Proposals from the private partner received by the MINTP
They were presented this November 27, 2023 to the Minister of Public Works during an audience requested by the Director General of the Central Africa Division of China Harbor Engineering Company Ltd Cameroon (CHEC), accompanied by the General Director of Kribi Highway Management (KHM).
The partner was concerned about the payment of rents linked to the investments mobilized in the construction of this 38.5 km highway which serves the deep water port of Kribi. The traffic objectives set at the conclusion of this PPP have not yet been achieved; traffic revenues are relatively low compared to the expectations that had been set, hence the need to reread the contract with the Private partner.
This is an exercise that began several months ago, by consensus between the parties. The partner's proposals mainly relate to the financial aspect. The reimbursement of the rent L1 which concerns the reimbursement of the investment, here, the Minister reassured the partner on the credibility of the government of Cameroon, it is a country which always honors its commitments, the possibility of exploring the proposal to reverse the L1 rent into the debt to get it out of the contract. Regarding the L2 rent, which supports the operation of the motorway, the Minister instructed, as during the sessions of June and September 2023, that the remuneration of said rent be done on the basis of current revenues to remain realistic, because moving towards a public-private partnership essentially aims to relieve the coffers of the public treasury and not to solicit its resources. The discussions do not seem to have a quick outcome due to the quality of the representatives of the private party who do not have the decision-making skills to find consensual agreements.
In relation to this difficulty, the Minister instructed his colleagues to formally report it to CHEC. Also, he asked his teams to formally record the government's proposals and to formally contact the private partner who must in turn send their proposals through the same channels with the aim of reaching a consensual agreement. Concerning the L3 rent which relates to repairs of damage which could be observed during operation, it has been proposed to cover it in the years to come.
Reaction Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi, MINTP
“We are discussing the content of the public-private partnership which links us with the partner CHEC for the operation of the Kribi-Lolabe highway. You know that it is a 38.5 km highway which serves the deep water port of Kribi. We have a public-private partnership contract with our partner CHEC. The partner provided part of the financing and in return it will operate and maintain the infrastructure. It turns out that the traffic objectives set when the PPP was concluded have not been achieved, so revenues are low compared to the expectations set at the start. So we have to renegotiate the contract because moving towards a public-private partnership essentially aims to relieve the public treasury so we should not further strain the public treasury.”
Clément Noumsi
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