According to Law No. 2013/11 of 16 December 2013 governing economic zones in Cameroon, an economic zone is defined as an area made up of one or more geographical areas that are serviced, developed and equipped with infrastructure, with a view to enabling the entities located there to produce goods and services in optimal conditions.
From a legal point of view, the creation of an economic zone is framed by laws, particularly the one mentioned above and Decree No. 2019/195 of 17 April 2019 establishing the modalities for the creation and management of economic zones in Cameroon. The main interest of an economic zone from the point of view of investors lies in the fact of having access to quality infrastructure as well as numerous administrative, fiscal and customs incentives
The concept of an economic zone refers to a legal status and the associated incentive scheme, while the concept of an industrial or logistics zone provides information on the purpose and nature of the activities located within the area concerned. In other words, an economic zone may have, inter alia, a logistics and/or industrial vocation.
The project to develop an economic zone in the Port of Kribi consists of the development, operation and maintenance of a 455-hectare serviced area, equipped with quality and secure infrastructures, designed to accommodate first-class logistics and industrial companies in the Kribi industrial-port zone. The real estate component of the project provides for the construction of a modern business centre (commercial spaces, offices, exhibition centre, conference centre, etc.) and warehouses ready to be leased. This project is crucial to the growth of traffic at the Port of Kribi as it will provide the port with significant storage and processing capacity and will enable the Port to establish logistic, commercial and industrial activities with high added value, thanks to the quality of the facilities and the administrative, fiscal and customs incentives that could benefit companies wishing to set up there. It is also of paramount importance for Cameroon in general as it will promote the competitiveness of foreign trade by reducing transport and logistics costs, as well as the industrialization of the local and national economy through the development and processing of agricultural and mining natural resources.