The Cameroon Airports Corporation (ADC) has estimated the cost of renovating Douala International Airport’s passenger terminal at CFA66 billion ($120 million). According to an international call for expressions of interest signed on May 24, 2024, by ADC’s Director General, Thomas OwonaAssoumou, the renovation includes reorganizing passenger pathways, creating a centralized screening checkpoint, separating arrival/departure flows, distinguishing international/domestic flows, upgrading equipment to international standards, and rearranging aircraft parking stands.
Opened in 1977 with a capacity of 1.5 million passengers annually, Douala International Airport’s terminal overhaul aims to bring its infrastructure and amenities up to international comfort, safety, and security standards. The project also aims to “ensure the theoretical capacity of 1.5 million passengers while allowing for future expansion to 2 million.” Additionally, the renovation plans include enhancing non-aeronautical revenue through the construction of retail outlets.
To finance these renovations, ADC plans to secure a CFA66 billion loan from the French Development Agency (AFD). Previously, in 2016, the state-owned entity responsible for managing Cameroon’s airports obtained a non-sovereign loan (not guaranteed by the Cameroonian government) of CFA30.3 billion from AFD for the airport’s previous renovations. These included refurbishing the runway, creating a second access road to the runway, partially rehabilitating two aircraft parking areas, and renovating part of the passenger terminal to accommodate current traffic.
Despite new passenger processing methods, Douala Airport has seen no significant upgrades, according to ADC.
With funding mobilization pending, ADC is seeking a project manager. The call for expressions of interest, targeting providers in Cameroon and abroad, requires applicants to demonstrate their qualifications and experience in handling tasks ranging from diagnostic studies to obtaining building permits and detailed preliminary designs. Submissions are due by June 21, 2024, in either paper or electronic format to ADC.
Thus, the renovation works for the passenger terminal are still pending. These plans have been in development since at least 2018 when a restricted tender notice pitted three international consortia – led by Vinci Construction (Sogea, Ingerop, and IAD), Tractebel (Chapman, NV Besix), and DPE International (DVA, Hervé SA, DVVD) – against each other for Phase A of the renovation project worth CFA25 billion ($45 million), with an anticipated 24-month timeline.
Efforts were renewed on October 22, 2020, during a presentation ceremony to the Minister of Transport, where ADC’s Director General announced the start of reconfiguration and renovation work on Douala International Airport’s passenger terminal slated for the first quarter of 2021. However, instead of commencing the works, new tenders have been issued since 2023, signaling a restart of the entire process.