(Business in Cameroon) - The Cameroonian government completed the renewal and extension of the fruit terminal equipment of the Port of Douala. The new infrastructure was officially inaugurated last May 17.

The project lasted nearly 8 years and required an investment of CFA4.7 billion. It will now allow the port platform to process up to 500,000 tons of bananas a year, against 300,000 tons in the past. "This project is an important component of the support provided by the European Union (EU) to the banana sector in Cameroon for the past two decades and even more,” said Philippe Van Damme, head of the EU delegation in Cameroon.

The investment was made under the EU-led Banana Accompanying Measures (BAM), which aims to boost the competitiveness of the banana sector across Africa.

Implemented in Cameroon for 7 years (2013-2020), the program has been extended to 2022, at the request of the Cameroonian government. It will help rebuild a sector weakened by the Covid-19 pandemic and the Anglophone crisis in the Northwest and Southwest. These two regions are home to the majority of the country's banana plantations.

With an estimated CFA31.6 billion (€48 million), Cameroon is the first beneficiary of the BAM program. In addition to the modernization and expansion of the fruit terminal at the Port of Douala, these grants have helped finance equipment and irrigation systems for local producers.

BRM