20100816
africanews

Gabon has signed $4.5 billion worth of deals with companies from India and Singapore in a bid to revamp infrastructure, improve living standards and diversify the economy of a nation with dwindling oil reserves.

The projects would include an upgrade of 1,000 km (620 miles) of roads, developing timber and palm oil processing and building 5,000 low cost houses.

The deal was signed on Saturday, the day before Gabon celebrated 50 years of independence, according to statement from the president’s office.

The projects are expected to create some 50,000 jobs and will begin within a few months, it added.

Gabon once produced around 350,000 barrels of oil per day, but output is down to around 240,000 barrels, and the industry is under pressure to make new finds in the coming years.

Bongo has vowed to invest billions of dollars to turn Gabon into a regional hub for industry, services and emerging environmental business sectors before the oil runs dry.