by Arison Tamfu
YAOUNDE, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- Fifteen years ago, Mboro was a remote fishing hamlet on the edge of Kribi in southern Cameroon, with a handful of homes connected by narrow, winding dirt tracks.
Today, the same stretch of coastline is home to one of Central Africa's most modern deep-water ports, with the surrounding area being reshaped by a growing industrial and logistics economy.
Since the 1970s, Cameroon has envisioned a deep-water port to complement the Port of Douala, the country's only major port, which sits in a shallow estuary unable to accommodate large vessels. That decades-old ambition has been realized with the completion of the first and second phases of the Kribi Deep Seaport.
CITY OF FUTURE
Gu Gaobai was among the first Chinese workers to arrive in 2011 with China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC), the builder of the Kribi Deep Seaport.
"When we headed to the project site, we bumped along narrow dirt trails. At the selected location, all we saw was a small sandy beach and a few reefs. At the time, those reefs were the only reference points for the port's location," recalled Gu, now general manager of CHEC's Cameroon Project Clusters.
The transformation is visible along the roads leading to the port. A narrow track is now a dual carriageway with a pedestrian crossing in the middle. New buildings, businesses and public facilities have emerged as economic activity has expanded.
For 50-year-old lifelong resident Jean-Kalvin Assembe, the changes have reached into everyday life. "For one thing, I'm happy and fulfilled in this city," he said.
The influx of workers and businesses has created more opportunities for local residents and supported household incomes. "Even the little neighborhood shop gets customers. It's really bringing positive changes," Assembe said.
Multi-story buildings, hospitals, universities and shopping malls now dot Kribi. Streetlights illuminate roads that were once dark, while the port area remains brightly lit after nightfall.
Truck drivers are among those who have benefited from the port's development. Long queues of trucks now fill the port area daily.
"The port has given us the opportunity to discover the region," said 68-year-old veteran driver Aboubakar Yaya, who has driven across four Central African countries. "Kribi has made things easier. The service is fast, too."
"Many clients and experts who know China often say Kribi is Cameroon's Shenzhen, a 'City of the Future,'" Gu said.
HUB FOR INDUSTRIALIZATION, REGIONAL INTEGRATION
As the port has grown, so too has its industrial complex.
Patrick Mpila Ayissi, chief infrastructure officer of Kribi Port Industrial Zone, said investment in the zone has accelerated since operations began in 2018.
"Since 2018, industrial operators have invested nearly 400 billion CFA francs (about 700 million U.S. dollars), and 93 occupancy permits have been issued, with 18 companies already operating," Ayissi said. "The ambition has grown from an initial 455-hectare logistics zone to today's 4,000-hectare integrated industrial zone."
The zone is expected to attract close to 900 million dollars in investment and create 50,000 direct jobs, with up to 150,000 direct and indirect jobs combined, over the next 15 years, he said.
The seaport has also become a strategic hub for Central Africa, serving neighboring markets.
"Container traffic has quadrupled since 2018, surpassing 555,000 TEU in 2025, while overall cargo volumes exceeded 12.7 million tonnes in 2024. Trade already flows from Kribi to Gabon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, and Equatorial Guinea," Ayissi said, adding that the port's regional connections have been reinforced by shipping lines such as MSC.
To support the growing logistics network, CHEC also built the Kribi-Lolabe highway.
"This highway connects the Kribi Deep Seaport with major cities nationwide, facilitating personnel travel and goods transportation, thus promoting Cameroon's industrialization," said Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi, Cameroon's minister of public works.
LIFE-CHANGING SKILLS
The changes brought by the port are also reflected in the careers of local workers.
In 2013, Ngatugirius Ndenya left his welding job in Yaounde to join CHEC in Kribi. "When I arrived here in 2013, the beginning was very difficult for me," said the 53-year-old.
CHEC adopted the approach of pairing Cameroonian workers with experienced Chinese colleagues, which allowed them to gain hands-on experience before taking on tasks independently.
"Before coming here, I was just a platform welder. But now, I can do everything concerning welding," Ndenya said. "The young people that came here were not technicians, but today they are technicians."
For some workers, the port has also brought changes to their livelihoods.
"When I arrived here, I had absolutely nothing. I left a job where I was earning maybe 100,000 CFA francs a month," said Armand Guehoada, now a business specialist with CHEC. "After a while, I was able to buy a vehicle. Today, I'm on my third. I can easily take care of my family."
"Over the past 15 years, we have trained a large cohort of local professionals in port construction and mega-project engineering. Many of those who worked on the port now contribute to the adjacent industrial zone," Gu said.
This year marks the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Cameroon, while the Kribi Deep Seaport marks 15 years since construction began.
"Kribi remains a visible symbol of Cameroon-China cooperation. Its development has been structured from the outset around concessional financing from Chinese institutions, reflecting a genuinely long-term partnership." Ayissi said.
For Patrice Melom, general manager of the Port Authority of Kribi, the port's development has opened up new possibilities for the city and the country.
"The future of the port of Kribi looks promising, bringing concrete results and extremely positive prospects," Melom said. "It is now up to us to mobilize all our energies and make this infrastructure a true driver of sustainable growth, serving national prosperity and sub-regional integration." ■