Candles are lit at the Douala Port Authority from September 26th to October 3rd 2025, in celebration of its one and a half century of existence under President Paul Biya’s leadership. From modernizing infrastructure to expanding the port, including the nationalization of strategic activities such as dredging and container terminal management, the institution has implemented numerous reforms in recent years to increase its financial profitability and strengthen its operational capabilities.
The Douala-Bonaberi Sea port that celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2025, is a facility whose history is entangled with that of the Cameroonian economy. According to the speech delivered September 26th 2025 by the Director General of the Douala Autonomous Sea Port the “first milestones” of this platform were laid in 1868 by the Germans, who had been present on the Wouri River since 1851.
Their objective was to create a strategic outlet for the export of palm oil, timber, coffee and cocoa at the same time also importing the necessary equipment for their colony. During the 45 years of German occupation, Douala became the colonial trade nerve center. By 1904, the facility had been administered by the Official River Navigation and Coastal Shipping Service and already had modern quays, jetties, and workshops.
The Woermann-Linie company founded in 1885 connected Hamburg to Douala in sixteen days. In 1911, the Cameroonian coast welcomed 536 ships including 170 in Douala, carrying nearly 493 000 tons of cargo. After the First World War, France inherited the site. In 1922, an initial expansion project was launched estimated at three million French francs focusing on dredging and improving the superstructure.
A second phase followed after the Second World War. In 1947, a preliminary design was adopted and entrusted to the Société des Grands Travaux de Marseille. Construction work carried out between 1948 and 1954 provided the port with 1800 meters of deepwater quays and 25,000 m² of warehouses, designed for a traffic volume of one million tons. At the dawn of independence in 1960, Cameroon inherited six state ports and two private ones but Douala concentrated nearly 87% of the traffic between 1966 and 1968.
French companies then retained a dominant position, with stevedoring unions and freight forwarding companies continuing to operate. To increase capacity, three investment programs were initiated. The first launched in 1969 with support from the World Bank with a sum of 778 million CFA francs, paving way for the construction of an ore dock and the development of a timber yard. The second included the fourth five-year plan (1977-1981), was launched in 1976 by Paul Biya, then Prime Minister, and implemented by Boskalis under the direction of Simon Ngann Yonn.
Estimated at $120 million, it gave the port its current configuration. The third was financed in 1983 by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development ($22.5 million), completed the infrastructure with new docks, warehouses, and container facilities. The 1998 reform creating the Autonomous Port of Douala aimed to transform the Douala Autonomous Port into an instrument of economic sovereignty. But the Bretton Woods institutions “injunctions” in favor of state disengagement caused a disintegration of land and real estate assets and a decline in competitiveness. The port then experienced “congestion,” according to the Director General, until the state took control.
Since 2016, in accordance with presidential instructions issued in 2011, a program of normalization and modernization has been underway. Renationalized activities, recent investments, and new infrastructure have put the Douala Autonomous Port back on a growth path. On the occasion of its 150th anniversary, the institution recalls that this infrastructure is not only a commercial facility, but a “common heritage and national pride”, at the heart of Cameroon’s foreign trade and regional integration.
