Announcement of Third Douala Port Project in Cameroon to Use Twenty-Two Million Five Hundred Thousand Dollars IBRD Loan on April 4, 1983

~ - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE .World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A.• Telephone: (202) 477-1234 BANK NEWS RELEASE NO. 83/ 63 Contact: Pam Brennan April 4, 1983 ( 202) 477-3293 THIRD DOUALA PORT PROJECT IN CAi.'1EROON TO USE $22.5 MILLION IBRD LOAN The capacity of Cameroon's Douala port, on the Atlantic coast, to handle cargo will be increased substantially under a project using a loan of $22.5 million from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). About 90% of Cameroon's foreign and transit trade is handled at Douala, which also serves the landlocked neighboring countries of Central African Republic and Chad. When the port extensions are completed by 1988, it is expected that the port will be able to handle a total general cargo tonnage of ahout 4.5 million tons. At present, general cargo traffic volume stands at approximately 2 million tons. One new container berth and two multi-purpose marginal berths will be constructed for the handling of general cargo and fruit (mainly bananas and • pineapples). The IBRD loan will also help finance the construction of a warehouse and access roads to the port. A new tugboat will improve handling of ships at the port and will reduce time lost in berthing and unberthing. The $33 million project will provide technical assistance to the National Port Authority of Cameroon (NPA) to improve its organization and management efficiency. Equipment and consulting services w~ll also be providerl to assess NPA's present data processing system and to prepare a long-term plan for data processing. Technical assistance will be nade available to supervise construction and to carry out studies, including one of the dredging requirements of the port. NPA will provide $10.5 million toward the project. Under the first port project at Douala, which used ~n IDA credit of $1.5 million approved in 1971, serious bottlenecks in the port were removed through th construction of a new berth and other facilities. The second p oject, begun in 1976 and completed except for channel dredging, financed a new fishing port, a ship repair facility, a new log port, two container berths, and two roll-on/roll-off berths. An IBRD loan of $15 million and an IDA credit of $10 million were approved for that project. The IBRD loan is for 20 years, including five years of grace, at an interest rate linked to th2 cost of Bank borrowings. The loan also carries an annual commitment charge of 0.75% on undisbursed balances and a front-end fee of • 0.75% on the amount of the loan • NOTE: Money figures are expressed in U.S. dollar equivalents.