Koreans Concert for Douala Port Authorities

The Korean delegation was accompanied by ambassador He Hosung Lee.A roundtable consultation which involved a seven-man delegation from the Korea Port Engineering Corporation and top administrators of the Douala Port Authority ended prematurely in Douala last Wednesday. According to a press release, the Korean delegation, accompanied by the Korean Ambassador to Cameroon, He Hosung Lee, aimed to identify and discuss various means by which the Douala seaport could be relieved of its pressing maritime troubles.

Fascinatingly, the representatives of the Douala Port Authority did not present any concrete technical document which outlined various problems facing the different units of the country’s main maritime gateway. The leader of the Korean delegation, who utterly strained to deliver his message because he spoke in English, said the absence of such essential guidelines could render bilateral cooperation difficult.

The roundtable talks which were scheduled at 10:15a.m were postponed to 3 p.m in order to enable the Cameroon side ponder over their needs. Nothing has so far filtered from the said conclave. It should be recalled that in 2009, the management of the Douala Port Authority signed two conventions with two different Korean ports representatives. Both conventions focused on port management, port operation, port environment protection and security, capacity building and technology transfer.

According to some administrators of the Douala seaport, the pressing problems currently facing the port include regular dredging; dazzling custom fraud; acute lack of parking space, though only 600 out of its 1000 are being exploited; bureaucratic clearance procedures; inadequate storage equipment; and insecurity for goods and persons, as some unscrupulous security officers repeatedly sneak merchandise out of the port in official government vehicles.

The Port Authority of Douala is in charge of the general coordination of the port’s activities. It assists and received ships; equipments and carryout maintenance work across the port; ensures the security and safety of various port operations; supervises different operations entrusted to specialized companies, including dredging; as well as promotes the Douala port sector at home and abroad.