(Business in Cameroon) - Via its Public Contracts Ministry, the Cameroonian government has just handed the deal to supply a “multifunctional service vessel” at the port of Douala to the Spanish company Astilleros Armon SA.

The Spanish ship manufacturer, which will have to deliver the boat in 17 months, beat out two competitors: China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), which is building the deep water port of Kribi, with a financial bid that was found to be higher and French company Ocea SA, which was disqualified due to its “failure to meet key criteria in major technical characteristics and the absence of proof in ship construction.”

Astilleros Armon SA has delivered 800 ships since being founded, including close to 40 per year.