West Suriname Plan

As originally conceived, it consists among others of the mining of bauxite in the Bakhuis Mountains, the building of a hydroelectric power plant on the Kabalebo River, and the construction of a harbour and an aluminium smelter at Apoera.

[1] The Dutch government agreed to help execute the plan as part of the development subsidies to be given after Suriname would gain independence in 1975.

After the 1980 Surinamese coup d'état Dutch development funds were frozen, and the project was halted.

[2][3] On 6 January 2003, BHP Billiton, Suralco, and the Surinamese government signed two memorandum of understanding to investigate the possibility of developing bauxite mining in West Suriname.

Nevertheless, the Surinamese government continues to be eager to develop Western Suriname and posits that interest in the Bakhuis Mountains exploration has been expressed by companies in Switzerland and China.