(Business in Cameroon) - The Youpwè landing stage in Douala, Cameroon's economic capital, has already been built to Japanese standards. Spanning over 6,000 square meters, the quay can accommodate 27 to 30 pirogues. Its market comprises a building for fresh and dried fish, stores, a waste depot, an ice storage building, a restaurant, and an administrative block.

According to Armand Deula, head of the Youpwe fishing center, "the [construction] work was completed on December 15, 2022. The Japanese who were building the infrastructure left Cameroon on that date." The technical acceptance of the work was also carried out last February, he added. Since then, the landing stage is still not operational. No fishermen dock there, and the site is still unoccupied.

An anonymous source at the Littoral regional delegation of the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries (Minepia, the project's prime contractor) points to administrative delays as the reason for the delay in starting activities on the site. The same source informs that the infrastructure will only be operational after its official inauguration, which is not yet scheduled. 

Impatience

According to the authorities, 262 fish vendors were operating on the old site. "They will be the first to be allowed to settle on the landing stage's sales areas before we integrate new vendors," explains the head of the Youpwe fishing center. While they are delighted with the construction of the landing stage, these fish vendors, who have been operating close to the landing stage for the past six years, are impatient to get into their new working environment. For the time being, the conditions for the acquisition of the vendors' space are still being determined by the Douala Urban Community (CUD), which is responsible for managing the landing stage.

The Youpwé landing stage, which costs CFAF6.6 billion, is a donation from Japan, whose agreement was signed in 2017. Official sources explain that the project took six years to complete, due to problems experienced with the compensation of people living on the site and the Covid-19 pandemic.

The infrastructure should help to increase production, modernize the marketing system and improve the sanitary conditions in which fish products are handled.  This should reduce post-harvest losses (15% in Cameroon, according to the Gulf of Guinea Regional Fisheries Commission) caused by the lack of conservation equipment. Also, fish sellers, who claim to earn between CFAF200,000 and 1.4 million a year, are already hoping to boost their income thanks to the infrastructure.

According to the National Institute of Statistics (INS),  Cameroon imported 189,755 tons of frozen fish in 2021, up 1.8% year-on-year. The imports were valued at CFAF134.3 billion (up 3.5% year-on-year) despite the country having some 400 kilometers of coastline renowned for its fish stock, which is mostly fished by foreign fishermen who supply the commercial circuits serving their origin countries. 

Frédéric Nonos