Hours after officially launching construction of the Kobe-Kobe deepwater port on Gabon’s Atlantic coast, President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema convened a strategic gathering of ambassadors and representatives from the major powers involved in the project, held in Nyonie.
More than a diplomatic meeting, this encounter set the tone for an ambition now openly embraced: transforming Gabon into a benchmark industrial, logistics and mining platform in Central Africa.
Through this high-level exchange, the head of state aimed to send a clear message to international partners: Kobe-Kobe is not merely a port infrastructure; it is the foundation of a new economic model designed to prepare for the post-oil era, strengthen the country’s economic sovereignty, and reposition Gabon within major global value chains.
A new economic doctrine
The Kobe-Kobe project revolves around one of Africa’s most strategic assets: the Belinga iron ore deposit, with estimated reserves of nearly 7.5 billion tonnes and an exceptional grade of around 65%, ranking among the world’s largest untapped deposits.
However, the real break lies in the chosen approach. For decades, Africa’s extractive economy followed a simple pattern: extract raw materials and export them in their crude form. The project presented by the Gabonese president aims precisely to break away from that logic.
The future integrated complex combines four complementary pieces of infrastructure: the Belinga mine, an electric railway line spanning over 500 kilometers, a deepwater port capable of accommodating the largest international vessels, and energy infrastructure to power the entire industrial setup.
This vertical integration has a specific goal: to retain more added value within the country and foster a genuine Gabonese steel industry capable of locally processing part of the mining output.
The diplomacy of multiple partnerships
Addressing the diplomats gathered in Kobe-Kobe, Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema also outlined what is now emerging as a pillar of his international strategy: diversification of partnerships.
The Gabonese president stressed a principle that has become central to his development vision: the country’s future cannot rely on a single partner or a single sphere of influence; it must be based on open cooperation involving multiple economic and industrial powers.
This orientation is already evident in the composition of the international consortium mobilized around the project. China is involved in railway and mining infrastructure. France is present through several logistics operators. Italy, India, the United States, and Australia also contribute their industrial, financial, energy, or commercial expertise.
This international architecture serves a dual purpose: securing the financing and technologies required for major projects while preserving Gabon’s decision-making autonomy.
The ambassadors of France, Fabrice Mauriès, and China, Zhou Ping, welcomed this approach, calling it balanced and full of new cooperation opportunities. Their public support also reflects the growing interest Gabon has attracted from international investors since the establishment of the Fifth Republic.
Central Africa’s industrial bet
Beyond infrastructure, Kobe-Kobe represents a large-scale economic bet. Government projections mention more than 100,000 direct and indirect jobs in the long term, the emergence of a vast network of domestic subcontracting, and a powerful multiplier effect on the entire economy.
Transport, energy, logistics, metallurgy, services, engineering, vocational training, construction, and industrial maintenance could all directly benefit from this gigantic economic corridor.
The geopolitical impact is equally significant. Thanks to its future deepwater port, Gabon could become one of Central Africa’s main maritime gateways, at a time when regional competition among logistics hubs is intensifying.
By inviting the diplomats to convey this vision to their governments, financial institutions, and economic operators, Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema seeks to further broaden the circle of investors around the project.
Kobe-Kobe thus emerges as much more than a construction site. It symbolizes a national strategy aimed at turning natural resources into a lever for industrialization, attracting international capital while consolidating the country’s economic sovereignty.
If the stated objectives are achieved, Gabon could, within the next decade, transition from a raw material exporter to a major industrial player in Central Africa. The meeting with international partners immediately after the launch of work shows that, for Libreville, the development battle is no longer fought only on national soil; it is now being waged on a global scale.
