Republic of Congo, 28 May 2009: Betou town. Likoula Timber, an Italian logging concession that has 525000 hectares of land and has been operational there for 8 years. Huge areas of land - larger than Switzerland - in CongoÕs most northern province, Likouala have been granted to different logging companies. A lot of wood that traditionally went to European markets for furniture now goes through China. It is estimated around 40 per cent of all hard wood is illegal. Companies build their own private roads.