Three operators compete for Kribi concession

The operator of the container terminal at Cameroon’s new deepwater port of Kribi is expected to be chosen by the end of the year.

Three contenders were on a shortlist issued on 31 October: APM Terminals, ICTSI, and a consortium of Bolloré Africa Logistics, CMA-CGM, and China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC). The winning bidder will build and operate the terminal and 700m of quay.

Media sources in Cameroon suggest the consortium is the front-runner. CHEC was contractor for construction of the port, which is located at Mboro, 35km from Kribi town.

The port will be an export hub for iron ore and aluminium from Cameroon and commodities from Chad, the Central African Republic, and Congo-Brazzaville. Construction began in 2012 and is largely complete. The cost to date is estimated at $1Bn, with 85% having been provided by China’s Exim Bank and the rest by the Cameroon government.

According to the Cameroon Tribune, the arrival of two tugs means that large vessels can now anchor safely. An access road to Kribi town is nearing completion, while Bouygues subsidiary DTP Terrassement is to construct a 100km railway to the hydro-electric plant and Rio Tinto aluminium smelter at Edéa. A separate line will bring iron ore from Mbalam into Kribi port.

The full scheme at Kribi is not due for completion until 2040, when it will include a further 20 terminals, a 20,000ha industrial zone, and a city of 100,000 people.