The law firm, Onambele Anchang and Associates, has proposed financing based on the BOT model. This would see Cameroon avoid high levels of debt.

After a long period of standby due to financing difficulties, the deepwater harbour in Kribi is increasingly likely to become a reality according to the BOT formula. The proposal involves, besides the main import and export activities of the harbour, the building of an airport, a specialized university, a leisure and tourism center and an agricultural zone.

An entire development corridor will be built up around the two zones of production in the harbour. The first zone, located on the sea front would cover a 50 km free zone. The second zone, would cover a 300 km area open to industrial farming.

The project will be staggered over twenty years. In principal, the design manager of the private part of the harbour will offer it to the public domain during the term of concession.

A million direct jobs

Considering the complexity of the activities, the company in charge of the development of the high-tech city (STDKO) will be divided into one holding company with eight branches, each of them specialized in an activity (for example, harbour, airport, fishing or farming). The stakes are high as one million direct jobs should result from it. The cost of the project is estimated at more than 3 billion dollars, a large part of which (2 billion dollars) will be raised by a long-term loan, drawn up over twenty years at a rate of 3% with ten-year payment recordings. Cameroon and especially the investors will have to come to a decision about the seriousness of the proposal.

The first harbour to export ore in the region

Revised and updated since 1999, the institutional framework of the Cameroonian harbour, which dedicates the autonomy of harbours and the creation of harbour authorities (in charge of the kingly missions), offers superior asset valuation opportunities. This is particularly obvious when compared to the former conditions, considering the strong attractiveness of the Gulf of Guinea, rich in oil and in raw materials.

With this in mind, the authors of the study are considering making Kribi the first harbour to export ores in the region. It is an achievable challenge for the site, as according to the study, most of the rival harbours offer modest statistics. For example, the first harbour in the region, Abidjan, handles only 25 million tons a year, followed by Nouakchott (with 15 million), Dakar and Douala (10 million each) and Cotonou (5 million).

Forecasters expect a volume of 250 million tons from the Community of the States of the Central Africa by 2030.

There is another consideration that is set to benefit Kribi. The low draft of Douala's harbour (hardly 7 - 8 m) does not allow it to welcome larger containers and carriers. According to estimations from the study, the success of the Kribi harbour will be unparalleled. With a cash flow of more than 2 billion dollars, it is expected to register a 6.4 billion dollar turnover by as soon as 2020 and reach a peak with more than 19 billion in 2030

Thursday, 02 September 2010 10:00 | (BUSINESSINCAMEROON.COM)