The Port Authority of Douala (PAD) signed last December 8 a deal with the French maritime works company Negri to expand the container terminal of the Port of Douala-Bonabéri.

Under this agreement, we learned, the French side will pump CFA47 billion into the project, which includes the construction of a 250 linear meter dock, the development of a 7.9 ha rear embankment, and 1200 linear meters of additional land tracks. These works are scheduled to last 30 months and require the relocation of the floating dock of 10,000 tons currently on the construction site.

After completion, the French company will operate the infrastructure for 10 years and the Container Terminal Authority will be responsible for operating and billing. “Through the Public-Private Partnership mechanism, the State of Cameroon will provide the port of Douala-Bonabéri and specifically the container terminal with additional capacity, without pressuring the national Treasury,” said the port authority.

As a reminder, the new deal aligns with the vast investment program recently launched by the PAD to improve the capacity of the port platform from nearly 13 million tons to 45 million tons by 2050. Phase 1 of this program, which includes the extension of the container terminal and the construction of new quays, terminals, warehouses, housing, and offices, is scheduled for completion in 2035. The port’s capacity should first increase to 23 million tons per year by 2030.

In the global container port performance index (CPPI), published at the end of May by the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence, the port of Douala ranks 30th in Africa out of 45. It is ranked just after the port of TIN CAN Island (Nigeria) and ahead of that of Onne (Nigeria). The management of the container terminal of the port of Douala has been nationalized since 2020 with the creation of the Container Terminal Board (RTC). Its mandate runs until 2024.

Source: Business in Cameroon