(Business in Cameroon) - On March 18, 2014, the Cameroonian Prime Minister, Philémon Yang, issued a press release regarding the decision taken on February 21, 2014. The announcement reported that the June 13, 2013 call for tenders made by the Ministry of Energy and Water, in terms of conceptualisation, financing, construction and use of a pipeline for oil product distribution between Limbe, Douala, Edea and Yaoundé was not successful.

The motivation behind this about-face between the February 21 decision and that of March 18 has not been explained. However, only 24 hours after the government’s sudden flip-flop, representatives of the 3PL (Petroleum Products Pipeline) consortium that had signed an MOU with the Cameroonian government, were received by the Ministry of Energy and Water, Basile Atangana Kouna.

According to reliable sources, at this meeting, the consortium 3PL reiterated its commitment to the project’s completion “despite initial difficulties”. Indeed, in August 2013, the consortium had announced that it had successfully landed the 248 km pipeline construction project that will connect towns in Limbé (south-west), Douala (coastal area), Edéa (coastal area) and Yaoundé (centre), in order to facilitate oil product distribution.

Meanwhile, the American company, Govind, was chosen to build a 377 km pipeline to connect Limbé (south-west) in Bafoussam (west) and Bamenda (north-west).