Mbalam-Nabeba railway: start of works announced for August 2023

This is what emerges from the follow-up work on the implementation of the Mbalam-Nabeba iron mining project, which is being held in Ouesso in Congo, between the Cameroonian and Congolese authorities.

Cindy MBALALast updated: June 8, 2023

During his address to the nation on December 31, 2022, the Head of State, Paul Biya announced the imminent start of major mining projects in Cameroon. Among these was the Mbalam (Eastern Cameroon)-Nabeba (Congo) iron mining project.

The project, which is gradually taking shape, has just made progress. Indeed, during the project implementation follow-up work held in Ouesso in Congo for 2 days, it was announced for next August the laying of the first stone of the railway line with a length of 540 kilometers to connect Cameroon to Congo, including 510 km on the Cameroonian side to connect from Mbalam to Lolabe where the ore terminal at the port of Kribi will be built. The railway infrastructure in question will be financed and built by the Aust Sino consortium, Bestway Finance LTD with which the State signed a public-private partnership on February 25, 2022. Note that the duo will also be responsible for the construction of the ore terminal at PAK and the iron processing unit. All this for an envelope of 5800 billion CFA francs.

Read also: Mbalam-Nabéba iron ore: Avima Iron warns Cameroon against AustSino and Bestway Finance

But while waiting for the transmission line to be operational “according to discussions with the partner, it was agreed to evacuate part of the iron by road using trucks capable of transporting up to 100 tonnes of minerals, during construction of this railroad. The transport of the minerals should be done by the end of this year, explain the experts”, can we read in the columns of Cameroon Tribune of June 7, 2023.

Read also: Cameroon: Paul Biya announces the start of three major mining projects from 2023

It must be said that several other points useful for the materialization of this project were also the subject of discussion during this work co-chaired by the Cameroonian Minister ad interim of Mines, Industry and Technological Development, Pr Fruh Calistus Gentry and his Congolese counterpart, Pierre Oba, in Ouesso. These are: employment; professional training ; the status of migrant workers in the project area; joint development of the cross-border area; management of rail and port infrastructure; the conservation, environmental protection and sustainable development strategy. Added to this are aspects related to energy, telecommunications, safety and security.

Also read: The Chinese AustSino obtains a loan of 2.8 billion F to contribute to the financing of the Mbalam-Nabéba railway

The purpose of this work was to evaluate the mining project, specifically the evaluation of the implementation of the binding agreements. "We are here with the aim of meeting all the challenges for its effective start (Mbala-Nabeba iron mining project, editor's note)", indicated Professor Fruh Calistus Gentry, in the columns of the newspaper with public capital. Remember that the effective start of this mining project will produce 35 million tons of iron/year, generating more than 10,000 jobs and economic benefits.

Source (via translator): https://ecomatin-net.translate.goog/chemin-de-fer-mbalam-nabeba-le-demarrage-des-travaux-annonces-pour-aout-2023/?_x_tr_sl=fr&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc


"Transport of the minerals by end of this year", initially via road whilst the railway line is constructed.
Must be in hurry to start delivering to customers!