Dr. Thomas Molungu Ndive
Director Delegate of the Transitional Administration of the Port Authority of Limbe
Pregnant and Ready to Give Birth
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a step"; this is an African proverb that better describes the activities of the Port Authority of Limbe (PAL). Since the Transitional Administration from 2022 to date, it is an absolute indication that the Port is on a good footing.
Indeed, the achievements so far have exceeded expectations and we can only express our satisfaction for our collective effort and forge ahead to achieve our goal. From 1 March 2022 to date, activities have evolved at the Port Authority of Limbe and terminals are undergoing great structural improvement especially, Bota, Idenau and Tiko. Human investment is at the centre of port activities, as our staff are regularly trained to meet the increasing demands of the Port as well as the transport logistics requirements of the 21st century. They work on a daily basis to meet the demands and expectations of our growing customers.
The Port Authority of Limbe which operates one liaison service and three departments namely: Administration and Finance, Operations and IT.
PAL provides the following facilities:
Mooring, warehousing, offices and land spaces and derives its revenues from the provision of docks, rents of warehouses and land spaces, fees on goods and passengers transiting on the different platforms, the use of waterways, the commercial exploitation of the ships, access fees and concessions.
All Operational Structures are present in the Terminals. These include: Emmigration, Customs, National Gendarmerie, Merchant Marine, Phyto-sanitary, Public Health, Territorial Surveillance (ST), Cameroon National Shippers’ Council (CNCC), Taxation, Commerce, Trade, SEMIL. The Port of Limbe benefits from enhanced security given its proximity to the Cameroon Fusiliers Marine, Compagnie des Palmeurs de Combat (COPALCO), Diving School and State Action at Sea (EPAEM) of Isonge, the BIR Base of Man O’ War Bay and the BIR Base of Idenau, as well as the enhanced security of the Gulf of Guinea.
Sites have all been selected and demarcated for the construction and development of the Limbe Deep Seaport with Isonge as the main site to accommodate the industrial complex with 1500 Hectares of land already demarcated for the project. We are confident that the Port of Limbe is ready for the launch of a giant construction to conquer the maritime transport sector. Also, the Port Authority of Limbe has been at the centre of the projects and restructuring activities in the Terminals, and supporting economic operators throughout this period by proposing and providing logistic solutions with mid-term and long-term visions.
Currently, the Port Authority of Limbe offers four terminals namely: Tiko, Bota, Cape Limbo and Idenau and the fifth shore Terminal known as Massongo. Cape Limbo is the deepest operational Terminal with a depth of 12 to 20 meters at close proximity and can accommodate ships of any capacity.
It should be noted that the PAL’s major challenge is to build modern infrastructure to meet the needs and maritime exigencies of the 21st century since structures in the terminals are obsolete hence cannot accommodate large ships. Worthy of note is that all these activities take place in a very sensitive socio-political climate and present some shortcomings for the activities of the Port.
However, the facts remain undeniable and verifiable that the Port Authority of Limbe is already making a strong contribution to the growth of the Cameroon economy and will do more if it develops to full capacity.