Announcement made by Patrick Tchouwa, Director of Communications of the Mbalam-Kribi Railway Project.
The laying of the foundation stone of the railway (540km) linking Mbalam to the deep-water port of Kribi will be done in the coming days. At least that's what Patrick Tchouwa, director of communication for the railway project, suggests. "Bestway Finance and Autsino will work with the public authorities to lay the foundation stone for the start of this vast project in the first quarter of 2022. " he told the website Bougna.net.
The railway project is years behind schedule without any real progress. However, this line should be used to exploit mineral deposits. The latter are located in the Craton du Kasai in Congo including the deposits of Nkout and Mbalam in Cameroon. With an estimated construction cost of 5,500 billion FCFA, this project will generate about 20,000 direct jobs.
On June 25, 2021, the Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with AutSino Resources Group Limited and Bestway Finance Limited. By this agreement, the construction of the Mbalam-Kribi railway was transferred to these two Chinese companies. In addition, the exploitation of the three iron deposits of Mbalam-Nabeba is planned for 2024.
