• The terminal will add 1,000 meters of quay, a 4,000-square-meter office complex, warehouses, workshops, and 120,000-ton grain silos.
• Phased construction by KTH Group’s APD aims to deliver the first berth in 2028.
• Over the 25-year concession period, the government expects to collect 258 billion CFA francs in taxes and concession fees.

On 25 July, Cameroonian Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute officially launched the construction of a mixed-use bulk terminal at the Port of Douala, the country's leading business hub. The project is being developed with the British-owned KTH Group under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) arrangement in which KTH will build the facility, operate it for 25 years, and then hand it back to the State.

The total investment is estimated at 285 billion CFA francs by the parties. The project will be rolled out in three phases by Africa Ports Development (APD), KTH’s project company, on a 36-hectare site. When complete, the terminal will feature 1,000 linear metres of quay, a 4,000 m² administrative building, a 3,000 m² warehouse, a 3,250 m² workshop and modern storage infrastructure that includes grain silos with an aggregate capacity of 120,000 tonnes.

Handling equipment will be installed to ensure “optimal transfer of cargo from ship holds to storage and delivery systems.” The terminal is designed to accommodate rising flows of mineral and agro-bulk traffic from the Bonabéri industrial zone. It is expected to strengthen the Port of Douala’s role as a sub-regional gateway. The first berth is scheduled for delivery in 2028.

Beyond leaving the country with a still-operational asset after 25 years, the government presents the project as a revenue generator. Over the concession period it expects to collect up to 258 billion CFA francs, comprising 152 billion CFA francs in assorted taxes and levies and 106 billion CFA francs in concession fees payable directly to the Port Autonome de Douala.

These revenue forecasts depend on the performance of the infrastructure once it is built. Douala, Cameroon’s economic capital, remains a key entry point for goods bound for the domestic market as well as for landlocked neighbours such as Chad and the Central African Republic.

Original story written in French by Frédéric Nonos