Invest in CameroonCameroonoffersexcellentopportunitiesfor investors seeking to reach the rich markets of Central Africa. Its political and economic stability, its strategic position, its educated bilingual workforce and its favourable business environment all make Cameroon the destination of choice of foreign investors in Africa.

PaulBiya,PresidentoftheRepublic.

Bamenda

Douala

Yaoundé

ments include a main port with a container terminal, a multipurpose terminal, an aluminum terminal and an aluminum plant; an oil terminal and an oil storage facility; a grain terminal; an LNG terminal and a natural gas liquefaction plant; an ore terminal and a rail terminal; a marina; a fishing port; a naval base; and finally an urban and tourist resort. The Master Plan is divided into several phases of development, between 2012 and 2040, with four phases of five years over a 30-year period. The complex will ultimately generate 20,000 direct jobs and many indirect jobs.

The priorities for the next five years will focus on the construction of railways and highways, the development of industrial zones and a new town, and the telecommunications infrastructure. This extensive programme of development and land use is estimated at 6,500 billion

Investment of 6.5 trillion CFA francs for the industrial port complex of Kribi Louis-Paul Motaze, who is also chairman of the steering and monitoring committee of the port of Kribi project, presented in mid-March in Yaounde the Development Master Plan, which has been devised by the Dutch consultants Royal Haskoning.

“We need now to see how things will actually happen on the ground, to ensure that all current and future stakeholders have the same information and the same vision for the best use of resources,” said Motaze.

The foundation stone of the deepwater port of Kribi was laid by the Head of State in early October 2011.The Master Plan incorporates all the facilities and covers an area of 26,000 ha. The proposed develop

TheportofKribiisdestinedtobecomea majorindustrialcomplex Roadconstructionisoneofthetoppriorities forthegovernment

CFA francs (9.91 billion euros).

Excavation of the site began in December 2010 with the French company Razel. The actual construction of the port’s first phase at Mboro ($480 million) is entrusted to the China Harbour Engineering Company, a subsidiary of the China Communications Construction Company. Funding is provided by China Exim Bank ($415.4 million) and by Cameroon.

The deepwater port complex of Kribi can accommodate vessels of 100,000 tons (dwt) with drafts of 15 to 16m, against the current 15,000 dwt and 6 to 7m at the port of Douala. The first ships could dock as early as 2014.

Kribi, already the terminal for the Chad-Cameroon pipeline (which could also transport Nigerian oil), is also one end of the corridor from Kribi to Bangui and Kisangani, which is part of the Grand Master Plan of transport in Central Africa.

Delivery of a first batch of Indian tractors Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi, the Minister of Economy, Planning and Regional Planning, presented in March at Ebolowa a first batch of 111 Sonalika tractors from India and 1618 pieces of farming equipment to Lazare Essimi Menye, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

A completely new manufacturing plant for machinery and agricultural equipment at Ngalane near Ebolowa, with an area of 10 hectares, will require investments estimated at over 18 billion CFA francs.

The agreement signed in April 2009 in New Delhi between the Cameroonian government and Eximbank of India provides funding for an assembly line of a capacity of 8 to 12 tractors a day, a small manufacturing plant material farm, a training center for tractor drivers, maintenance workers and other artisans. The objective is to modernise agriculture and to enable Ebolowa to supply the local market.

Cameroon is aiming to cultivate at least 5,000 ha of maize and 5,000 ha of rice to significantly reduce the imports of these goods.

The Chad-Cameroon pipeline is under way The French firm of Orrick Rambaud Martel advised the government of Cameroon in the pre-financing of the Chad-Cameroon hydroelectric pipeline project of Lom Pangar.

Amounting to €75.3 million, it will enable the Cameroon Oil Transportation Company (Cotco), the operating company, to reroute several kilometres of pipeline to allow the construction of a reservoir at the confluence of the Lom and Pangar rivers. The reservoir will have a capacity of 6 billion m3 and an output of 30MW; it is being constructed by the Chinese CWE.

Chad’s oil, distributed through a pipeline of 1,070 km – of which 890 km is in Cameroon – is operated by the US-Malaysian consortium ExxonMobil/Petronas/ Chevron.

China helps to finance the new highway The Export-Import Bank of China agreed in early March to fund the Yaounde-Douala highway through a credit of $482.8 million (241.4 billion CFA francs). The first section will link Yaounde to Bot-Makak (80 km).

Construction of the 215 km highway, with two double carriageways, was assigned to the China First Highway Engineering Company, a subsidiary of the China Communications Construction Company.

Signature in Yaounde of the contract with Sinohydro to complete the Memve’ele dam Basile Atangana Kouna, Minister of Water and Energy, visited in mid-April the site of the Memve’ele hydroelectric project, on the Ntem river near the village Nyabizan in the region of Southern Cameroon. The main access infrastructure from the Meyo centre is now 60% completed.

The contract, worth €500 million (328 billion CFA francs), includes the construction of a power plant of 200MW capacity, access roads and transmission lines.

The plant will be connected to the dispensing station in Yaounde-Oyomabang, and feed the south, centre and littoral regions of Cameroon.

The Memve’ele project, due to be ready in late 2016, is now valued at about 365 billion CFA francs. China is financing the dam and powerhouse. The energy lines, the transformer station and interconnection to the South and the city’s main works are to be financed by the African Development Bank.

Drinking water supply to be increased A project to enable the supply of drinking water in seven localities in the south, east and central regions, which will benefit 30,000 people, is supported by a $6 million loan (about 3 billion CFA) signed in March in Vienna with the OPEP Fund.

Cameroon flying the flag around the world Cameroon is planning to organise Trade Days in four countries to “strengthen exports and at the same time, attract maximum investment in Cameroon”, said Trade Minister Luc Magloire Mbarga. They will be held in Morocco, United States (1420 June 2012), Brazil (7-12 July 2012) and Nigeria (14-22 July 2012).

Islamic banking support for development project The Integrated Development Project of cotton and food crops is supported by a loan from the Islamic Development Bank signed in April for a total of €11,390,000 (7.4 billion CFA francs). g