Douala Port Expansion

Douala Port Expansion

Client: : Douala Port Authority

Date:2021
MDS Transmodal and Portia port management consultants were asked to provide technical assistance to Lebanese investor, Karam Trading Holding (KTH), in the development of plans to establish a new terminal on the Bonaberi side of the Wouri River in Douala.

The Question

MDS Transmodal and Portia port management consultants provided technical assistance to Lebanese investor, Karam Trading Holding (KTH), in the development of plans to establish a new terminal on the Bonaberi side of the Wouri River in Douala, Cameroon’s principal port.  The Portia-MDST Feasibility Study explored the options for the development of a multi-purpose facility handling a full range of commodities including containers, break-bulks liquid bulks and dry bulks, across 42 hectares of reclaimed land adjacent to the Bonaberi industrial zone.

The Solution

The study incorporated the following steps:
  •  Historical Port throughput analysis to understand the key market trends in different cargo sectors;
  •  Macroeconomic analysis of Cameroon and transit countries to identify key drivers of demand for imports / exports in those countries;
  •  Port competition analysis to assess the developments in competing ports in the region. This was particularly relevant to the container market;
  •  Analysis of trends in the regional container and bulk shipping sectors – assessing service patterns and ship sizes deployed in the West African trades;
  •  Port traffic forecasts to 2050 for new port facilities in Bonaberi.
Two levels of trade were analysed:
  •  Gateway traffic – domestic imports and exports of all commodities for onward movement by inland transport modes, aggregated into commodity groups by mode of appearance (dry bulk, liquid bulk, breakbulk, general cargo and containers);
  •  Transit traffic – goods that enter Cameroon for onward movement by inland transport modes (road / rail) to neighbouring countries.
The forecasts of future traffic growth took into account:
  •  Growth driven by economic development in Cameroon and transit countries at the national level;
  •  Growth generated via improvements in the competitive position of Douala through the development of new berths at Bonaberi vs. current / planned facilities at competing ports;
  •  Other specific growth opportunities linked to confirmed or potential investments by port users in the port and its hinterland.
A full financial assessment of the project was also completed.

Achievements

All of the components of the study were brought together to provide an initial assessment of the overall feasibility of the Bonaberi project. The key outputs were expressed as annual EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) and NPV (Net Present Value).

The project was approved by the Douala Port Authority (PAD) in November 2021
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