Maritime transport: Kribi Port poised to transform country to major hub.

The revelation was made by the Director of Exploitation at PAK, MichaelMama. He was speaking in Yaounde on Friday, July 4. This was during a conference the PAK organised on the sidelines of the Fair on Government Action, SAGO. 

Held on the theme: “Acceleration of industrial transformation, engine of regional competitiveness”, the conference shed light on the significant strides made by the Kribi Deepsea Port in positioning Cameroon as a major player in the maritime sector in Central Africa.

In his address, Michael Mama provided a comprehensive overview of the port's journey, its strategic importance, current achievements, and ambitious plans.

Port’s strategic location 

MichaelMama underscored Kribi's strategic geographical advantage in the southern region of the country, noting that 80% of goods produced and exchanged within Central Africa, including Cameroon, Chad, and Congo, originate from Cameroon's coastal region, making Kribi a crucial port for the subregion’s economic activities. 

He revealed that the need for a deep-sea port like Kribi became apparent as the historical Douala Port, a river port with limitations due to its age and the evolving landscape of international maritime strategy, could no longer efficiently meet the growing demands.

“The Kribi Deep-sea Port has eliminated the need for costly and time-consuming transshipments that previously occurred in ports like Algeciras, Spain, before goods could reach Cameroon. The direct arrival of large ships at Kribi has already led to a significant reduction in freight costs, benefiting the Cameroonian economy and industrialists,” Michael Mama said.

He revealed that since its launch, the port has demonstrated remarkable performance by exceeding its initial design capacity of 350,000 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units, TEUs, in its first phase.

“The entire economic territory serves produces approximately 380,000 TEUs, while Douala Port has a capacity of 350,000 TEUs,” Michael Mama noted.

He furthered that with the ongoing development of phase 2, the port's container treatment capacity will reach 1 million TEUs, pushing Cameroon's total port capacity to over 1,350,000 TEUs, three times the current production and consumption levels. 

MichaelMama continued that the development of phase 3 is geared towards capturing opportunity traffic by providing top-tier services to all African ports and Cameroon's economic territory.

“The goal is for major international maritime routes to include Cameroon, making the country a central player in the maritime sector and ensuring the best services and costs at the economic level,” the Director stated.

An industrial port attracting investment

MichaelMama explained that Kribi is designed as an industrial port that boasts a vast 15,000-hectare port area, one of the world's largest, allowing for the establishment of industrial, logistical, and commercial operations. 

He said there are over 35 companies currently active in the Kribi port area, with 4,000 direct jobs and an equal number of indirect jobs created since its inception.

According to him, a project for the integrated industrial zone of the port of Kribi has been established to accelerate development. He said a memorandum of agreement has been signed with key private partners to leverage their resources and expertise. 

Projections, he disclosed, indicate the creation of 110,000 to 150,000 direct jobs and 300,000 induced jobs, along with nearly 1 billion in fiscal revenue and an 8% contribution to Cameroon's GDP by 2040.

Bolstering import substitution 

MichaelMama stressed that by attracting industries to transform raw materials like wood, cotton, cocoa, coffee, and palm oil within its industrial zone, the Kribi Port is envisioned as a key facilitator of import substitution and export development. 

He noted that the success story of Morocco's Tangier port and its associated industrial zone serves as a model for Kribi's aspirations. 

He concluded that the long-term vision for the Kribi Deep-sea Port aligns with Cameroon's National Development Strategy, NDS30, which seeks to position the country as a leading force in maritime transport and a catalyst for economic growth in Cameroon and the broader sub-region.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3497 of Tuesday July 08, 2025