Three dry ports to help decongest Douala Port

The creation of three dry ports was selected as one of the solutions to avoid congestion of the Autonomous Port of Douala (PAD) after the Tripartite meeting between the customs administrations of Cameroon, the Central African Republic and Chad, on Friday in Douala.

Measures are being put in place, for a large part of the port area, to keep 3000 containers set for the Central African Republic and Chad and whose clearance formalities were completed for several days.

Dry ports will be built in Douala, in the port area at Edea in the Littoral Region and Belabo (East of the country), bordering the Central African Republic.

According to the Cameroon Customs Directorate (DGD), 3000 containers are past due at the port of Douala while 400 other cargos were blocked in the town of Garoua-Boulai, Eastern Region, due to insecurity.

This uncertainty affects both the Douala-N'Djamena corridor with incursions of Nigerian terrorist sect, Boko Haram, in the Far North Region of Cameroon and in the Lake Chad area, and the Douala-Bangui corridor because of exactions of the Central African armed gangs plaguing the West of the country, bordering Cameroon.

Therefore, with the containers stored at the port of Douala and other parts of the country, carriers have opted for the walkout until the security is not back yet.

Emerging from the meeting, the governments of Cameroon, Central African Republic and Chad pledged to reinforce the security apparatus which suggests that activities could get back to normal by next week, said the participants.