The Mauritanian authorities are trying to relaunch the project of the sugar complex in Foum Gleita, a locality located in the south of the country. They are looking for a consultant (firm) for the PPP feasibility study of the project.
The idea of creating a sugar complex – which includes an industrial perimeter of sugar cane cultivation with an area of 8,000 hectares irrigated from the Foum Gleita dam, a factory capable of producing 110,000 tonnes of sugar per year, one unit of electric power generation and two units of feed and fertilizer production – amounting to USD 335 million dates back to 2011.
At least two foreign companies had expressed interest in the project before throwing in the towel.
This is the Sudanese company Kenana Sugar Compagny which was to finance the project up to 40% and which in May 2011 signed a memorandum of understanding with the Mauritanian government and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) which started negotiations with the Mauritanian Ministry of Finance and the Mauritanian Sugar and Derivatives Company (COMASUD) Mauritanian Sugar and Derivatives Company (COMASUD) in 2018.
The relaunch of the sugar project comes in a context of strong budgetary constraint linked to the over-indebtedness of the State where Mauritania has started to restructure its public debt and has decided to invest massively in infrastructure and to increase the level and quality. public services through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) contracts.
The contract for the recruitment of a consultant for the PPP feasibility study of the project in question is financed by the World Bank.
