The ''West Suriname Plan'' was an economic development plan for the western part of Suriname. As originally conceived, it consists among others of the mining of

bauxite Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO ...

in the Bakhuis Mountains, the building of a

hydroelectric power plant Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

on the Kabalebo River, and the construction of a harbour and an

aluminium smelter Aluminium smelting is the process of extracting aluminium from its oxide, alumina, generally by the Hall-Héroult process. Alumina is extracted from the ore bauxite by means of the Bayer process at an alumina refinery. This is an electrolyti ...

Apoera Apoera, also Apura, is a town in western Suriname. The village has a population of 777 people as of 2020. It is the final destination of the Southern East-West Link. north-west on the other side of the Courantyne River lies the Guyanese villag ...

. The plan was the brainchild of former Surinamese Minister of Development Frank Essed.Trouw.nl
Roemrucht plan West-Suriname herleeft
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Overview

In 1963, Operation Grasshopper found bauxite deposits in the Bakhuis Mountains. Two years later, extensive explorations were conducted by and Billiton. After a commercial joint venture established by Reynolds Surinam Mines and (Grassalco) failed to take off, the Surinamese government devised the West Suriname Plan to develop the region by the government.Marie-Josée Artist and Carla Madsian (2007)
West Suriname: Wat Betekent Een Geintegreerde Aluminium Industrie Voor De Inheemse Gemeenchappen?
pp. 28-29.

False start

The Dutch government agreed to help execute the plan as part of the development subsidies to be given after Suriname would gain independence in 1975. Between 1976 and 1978, a railroad track was constructed between Apoera and the Bakhuis Mountains by Morrison-Knudsen as main contractor and local companies as sub contractors. After the

1980 Surinamese coup d'état The 1980 Surinamese coup d'état, usually referred to as the Sergeants' Coup (), was a military coup in Suriname which occurred on 25 February 1980, when a group of 16 sergeants () of the Surinamese Armed Forces (SKM) led by Dési Bouterse ...

Dutch development funds were frozen, and the project was halted. Low bauxite market prices in the 1980s also led to doubts about the economic feasibility of the project.

New plans

In the late 1990s, the West Suriname Plan was resurrected. On 6 January 2003,

BHP Billiton BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...

, Suralco, and the Surinamese government signed two memorandum of understanding to investigate the possibility of developing bauxite mining in West Suriname. Talks between the Surinamese government and BHP Billiton stranded in October 2008. Nevertheless, the Surinamese government continues to be eager to develop Western Suriname, and posit that interest in the Bakhuis Mountains exploration has been expressed by companies in Switzerland and China.RNW.nl
BHP Billiton Suriname schrapt plannen Bakhuysgebied
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References

{{reflist Economy of Suriname