(Business in Cameroon) – BEAC is ready to finance 60% of Cameroon’s Sonara refinery rehabilitation, worth CFA150 billion.
- The project cost is estimated at CFA250 billion after 2019 fire halted operations.
- BEAC seeks to revive use of its little-known refinancing window B for productive investment.
The Bank of Central African States (BEAC) has expressed readiness to help finance the rehabilitation of Cameroon’s national oil refinery, Sonara, which was severely damaged by a fire in May 2019. The central bank intends to activate its refinancing window B, which is dedicated to medium-term loans for productive investment.
“I confirm that this window is meant to finance projects in the productive sector. In the case of Sonara, we even took the initiative to approach the authorities to present this instrument that could support the rehabilitation,” said BEAC Governor Yvon Sana Bangui of the Central African Republic, speaking on September 29, 2025, at the press conference closing the bank’s third Monetary Policy Committee session of the year.
According to sources, BEAC has been in discussions with Cameroonian authorities for several months, offering to provide 60% of the rehabilitation cost through window B. With the government estimating the total project cost at CFA250 billion, the central bank’s financing share would amount to CFA150 billion. However, the Cameroonian side has yet to respond to the offer, which could provide competitively priced credit to support the works.
The CEMAC money market, managed by BEAC, operates in two segments: the interbank market, where commercial banks refinance among themselves with central bank liquidity, and BEAC interventions through two refinancing windows (A and B).
Window A is widely used for liquidity injections and withdrawals. Banks often tap as much as CFA600 billion in a single week. Window B, however, is largely overlooked despite being in place since the 1990s. It is dedicated to refinancing medium-term loans for productive investment, with conditions that cannot be altered once set.
“Back in June, we gathered all the banks in Bangui to present window B. The finding was sobering: banks were completely unaware of this tool. In three years, only two banks in Cameroon used it to finance two projects. During the September 29 session, we reviewed another case. Files up to CFA20 billion fall under the governor’s competence, while larger amounts require Monetary Policy Committee approval,” said Sana Bangui.
To encourage wider use of the instrument, BEAC is reviewing the rules governing window B to adapt them to current economic realities. “This mechanism can support the densification of CEMAC’s productive base,” the governor emphasized.
