| On the
initiative of Félix Houphouët
Boigny, then President of the Republic of
Côte d’Ivoire, the Council of
Ministers at its session of 3 March 1976
authorized PETROCI to build a bitumen production
plant through the Société
Multinationale de Bitumes (SMB).
This decision was part of
the general policy of President FHB consisting
in reducing regional distortions through
the implementation of a road programme enabling
to bring closer regions more remote from
development centres.
 In
April 1976 a call for tenders launched by
the PETROCI’s Research and Design
Departements, following examination of the
bids, has resulted in the selection of the
selection of the Compagnie Française
d’Etudes et de Construction TECHNIP
to implement a turnkey contract for the
construction of the SMB plant.
The Petroleum Plant has been supplied by
French Companies and many Ivoirians Companies
have taken part in its construction.
The main stages in construction and start
up are summed up in the following five dates:
-
27
September 1976: signing of the contract
between SMB and TECHNIP
-
12 January 1977 : Laying of the foundation
stone by EL Hadj Mamadou Coulibaly,
President of the Economic and Social
council.
-
15
February 1977: Commencement of site
work
-
30
March 1978: Completion of construction
in accordance with the original schedule.
-
22
April 1978: Start-up of plant operation
by a team of young Ivoirians trained
for the purpose.
|
