Fadi Wazni is president of the UMSI Group, a consortium of 30,000 people and the world’s leading producer and exporter of bauxite. Visiting Paris for the Investing in Africa Forum, co-organized by L’Opinion and CIAN on April 23, Fadi Wazni spoke to Pascal Airault about his plans to build a new-generation, energy-efficient albumin refinery in Guinea, next to the port of Dapilon. The project, representing an investment of €1.4 billion, 40% of which is financed by equity, has just been designated a project of national interest for Guinea. “Work has begun and the refinery should be up and running within three years,” explains the CEO. In France, the group has taken over the Alteo group, based near Gardanne, where it has developed one of the oldest bauxite refineries in the world, and which has “expertise and a concentration of talent across the entire bauxite chain.” Following the cessation of sludge production and a complete transformation and modernization, the site will now focus on high-tech products and become a center of excellence and a high-tech factory. The CEO, himself Franco-Guinean, believes that there is a “community of interests” around bauxite, both for France and Guinea. “We must work to ensure that everyone benefits,” he explains.