Société de Scanning du Gabon S.A.

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Project description On June 27, 2013, MIGA issued guarantees of €5.8 million ($7.5 million equivalent) covering Cotecna Inspections S.A. of Switzerland (COINS)' equity investment in, and shareholder loan to, Société de Scanning du Gabon S.A, a joint venture between COINS and the government of Gabon. The coverage is for a period of up to 10 years against the risks of transfer restriction, expropriation, war and civil disturbance, and breach of contract. COINS has been contracted to provide inspection services to the government of Gabon under a six-year build, operate, and transfer contract. This contract involves the financing, procurement, installation, and operation of import inspection equipment, including two high-energy mobile X-Ray scanners at the Ports of Libreville-Owendo and Gentil; maintenance and technical assistance to the operation; and training and transfer to the government at the end of the six-year contract. The project is expected to contribute to trade facilitation through a more efficient and rapid verification of imported goods, which replaces in most cases the traditional physical inspection; protect government revenues through the reduction of opportunities for fraud and fiscal evasion; strengthen security at the ports by ensuring that containerized goods are not illegal; and create some 50 local jobs, as well as transfer technology at the end of the project. The project is aligned with the World Bank Group's Country Partnership Strategy for Gabon, which calls for improved governance and public sector capacity and increasing the country's competitiveness and creating employment.

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