Public Authorities Mobilized in Kribi. Mandated by their respective departmental ministers, about twenty senior officials from the public administration visited the Autonomous Port of Kribi (PAK) from May 28th to 30th, 2023. These interministerial delegations were respectively led by MVEIMANI SOMBO AMBA, Secretary General of the Ministry of Transport (MINT); Urbain Noel EBANG MVE, Secretary General of the Ministry of Public Works (MINTP) and Richard NGOLLE V, Technical Advisor to the Ministry of Finance (MINFI). Adolphe NOAH NDONGO, Managing Director of the Autonomous Amortization Fund (CAA), and EKOMAN EKOMAN, Expert representative of the Council for Support to Partnership Contract Implementation (CARPA), joined these ministerial officials.

For two days, Patrice MELOM, Managing Director of the PAK and BAKO HAROUNA, Deputy Managing Director, surrounded by their collaborators, briefed their guests on crucial issues identified as technical, operational, and regulatory constraints affecting the competitiveness and attractiveness of the Kribi port platform. In addition to evaluating the level of operational activities, five main topics constituted the menu of the exchanges: the port's connectivity to its hinterland; the progress of the port extension project in Phase II; major port development initiatives; incentive measures to capture private investments on the port platform; the fluidity of passage and traffic along the corridors. It is undeniable, noted Patrice MELOM, that maintaining the attractiveness of the deep-water port of Kribi involves, among other things, expanding its reception and processing capacities; strengthening its offer of necessary basic infrastructure (water, electricity, internet, services...); developing and adapting its port services offer to the evolution of user sectors; improving the Port/Territory anchoring in its urban and natural environment; improving its terrestrial modal connectivity.

To each of the concerns expressed by the PAK, the interministerial delegation reassured the constancy and reinforcement of public authorities' commitment to a more competitive port, now established as the benchmark logistics hub in the Central Africa sub-region. This commitment will necessarily involve administrative simplification and the implementation of more incentive measures, and will also be scrutinized concerning an efficient and intensified land service. This should result in the realization of priority freight infrastructure works and strengthening multimodal transport services, likely to extend the port's hinterland. Leaving the seaside town, the delegation of experts said they had fully understood the challenges the port faces, before reassuring its leaders about the quality of the report that will be submitted to the government.