He said he would soon establish an Investment Board that would be presided over by the presidency in order to protect both the interests of the country and that of the investors.
The president said he acknowledged Bollore’s work in scaling up the volume of operations at the port and their corporate social responsibilities to deprived communities across the country and called on the company to continue on the good work.
Chief Executive Officer of Bollore International Group of Companies, Cyril Bollore gave a history of the founding of Bollore. He said it started in France in 1822 with a staff of 300.
According to him, in the 1980s, Bollore almost went bankrupt but that today, it is a large, financially strong multi-national corporation with about 80 subsidiaries worldwide and a strong African presence.
Bollore he went on, now has a widespread business outreach that stands on two legs which includes Transport and Logistics, Container Terminals, Oil and Gas, Mining, Construction, Entertainment, Advertising, Solar Energy, Electric Cars, etc.
He expressed satisfaction over what the company has achieved since founded 196 years ago, while thanking all who made the $120 million Freetown Container Terminal a reality.
Bollore’s Country Manager, Captain Fabjanko Kokan, informed his audience that the Bollore Freetown Terminal expansion involved material and logistic requirements which put together made it a reality that included 1 million tons of sand and over 40, 000 tons of steel.
He acknowledged the cooperation of the Government of Sierra Leone and the hard work and discipline shown by the people who built the structure.
Captain Kokan noted that all the people who made the terminal a reality came from different countries and from different backgrounds but that regardless of those differences we can change Freetown, Sierra Leone and the world.
“Impossible is only impossible until it is done,” he said.
He highlighted Bollore’s contribution to the country’s economic growth, development of Freetown and Sierra Leone at large, while reechoed Bollore’s commitment to the country’s economic growth with the government owning 20% of the shares in the Freetown terminal.
