Port of Antwerp to streamline Douala port operations
The ports of Antwerp and Douala in Cameroon have joined hands for close collaboration over the next five years. The agreement was inked this week during an extensive visit by Antwerp port representatives to the port of Douala in Cameroon.
March 8, 2018 : The ports of Antwerp and Douala in Cameroon have joined hands for close collaboration over the next five years. The agreement was inked this week during an extensive visit by Antwerp port representatives to the port of Douala in Cameroon.
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Cyrus Ngo’o, CEO of the Port Autonome de Douala and by Marc Van Peel and Kristof Waterschoot, respectively chairman and managing director of APEC and PAI, the two subsidiaries of Antwerp Port Authority that are responsible for among other things training maritime professionals and for consultancy tasks in foreign ports.
Douala port authority is counting on the Antwerp know-how in order to boost the efficiency of its port operations, among other things. For Antwerp the agreement represents a way to maintain and further strengthen its position as market leader in West and Central Africa.
“With its exports of freight items such as timber and cacao, Cameroon has huge potential in Antwerp, which already has players active in these segments,” declared port alderman Marc Van Peel. “Moreover the port has a good balance between imports and exports, which is also a distinguishing feature of Antwerp,” he added.
Also this week, Antwerp Port Authority is organising a roadshow in Cameroon with an extensive delegation from the Antwerp port community. This is only the second time that the port has held a roadshow in Africa, and it is no accident that this time the choice has fallen upon Cameroon.
