The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Cameroon are advancing efforts to operationalize the Kribi–Zongo trade corridor—a proposed logistics route connecting the deepwater port of Kribi, through the Central African Republic (CAR), to northern DRC. The plan aims to ease freight transport to and from one of the DRC’s most isolated regions.

On June 11, 2025, Congolese Ambassador to Cameroon Pierre Kashadile Bukasa Muteba met with Auguste Mbappé Penda, Director General of Cameroon’s National Shippers’ Council (CNCC), in Yaoundé to discuss the project’s next steps.

“We are committed to mobilizing all relevant authorities in both countries to ensure this major project comes to fruition,” said Ambassador Muteba, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

This diplomatic meeting builds on the technical groundwork initiated in May. On May 12, a delegation from the DRC’s Multimodal Freight Management Office (Ogefrem), led by Consulting Director Francis Bedy Makhubu, visited the CNCC in Douala to gather logistical data necessary to activate the corridor. The mission continued with a field visit to Kribi on May 13–14.

The Kribi–Zongo corridor is designed to address the long-standing transport bottlenecks facing businesses in northern DRC, where access to the country’s main port in Matadi—located in the southwest—is both geographically and economically challenging.

For Cameroon, the corridor also presents economic benefits through increased transit revenues from Congolese trade flows.

This article was initially published in French by PM (Business in Cameroon)

Edited in English by Ola Schad Akinocho