, to the management of hazardous materials.
2.10 Environmental and regional
protection in the area of the airport
In
the following section we will present the region affected by the airport, its
flora and fauna and the ethnic group living there: Guinea is surrounded by
Senegal and Mali from the North, Ivory Coast from the East, Liberia and Sierra
Leone from the South, the Atlantic Ocean from South-West, and Bissau-Guinea
from the West. Its terrain is varied. The
highland region of Fouta Djallon lies in the western part of the country. Its
highest peak is at 1537 m. To the West of the highland there is a wide coastal
plain. The region to the North-East from Fouta Djallon is part of the Sahel; to
the South-East there are tropical forests and lower hillside areas. The Niger
River, the Gambia River and the Senegal all rise in the mountains of Guinea,
and several rivers flow into the sea here to the West from the mountains of
Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast. The seashore is framed by lagoons.
The climate is tropical. The amount of rainfall decreases from the
South-West to the North-East. The highland region of Fouta Djallon is slightly
colder then the lower-lying areas.
The
vegetation of Guinea is observable in the mangrove forest zone along the seashore
The original vegetation cover consists of different types of forests. The
South-Western rain forests were gradually replaced by drier types of forests
towards the North-Eastern savannas. This environment is threatened by the
expansion of agriculture, deforestation and at some places by mining.
Its national
parks are the following: National Park of Upper Niger (Haut Niger National
Park) – 6000 square meters of forests and savannas. In the North-Eastern part
of Guinea: Niokolo-Badiar National Park. Its common world heritage site with
Ivory Coast is the following: Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve, the area of
the highest peak of the country.
The seashore line from Conakry to the borders of Sierra Leone, Lower
Guinea, is a jungle, where enormous areas with grass and trees alternate with
deep woods stretching to the riversides. The delta of the Kili, Kuleti and
Mellakaro rivers creates a 30-40 km wide mangrove swamp zone. Hence, instead of
the beach with white sand, which is in the minds of European tourists, rather
swamps with mosquitoes can be found here, favoring the enthusiasts of nature.
Only local hunters and fishermen now how to get trough these deep mangrove
forests, because there is no firm subsoil in these areas: the roots of the
trees form a web above the swamp. Hence, the seashore and riversides, which are
divided into several branches, are almost unaccessible. The dominating type of
plant is the mangrove tree (Rhizophora Mangle), which is called
"kinchi" by local people.
Impenetrable mangrove forest
Ethnographers
mention the Baga tribe here, whose members build there cabins on the roots of
the trees. Their feed used to be varied. Besides wild animals and fish they had
baobab – which they consider a saint, protecting tree –, banana shrub, oil-palm,
the fruit of Butyrosperum Parki – "dugura" in their language –, and
the nut of Sterculia acuminata, that is Cola. The leaves of Tephrosia Vegelii
are collected as bait by fishermen. There is a rich bird fauna on the dry,
grassy, reedy and bushy areas among seashores: the colorful Orthohynchus, the
sapphire-colored thrush, the cuckoo (Chrysococcy smaragdinus), and alongside
the waters fisher birds, such as the little egret (Ardea garzetta). Near to the
town pigeons are very common: green pigeons ("korasa" in the local
language), grey "gamba" pigeons and partridges. Little gendarme birds
like dry baobab. The Rüppell's volture (Gyps Rüpellii) is a characteristic
member of the birds of prey. Every nation has its own saint bird – for the Hungarian
it is the saker falcon, the "turul", the light-bringer. The saint
bird of the Susu people is the vulture.
There are squirrels and brown mongooses (Herpestes paliidius) as well.
The inhabitants of villages near to the mainland are people of the Susu tribe.
They cultivate millet, that is Paspalum exile ("fonio" in their
language), and "soso" beans. Along the riversides, there are rise
fields. Fields are framed by palm, papaya(Carica Papaya), orange, mango and
cola trees. People are remarkably tall and slim. The traditional clothing of
men is the long, cloak-like "bubu". Folk medicine is flourishing. To
treat headache, for example, they stick yellow clay to the sand and mix it with
"gesse" powder, which is a kind of cotton (Gossypium acerifolium).
Dry, termite-invaded tree
The European rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes) is a characteristic insect.
There are many types of termites on the countryside, whose nests resemble the
tribal architecture of villages. People often put the cone of termite nests to
the top of their archaic, circle-shaped cabins, in order to scare off malicious
charms. Characteristic types of ants are the Eciton army ant (Annoma arcens)
and the army ant (Termes bellicosus), which builds 2-3 m high nests under the
trees. Water drops falling from the trees carve interesting forms into the
nests. Eutermes drill routes into trees, so that at the end only the bark is
left. Butterflies and birds avoid these termite-invaded trees.
We propose a high-speed railway line between Mafarénya and
Conakry.
The planned
airport affects two land varieties.
These are the mangrove forest zone at the seashore and the baobab forest
zone on the lowlands. The bird migration and other habits of the birds has to
be examined for the sake of the safety of the airport.
The planned airport should be connected with the capital by railways and
public roads. The motorway should be
connected with the already existing airport; therefore, the road construction
itself requires the preparation of an environmental impact assessment.
2.11 The national airline of
Guinea, as a pull factor
As we previously stated, for the economical and profitable operation of
the airport, its market should be also created.
That is why we suggest the creation of a HUB-system airport, that is a
collector-distributor airport. It would be advisable to distribute passenger to
the destination of the neighboring countries from an own, strengthened airline,
instead of a foreign one. The new airport next to Conakry would be the main
airport of this national airline, Guinea Airlines, which could make it possible
that the own, national airline of the state would give 40% of the traffic of
the new airport. Therefore, everything from ground handling services to the
purchase of kerosene would bring profit for the national airline and the
airport. Race with the neighbors – the one that wakes earlier, will win.