HI Béton Note: This project has been cancelled, because of the ongoing political instability in Mali.Bamako is one of the fastest growing cities in Africa and a lot of new constructions are built. Because there is no commercial concrete plant, the concrete is of poor quality and buildings, especially multi-storey ones are not secure.This project will establish the first commercial concrete mixing plant in Mali. Mixtures will be made on demand and transported with mixer trucks to the building site where it will be distributed by concrete pumps to the exact spot where it is needed.32 jobs will be created and a total yearly production of 25,000 m3 of concrete will be realised.Strict Dutch safety regulations will be enforced at the plant, both for personnel safety as for environmental hazards. The partners, Van Den Herik B.V. and Ibraco Sarl, will form a joint venture to execute this activity.Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)The project partners agree that a robust standing with respect to CSR is of great importance to the success of the project. Van den Herik's CSR policy will provide a starting point for the joint venture's approach to CSR.The joint venture will not make use of any form of forced or child labour, nor will they work with suppliers or sub-contractors that do. Remuneration and working hours shall comply with local labour laws and wages will be at least 229% of the nationally agreed minimum wage. All employees will receive training on aspects relating to health and safety at work and all necessary safety equipment such as working clothes, shoes, helmets, ear protectors and first aid kits. In order to promote gender diversity, the joint venture will actively encourage female employment. Initially 16% of the total workforce will be female.With respect to the environment, the company will do all that is reasonable and practicable to minimise any adverse effects of its activities. Production will be done according to NEN-norms.Impact•	Employment and working conditionsThe project partners will offer good working conditions to their employees to retain and motivate them. The project will create a total of 32 permanent jobs. Workers will be provided with official labour contracts. In a country where informal employment prevails, this is an important positive feature.Remuneration and working hours shall comply with local labour laws and wages will be at least 229% of the nationally agreed minimum wage of around FCFA 35.000. Next, the joint venture will do all that is reasonable and practicable to protect the health and safety of its employees. All employees will receive training on aspects relating to health and safety at work and all necessary safety equipment such as working clothes, shoes, ear protectors and first aid kits. In addition, they will receive training on the prevention of HIV/Aids. Lastly, all employees will be treated equally and in order to promote gender diversity, the joint venture will actively encourage female employment.At the production site, the VCA checklist (VGM Checklist Aannemers (VGM = Veiligheid Gezondheid en Milieu)) will be used to assure a safe working environment.•	Innovation / Transfer of knowledgeAll aspects of the knowledge transfer are new to the country as concrete mixing does not exist on a commercial basis in Mali. As the construction sector is a very important economic sector in Mali, the employees trained by the project will be highly demanded by other companies because of their enhanced knowledge and their new skills, especially those who are trained partly in the Netherlands.•	Chain effectsThe parties that will benefit directly from this project will be construction companies and suppliers of raw materials. In general, the construction sector will be offered the possibility to build faster, better and cheaper as a result of this project. We estimate that some 100 construction companies will benefit directly from this project.For the raw materials, some three to 5 suppliers of sand, cement and gravel will benefit directly, as well as the electricity company and an insurance company.A very important beneficial effect is the fact that building houses will be safer with the use of good quality concrete. This will save lives as accidents due to poor concrete quality are common in Mali.•	EnvironmentThe project does not pose any risk to the environment as no toxic or dangerous substances are used.Special environmentally friendly dust filters will be installed on the cement silo to avoid that too much dust will cover the surrounding area and to prevent that the employees have to work in dusty surrounding.A waste management system will be in place and all employees, including operators and mechanics will be trained on minimising waste, pollution and fuel and energy consumption and maximising efficiency.The rest water from the concrete plant will be filtered before discharged.Any waste in hardened concrete will be crushed and used for road construction or pavements.•	Position of women16% of the workforce will consist of women. One of the women will hold a high-level position as a member of the Board of Directors. The Finance Manager will also be a woman and this is a high-level position as well. Furthermore, the secretary, the receptionist and two cleaners will be women.Men and women will be treated equally at the workplace. They will all have the same opportunities. Promotions will be based on merit and performance strictly. Male and female employees will receive equal pay for equal work. Sexual harassment will not be tolerated. To establish a, ready made, concrete plant in Bamako, Mali, to produce 25,000 m3 of concrete per year to be sold to building companies in the "greater Bamako area".