Blue Star Media · Daily Brief · 12 October 2026

Port of Kribi, November 2022. Photo: BACHELOR45, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Port Authority of Kribi (PAK) has developed an appetite for grain. On 9 October 2026 it signed a memorandum of understanding with Kribi Oil and Grain Terminal (KOGT S.A.), a consortium of Cameroonian, Swiss and Turkish firms, to build a terminal for agricultural and agro-industrial goods on 9.2 hectares of the port's industrial zone.

The port's statement promises a lot of concrete: 17 silos holding 102,000 tonnes in all, four warehouses of 5,000 square metres each, quality-control laboratories, and trucking and maintenance yards. The deep-water berths can take ships of up to 50,000 tonnes.

The bill, according to Investir au Cameroun citing the PAK, comes to CFA50bn. The promoters are putting up 20% in equity, or CFA10bn. The other CFA40bn must come from lenders, with BGFIBank Cameroon named exclusive bank for structuring the deal. Whether BGFIBank will lend any of it, and how much, the statement does not say.

The site plan shows the scale of the ambition. A 2.5-hectare grain terminal will hold the 17 silos of 6,000 tonnes each. Two warehouse blocks on 3.2 hectares will house four units, with room for 30,000 to 40,000 pallets. The remaining 3.5 hectares go to parking for 120 to 150 lorries, a fuel station, maintenance, canteens and a control centre. The PAK speaks of a renewable 20-year occupancy permit.

The timetable assumes the money turns up. Financing is to be arranged over 24 months. Works could start in 2027 and the terminal open in 2029, subject to approvals and funding. Construction is promised to create 600 to 800 jobs; operations, about 200.

The customers Kribi needs are mostly in Douala. Several flour millers already store grain there. Société des Céréales du Cameroun (SCC) has 30,000 tonnes of wheat storage at Bonabéri. For them, Kribi wins only if the all-in cost of landing grain, berths included, beats Douala's. No shipper has publicly committed any traffic.

Kribi, open since March 2018, is already broadening its business. In June 2026 Africa Global Logistics (AGL) Cameroon launched the third phase of its Kribi Logistics Hub, worth CFA2.6bn and aimed mainly at cocoa. KOGT is after a different niche: cereals and agro-industrial goods.

The memorandum is a first step and no more. It sets out who does what: the PAK provides land and infrastructure, KOGT carries the industrial project and BGFIBank arranges the finance. It is not a building permit, a final investment decision or a guarantee of volumes.

So the numbers are conditional. The 102,000 tonnes of silos amount to a little over two 50,000-tonne cargoes. Without committed customers and without the CFA40bn still to find, the terminal remains a drawing on the port plan.

Kribi can win grain. First it must raise the money, then persuade the millers to move at least part of their business out of Douala's silos. Fail at either and the CFA50bn will stay on the quay, figuratively speaking.

Mining: Camalco gets its hearing. Public hearings on the environmental study for Camalco's alumina refinery run from 12 to 17 October in Ngaoundéré and Martap. The government talks of 2.4m tonnes a year and over $2bn; Canyon still gives a range of 500,000 to 2m tonnes. The date for first bauxite shipment was withdrawn in August (Business in Cameroon).

Commodities: Bananas pick up speed. Exports reached 194,273 tonnes from January to September, up 21.5% year on year. PHP and CDBM ship nearly 82% of the total. PHP still lost money in 2025 (Assobacam, via Investir au Cameroun).

CEMAC: BEAC goes for local gold. On 5 October the board approved its 2027 to 2030 strategy and guidelines for buying gold produced in the region. Reserves at end 2025: 201,903.40 ounces, or 6.28 tonnes, unchanged in volume, up in value (Investir au Cameroun).

Macro: S&P holds at B-. The agency expects 3.5% growth in 2026, a budget deficit of 2.5% of GDP and a current-account deficit of 4.4%. Rating B-/B, outlook stable (decision of 18 September, via Investir au Cameroun).

IMF: A gentle slowdown. The post-financing assessment of 1 October puts 2025 growth at 3.5%, easing slightly in 2026. Inflation averaged 2.6% to August. The risk of debt distress remains high (IMF).

Port Authority of Kribi, 9 October 2026; Investir au Cameroun, 9 October 2026; EcoFinances, 10 October 2026; Business in Cameroon, 8 October 2026; IMF, 1 October 2026.

Blue Star Media, part of the Blue Star group. Stories that Move Africa · [email protected] · consulting.bluestargroup.africa · WhatsApp +237 690 157 406