Tracking Development - Rio Tinto - Qit Madagascar Minerals

The Production Phase
of Ehoala, Madagascar’s second largest port, opened
to the public on July 8, 2009. Offering opportunities for
agricultural production and business development through
the provision of an import and export channel, the port
acts as a catalyst for investment in the region and country
as a whole. Supporting the impoverished Anosy region,
which historically has remained relatively isolated, the port
now exports all the region’s formal sector products; frozen
fish and lobsters, scrap iron, sisal, mica, fruit and ilmenite.
In addition, commercial cruise liners carrying up to 1,000
tourists dock for day trips into Fort Dauphin, bringing an
increase in tourist income to the region. To date, over 340
ships of all categories have utilised the new port, which
has also handled thousands of containers. Many of these
have contained rice and humanitarian aid for emergency
assistance.
plant, which includes a sewage collection system, was
designed and constructed. With a combined estimated
cost of US$4 million, the rehabilitated plant and new
plant sufficiently meet the water needs of the urban
population.
QMM purchased and installed a generator for the city
to have a reliable source of electricity. QMM provides
maintenance of the facilities and supplies heavy fuel,
which JIRAMA purchases. The provision of electricity to
Fort Dauphin has huge value to the morale of the city’s
population.
The current major obstacle to the full use of the Port of
Ehoala is the near-impassable state of RN 13, the road out
of Fort Dauphin. Road infrastructure within the immediate
region and connections to other parts of the island is very
poor, which affects terrestrial transfer of goods, mainly to
and from the capital Antananarivo. QMM constructed and
improved several roads in the surrounding area for the
operation of the mine. Road development was one of the
initiatives under the World Bank PIC programme, which
was suspended following the political crisis, but has recently
been reinitiated. Rehabilitated roads will help reduce the
Anosy region as an enclave and increase exports of its
lucrative commodities.
QMM, with the government and local utility company
JIRAMA, rehabilitated the city’s existing and very old
potable water treatment plant. Additionally, a new
The first cruise ship, MSC Sinfonia, docked at the Port of
Ehoala in March 2010.
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