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On June 22, 2022, the African Development Bank approved a €39.62 million (US$40.3 million) loan to Cameroon to help improve road access to industrial and port areas of Kribi in the country’s south. The funding is for the second phase of the Kribi Industrial and Port Area Access Roads Development Project.

The Government of Cameroon had built a deep-water port backing onto an industrial zone called Kribi Industrial and Port Complex. This was done to help ease congestion in the Douala Port, which could not accommodate deep-draft vessels. Access roads to the complex have deteriorated over time because of heavy-duty vehicles and increased industrial activity at the site. 

The loan will help with the rehabilitation works on the 110-kilometre Edea-Kribi road. It will also aid the construction of an additional 39-kilometre-road between The Lolabé à Campo community and the bridge over the Ntem River, on the border with Equatorial Guinea.

Solomone Koné, the Bank Group’s Deputy Director General for Central Africa, said: “This additional loan, coming after the October 2021 approval, will improve access to the Kribi Industrial and Port Complex, soon to become the largest economic hub in Central Africa. It reinforces the Bank’s commitment to strengthening the complementarity of production systems for infrastructure development to stimulate intra-regional trade. 

“This financing also strengthens our leadership in the infrastructure sector in Cameroon and Central Africa, where the Bank mainly operates in the roads subsector, particularly contributing to the development of road networks and refurbishment programs and projects, as well as strategic and technical studies.”

The Port Authority of Kribi renews 3-year MoU with Port of Antwerp for business development https://t.co/sq9Al82hy0 pic.twitter.com/daSdhcIVvE

— Investir au Cameroun (@InvestCameroun) July 2, 2021

The project will improve access to Kribi Industrial and Port Complex, and help in reducing transport times and costs. It will improve livelihoods in the regions and local communities and help with gender equality and youth employment issues. It will therefore have a strong socio-economic impact.

The road upgrades will also help interlink production, processing, and consumption centres. Thus, helping ease the movement of raw materials and other goods across the subregion, including Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of Congo.

Top Photo: Kribi Port (pak.cm)