The official signing ceremony for the concession agreement of the new container terminal was held on 25 July 2017 in Kribi, Cameroon, chaired by the Minister for Transport, Mr Edgar Alain Mébé Ngo’o, Bolloré Transport & Logistics said in its press release.
Following an international call to tenders, the consortium of the French groups Bolloré Transport & Logistics and CMA CGM, as well as the Chinese group CHEC, were granted the funding and the operation of the Kribi Container Terminal, which they will manage for 25 years under a Public-Private partnership with the State of Cameroon.
Kribi Containers Terminal will be backed by a solid and complementary shareholder base: Bolloré Transport & Logistics, which has been operating in Africa and Cameroon for over 50 years, CMA CGM, which ships more than 35% of containers from the West African Coast and operates over 30 terminals worldwide; the Chinese CHEC, a renowned builder that is highly active in infrastructure development in Cameroon, and private reference Cameroonian operators that want to support the project.
Today equipped with a 350-metre-wide, 16-metre-deep dock, the Kribi terminal can host ships of an 8,000 TEUs capacity. In phase 2, Kribi Containers Terminal will operate 11,000 TEUs vessels. It will have a 715-metre dock, 32 hectares of open ground, and the capacity to process 1.3 million TEUs.
The infrastructure and equipment comply with the best international standards. The latest dock and yard gantry cranes will be put into service in the coming weeks so that operations can get started rapidly.
With the new Port of Kribi, Cameroon now has a second portal hub to add to its network of infrastructures. It is a considerable contribution to speeding up Cameroon’s economic and social development.
Connected to the city of Edéa, the Port of Kribi is a major asset for the country and will permeate the region with new logistical gateways through its direct connections with landlocked countries, such as Chad or the Central African Republic. Kribi Container Terminal will complement the services offered by the Port of Douala. Together, both ports will facilitate growth in regional trade.
About CMA CGM
The CMA CGM Group, founded by Jacques R. Saadé, is a leading worldwide shipping group.
Its 445 vessels serve over 420 ports around the world and across all continents. In 2016, they shipped 15.6 million TEU containers (twenty-foot equivalent unit).
Now headed by Rodolphe Saadé, CMA CGM is continuously growing and innovating to offer its customers new shipping and logistics solutions.
Present in 160 countries across all continents through its 600-office network, the group employs 29,000 people around the world and 2,400 in Marseille, home to its headquarters.
About Bolloré Transport & Logistics
Bolloré Transport & Logistics is a global leader in international transport and logistics. Company's 36,700 employees, spread around 105 countries bring in their know-how to our four businesses: Bolloré Ports, Bolloré Railways, Bolloré Energy and Bolloré Logistics. Bolloré Ports operate around the world with 21 container terminal concessions, 25 dry ports and 7 RORO terminals. Bolloré Logistics has a network of 602 offices and manages 1,800,000 sqm. of warehouse storage around the world. Bolloré Transport & Logistics employs about 5,000 people in Cameroon.
About CHEC
CHEC (China Harbour Engineering Company) is a partner of choice that both understands technical constraints and successfully shipped the first Container Terminal. CHEC has built the first phase and helped organise funding by the Cameroonian State for the second phase of the Container Terminal of the Kribi port. Its presence in the consortium and its strong involvement in growth-generation initiatives in Cameroon help optimise the infrastructure and equipment aspect of the Port of Kribi, which CHEC builds and provides. Within the consortium, it provides consistency between operating the 1st dock and building the 2nd one.