(Business in Cameroon) - The shareholders of the Kribi deepwater port project are working to triple the capacity of the container terminal by the first half of 2024.  As part of phase 2 of the project, an amendment to the concession agreement for the container terminal was signed yesterday in Yaoundé between the port authority (PAK) and Kribi Containers Terminal (KCT), a joint venture formed by the Bolloré-CHEC-CMA CGM consortium.

This new step, we learned, will materialize at the end of the first half of 2024 by the construction of a new quay of 715 meters, a platform of more than 30 hectares, and the acquisition of 5 new quayside gantry cranes as well as 15 park gantry cranes. KCT indicated that these new infrastructures will allow the container terminal to reach 1 million TEU and confirm its status as a hub of reference within the sub-region.

"This new deal is proof that the government and the shareholders of the container terminal have great ambitions for the Kribi industrial port complex. With the continued growth in volumes this year the Kribi terminal is positioning itself as the main cargo gateway for Cameroon and the sub-region. The investments as part of this second phase will boost the dynamic for the benefit of local economic players,” said Olivier De Noray, Chairman of the Board of Directors of KCT and Ports and Terminals Managing Director of Bolloré Ports.

As a reminder, work on the second phase was first initiated in November 2017 but was suspended in November 2018 before resuming in February 2020. Once it is completed, the port platform will have a 750-meter container terminal, twice as long as the first. Phase 2 is expected to swallow up to CFA400 billion, according to PAK.

Commissioned in March 2018, the deepwater port of Kribi, which claims the largest draft on the West African coast (16 meters), currently has two terminals. A 350-meter long container terminal, operated by the Bolloré-CHEC-CMA CGM consortium, and a multipurpose terminal conceded to the Philippine ICTSI. With 500 hectares of space already developed, the port of Kribi has a platform for industrialists involved in local production (cement, flour mills, etc.) and processing (cotton, cocoa, cashew nuts, etc.). The logistics warehouses of the industrial port complex are operational as well.

Written by S.A.

Translated from French by Firmine AIZAN