Rougier/FRM joint venture secures Gabon concession

Lignafrica , the joint venture between French hardwood specialist Rougier and “forest engineering and consulting agency” FRM, has secured the contract to manage a 39,000ha forest concession in Gabon.

The deal was one of a series of “commercial contracts” agreed by French prime minister Francois Fillon and Gabon head of state Ali Bongo Ondimba and was said by FRM to be worth €23m and set to create 400 jobs. Lignafrica will hold 85% of the business and the Gabonese government the balance.

The Mvoum concession comprises 14,000ha of plantations of mainly okoume approaching maturity. These will be brought into production over the next 25 years and an additional 6,000ha of plantations created. The annual timber harvesting potential is 70,000m³.

Planting of okoume and other fast-growing species on the concession will run at 600-1,000ha per year, including renewal of harvested older plantation areas and rehabilitation of secondary natural forest.

Lignafrica will also be involved in cloning research on okoume.

For more on this story see next week's TTJ.