(Business in Cameroon) - On July 4, 2023, the Port Authority of Kribi (PAK) announced the opening of a Douala bureau for the deep seaport of Kribi. According to the authority, the bureau is located in Bonanjo, Douala’s business district.  

"The objective of our presence in Douala is to strengthen our cooperation with the Autonomous Port of Douala, to work closely together to develop port activities and offer quality and complementary services to clients, to pool our efforts in the search for common opportunities for the two ports, and to synergistically enhance the competitiveness and port services for the benefit of our national maritime front," said Patrice MELOM, Managing Director of the PAK, in the press release announcing the bureau. 

Patrice Melon (photo) adds that the Douala bureau  "fully aligns with the PAK’s strategic directions to be closer to its clientele in the Coastal, Western, and Southwest regions." However, it goes without saying that in addition to establishing proximity with existing clients, the new bureau is resolutely aiming to capture new market shares in the economic capital and beyond. The profile of the executive appointed to head that bureau supports this thesis.  

Conquer market shares

"Mr. Mohammed Iya Habib is appointed as the head of the PAK representation in Douala. (...) Before this appointment, Mr. Habib Iya served as the head of the marketing and commercial department of PAK. His experience in the field and his knowledge of the port and logistics environment will allow the new representation to quickly become operational," Patrice Melon says. 

The deep seaport of Kribi is operational since March 2018. With its deep draft that allows large vessels to dock, it is presented as the most important port infrastructure in the Gulf of Guinea. However, despite these advantages, the port of Douala remains the main gateway to Cameroon, accounting for over 80% of import-export activity, according to official data. In that light, the PAK’s bureau in Douala may be an offensive to conquer markets in Douala and its surroundings.  

The deep seaport is constrained by its remoteness and the poor state of the road between Kribi and Edéa. Nevertheless, during the interministerial mission that sojourned at the PAK on May 29-30, 2023, the port authority revealed that over five years, the deep seaport has recorded yearly growth in its traffic in the amounts of  35% growth at the container terminal and 86% at the multipurpose terminal.

BRM