A new port in southern Cameroon is set to alleviate the chronic congestion and delays at the country’s main port and to pave the way for new industrial projects.
Delays in imports and exports caused by inefficiencies at Cameroon’s Douala port have hurt the economy, but the new port under construction at Kribi could speed trade and boost the country’s performance.
Government planners want Kribi to become a hub for imports into the Gulf of Guinea. Currently Kribi is home to one of Central Africa’s largest construction projects.
The port includes several associated projects, including an industrial zone and minerals-processing area. China Harbour Engineering Company began the first phase of construction in 2011, and the first containers arrived at the port in 2014.
More than 30 companies in the metals, petrochemicals, cement, agro-industrial and logistics sectors have already requested land for projects in Kribi.
“Kribi is going to fix all of the congestion problems at Douala and contribute to its growth,” says an official on the committee overseeing the construction of Kribi port.
Douala port’s problems include chronic congestion, choking of the access channels with sand and the lack of modern equipment capable of dealing with the high level of traffic.
Goods spend an average of 22 days at the port facilities, which World Bank reports say is five times longer than at South Africa’s port of Durban.
