(Business in Cameroon) - According to a report released on July 7 by the National Ports Authority (APN), activity at Douala Port in 2013 increased by 9.8%, passing for the first time in its history the 10 million-tonne threshold in merchandise processing, to reach 10,592,021 tonnes as opposed to 9,642,086 tonnes in 2012.

“Douala Port was designed to accommodate 10,000,000 tonnes. The current volume being higher than this (by 600,000 tonnes), the port is therefore mechanically under-capacity,” stated the APN which noted that the activity at this port alone represents 99.7% of total maritime processing nationally.

This extreme demand weighing on the Douala Port comes at a time when Cameroon is preparing to launch its new deep water port in Kribi, which is currently in its first phase (building a protective dike, channel access for ships, a docking quay and polyvalent and container terminals) which is 97% complete, according to Patrice Melom, head of the project’s coordination unit.