A new facilitation office was officially inaugurated on 7 July 2023, in the presence of Patrice Melom, the Managing Director of the Autonomous Port of Kribi, and Bako Harouna, the newly appointed Managing Director of Cotco.

This expansion is an essential as the Douala Port will henceforth play a role in debt collection operations for the Autonomous Port of Kribi, administrative and consular procedures, and the promotion and prospecting of commercial opportunities.

With a net profit of 2.5 billion CFA francs by 2021, the Port of Kribi wants to increase its competitiveness. The platform has many advantages in terms of infrastructure and logistics. Alnsi, between 2 March 2018, the date of the official start of commercial operations at Port of Kribi , and the end of the first half of 2022, traffic has gradually reached around 1,800 recorded ship calls, more than 43 million tonnes of goods handled and around 870,000 TEUs operated. “On 16 August 2023, the Cma Cmg Rossini set a new record in the Gulf of Guinea, carrying 17,000 tonnes of cotton in 480 containers in a single port call,” explains a PAK official.

“The decision to open a facilitation office in Douala is part of the Autonomous Port of Kribi’s desire to respond to the specific needs of this dynamic economic zone. This office is designed to provide a functional and welcoming space for port of Kribi users and customers, who will be able to meet with officials without having to travel to Kribi”, says Mohammed Iya Habib. The office, located in the CNPS building in Bonanjo, will be responsible for dealing with requests for quotations, invoicing and the formulation of offers, as well as monitoring operations before and after they are carried out.