(Business in Cameroon) - Cameroon has progressed in its project for the creation of special economic zones in the country to boost wood processing, the Ministry of Mines reveals. According to the Ministry, two sites have already been confirmed and a financial and technical partner has been identified for the project. The two sites are notably Edea in the Littoral and Bertoua in the Eastern region while the technical and financial partner is the African Finance Corporation (AFC). “The actions fall within the framework of commitments made by CEMAC countries to approve the ban of raw timber exports by January 2023,” the ministry explains.

AFC, the partner selected by the Cameroonian government, is a regional development finance institution created in 2007. With the African Development Bank (AfDB) as one of its major shareholders, the institution’s goal is to address the financing gap in the infrastructure and industrial sectors that are considered underfunded on the African continent.

Should the involved parties agree on various mechanisms, Edea and Bertoua's special economic zones will be the first in Cameroon. According to the presidential decree signed on April 17, 2019, a special economic zone is one or more geographic areas developed and equipped with infrastructures to allow firms installed in that zone to operate under optimal conditions. The zones concerned are agricultural, craft, and commercial areas as well as free trade zones, agri-food science parks, high-technology clusters, and tourist complexes.

To create a special economic zone in Cameroon, the project carrier must first collaborate with concerned administrations to identify free lands able to host the firms. Then, the applicant will have to prove its financial capabilities and thereafter demonstrate that at least five firms are interested in settling in the economic zone.  

S.A.