(Business in Cameroon) – Plans for the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Turkish construction company Yenigün and the Cameroonian authorities for the Limbé deepwater port project failed to materialize on July 31, as initially scheduled. In a press release issued just a day earlier, Cameroon’s Minister of Transport, Jean Ernest Ngallé Bibehe, announced that the signing ceremony had been “postponed indefinitely,” without elaborating on the reasons behind the sudden change.
A letter dated July 7, accessed by Business in Cameroon, shows that the Secretary General of the Presidency, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, confirmed presidential approval to move forward with the MoU under a Build-Operate-Transfer model. However, this strategic partnership has sparked debate. Although Yenigün earned recognition for its role in building the Japoma stadium—despite controversies over delays and escalating costs—the company’s capacity to manage port operations remains largely unproven, raising concerns about the long-term viability of the project under its leadership.
For nearly a decade and a half, the plan to develop a deepwater port in Limbé has been slowly taking shape. An international consultancy began updating the feasibility study in 2019 at the government’s request. The study faced a temporary pause in 2020 amid the pandemic but was restarted in 2021, aiming for completion by 2022. The projected investment for the port is estimated at CFA400 billion.
This article was initially published in French by BRM
Edited in English by Ange Jason Quenum
