Matakong is an island just off the coast of
Guinea
Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...
between the capital
Conakry
Conakry ( , ; ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its population as of the 2014 Guinea census was 1,660,973.
The current population of C ...
and the
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...
border.
Nomenclature
Matakong is also called Matakan.
Transport
Matakong is the proposed port terminus of the heavy duty
standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...
Trans-Guinean Railway, aimed at transporting large iron and bauxite deposits to the coast, notably from the mines at
Simandou, 650km east . The proposed Bellzone iron ore mine at
Kalia may also share this railway line.
New port
A new
deep water port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manche ...
is needed because, firstly, the port at
Conakry
Conakry ( , ; ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guinea. A port city, it serves as the economic, financial and cultural centre of Guinea. Its population as of the 2014 Guinea census was 1,660,973.
The current population of C ...
is built out and there is no room, and secondly, because a new port at Matakong has better access though flatter ground to the hinterland.
A 20 km pier may be needed to reach deep water suitable for
panamax
Panamax and New Panamax (or Neopanamax) are terms for the size limits for ships traveling through the Panama Canal. The limits and requirements are published by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) in a publication titled "Vessel Requirements". ...
size ships. An artificial island contains the ship loader and ore dumps, and these is connected by a conveyor belt from the railway unloaded on the mainland. It is not known if the railway terminates in a
Balloon loop
A balloon loop, turning loop, or reversing loop ( North American Terminology) allows a rail vehicle or train to reverse direction without having to shunt or stop. Balloon loops can be useful for passenger trains and unit freight trains.
Bal ...
.
See also
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Transport in Guinea
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Railway stations in Guinea
*
List of deep water ports (void)
*
List of Panamax ports
A Panamax port is a deepwater port that can accommodate a fully laden Panamax ship. With the completion of the Panama Canal expansion project in 2016, this list will need to be significantly revised due to larger "post panamax" ships transiting ...
References
Islands of Guinea
Islands of the North Atlantic Ocean
{{Guinea-geo-stub