Amex Resources Limited will soon commence with the construction of a new wharf and ship-loading facility in Lautoka which will be specifically designed for the export of minerals.
This is part of Amex Resources’ $200 million investment.
Amex Resources has been exploring the sandbanks of the delta at the mouth of the Ba River between Raviravi and Vatu-tavui from its Sorokoba field base for Iron sand.
Minister for Industry, Trade and Tourism, Faiyaz Koya says the Lautoka Port facility will include a berth, a barge unloading facility, a washing plant, a stockpile area, ship-loading infrastructure, as well as workshops and offices.
The construction of these facilities together with the purchase of a specialized marine fleet represents a $180 million investment.
Koya says this is in addition to the $25 million the company has already spent on exploration and other associated works leading up to this.
Koya today handed over the construction site to Chinese state-owned company - First Harbour Consultants.
He says Amex has invested $165 million over the past eight years to develop the first iron ore mine in Fiji.
Koya says this million dollar project located in the province of Ba further develops existing infrastructure, while also constructing new ones in the form of a new wharf and ship-loading infrastructure, to export Fiji’s first-ever mined iron sand.
During the construction phase, it is expected that Amex will increase its workforce to at least 250 local employees, both skilled and unskilled for Fijians in Ba and Lautoka.
Meanwhile, Koya says the project is also expected to complement government’s efforts to dredge the Ba Delta, thereby reducing the impacts of flooding during wet weather.
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