Cameroon Moves to Tap Much-Hyped Iron Ore Deposits by Constructing Mballam-Kribi Railway Line

Cameroon has signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU with Autsino resources group limited and Bestway Finance Limited to construct a railway line to link the Kribi Deep Sea Port to the cross-border iron ore deposit in Mballam.

The MoU was signed on February 25 by the Minister of Transport, Jean Ernest Ngalle Bibehe, and Alexandre Mbiam, Director General of Bestway Finance limited.

The about 10-billion-dollar project consists of the construction of a long 540 km railway line to connect the mining sites of Avima located not far from the city of Pointe Noire in the Republic of Congo to the port of Kribi in the Republic of Cameroon, and a multimodal ore terminal with a capacity of at least 100 million tons per year.

The laying of the foundation stone for the construction of the railway stretch has been programmed for the first quarter of 2022.

Transport Minister, Jean Ernest Massena Ngale Bibehe said: “I am delighted to help concretize the government’s willingness to partake in the infrastructural development of our country and of our sub-region as a whole. The choice of this banquet hall of the Olembe stadium, which symbolizes the infrastructural success of the most beautiful AFCON which our country just hosted shows the importance of this project and the interest of the partners who will carry it out, namely: Bestway Finance limited and Autsino Resources group Lmt”.

“Thanks to this project, Cameroon will certainly develop its trade during the construction of this railway and will also benefit from the spinoffs with the Congo beyond the transport of minerals,” he said.

He added that “the construction project of the railway connecting Mbalam to the port of Kribi is one of the most important projects to be carried out in the transport sector in several decades”.

According to Mr. Alexandre Mbiam, the project is estimated to inject about 10 billion USD or some 5.5 trillion CFA F into the economies of Cameroon and the Congo and create approximately 20,000 direct jobs.