The Port Authority of Douala (PAD) plans a “total and effective” digitalization of its port platform by September 2026, as it seeks to speed up cargo clearance and reduce bottlenecks.
The announcement follows an investigation conducted inside the port to assess the effectiveness of transit, import, customs clearance and cargo removal procedures.
Carried out between 2021 and 2024 by the Regional Observatory of Abnormal Practices (OPA), the study — released during a regional workshop on February 12, 2026 in Douala — found that digitalization remains partial. Tools such as Guce and Camcis exist, but adoption is still incomplete.
According to the survey, issuing the Transit Title or the International Waybill (LVI) still includes physical steps, creating opportunities for illicit payments reported by around 20% to 30% of licensed customs brokers.
OPA also highlighted high delays and costs. It said the release of guarantees, installation of GPS seals and SGS processing are “mostly considered above normal.”
The average time to clear a shipment is eight days, with peaks of 39 days between manifest validation and the start of customs clearance. The average time trucks spend inside the port is three days. Various formalities can reach CFA180,000 per truck, with high payments for weighing and GPS.
A single port information system
To address these bottlenecks in a port that handles more than 80% of Cameroon’s international trade — as well as a large share of cargo bound for Chad and the Central African Republic — PAD said it is finalizing a port information system designed to centralize data from shipping lines, agents and stevedores in a single module accessible to other stakeholders.
“PAD is finalizing its port information system, which will capture all information, whether from shipping lines, agents or stevedores, so that this information is contained in a single module and made available to other stakeholders. This system will be fully operational by September 2026, with a total and effective digitalization of the port platform,” said Jean Yves Massouka, head of PAD’s trade facilitation unit.
Albert Etoundi, president of the National Union of Freight Forwarders, Stevedores and Shipping Agents (Syntac), said that “if everything is digitalized, we will have found solutions to all problems.”
OPA also recommended tools to report illicit practices (hotlines, anonymous platforms), stronger internal controls and greater accountability for agents, to reduce contact points that enable abuses.
Kribi also audited under EU-funded program
The same investigation was conducted at the port of Kribi under the Program to Support Governance of Regional and National Infrastructure in Central Africa (PAGIRN), funded by the European Union.
The study stressed the need to mobilize private-sector players, transport unions and national administrations for integrated governance of corridors and ports.
The stated goal is to turn Douala and Kribi into modern logistics hubs capable of supporting regional integration and strengthening the attractiveness of the CEMAC zone (Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, and the Central African Republic).
Pierre-Guillaume Boum Bissai, resident representative of the CEMAC Commission, said OPA is “not just a research instrument, but a strategic tool whose ultimate ambition is to strengthen trade and the competitiveness of our economies.”
He said some recommendations have already led to actions, including the creation of a mixed CEMAC brigade that is being operationalized to speed up trade flows, stronger bilateral transit agreements, and the promotion of more effective corridor governance through public-private partnerships with EU support.
A new workshop is scheduled in March in Yaoundé for the final presentation to institutions in Cameroon, Chad and the Central African Republic.
Frédéric Nonos
