(Business in Cameroon) - Sundance Resources Ltd says it has opened a restricted tender for the construction of the project’s port and rail infrastructure, the bilingual daily, Cameroon Tribune said Friday, August 9. The Australian iron ore giant, a partner of Cam Iron, owner of the Mbalam-Nabeba project said the bid is open to Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractors with an international reputation.

A 510 km rail line from Mbalam mine in Cameroon and 70 km rail line from Nabeba mine, are both expected to run to the Cameroon coast were an iron ore export terminal would be constructed near the Kribi deep sea port industrial complex project, Cameroon Tribune said.

Six of the interested companies are Chinese but their names were withheld. The contracts could be signed by the end of this year, the news release said.

“The company (Sundance) envisages that the negotiations for the take-or-pay contracts and project equity agreements will be completed this calendar year,” the news release said.

And, according to the Sundance Managing Director, Giulio Casello, the tender is key to the implementation of the project.

The Mbalam-Nabeba project straddles the border of Cameroon and the Republic of Congo and could produce 35 million tons of Iron ore in a year, Cameroon Tribune noted.