Sundance Resources Limited (ASX: SDL), the Australian mining giant committed to the Mbalam IronOre project budgeted 20.8 Billion FCFA towards the first stage of the project. The Mbalam Iron ore project is projected to need a 520Km railway line from Mbarga and a 70 Km from Nabeba to the Deepwater seaport in Kribi.

Cameroon Diamond Mining Industry - South Korea CK Mining develop Diamond Mine Yakadouma

The first stage of the project is granted to China Harbor Engineering Company and CRCC CHina-Africa Construction Company, two Chinese multinational companies.

In line with the 2010 presidential memorandum, China Harbor Engineering Company and CRCC CHina-Africa Construction Company will be incharge of building the deepwater seeaport and railway line and rolling stocks for mined ore transportation.

The commitment of the XAF FCFA 20.8 Billion ganrantees a smooth start on the first phase of the Mbalam iron Ore project, starting 2014.

The Mbalam Iron Ore project is expected to position Sundance Resources Limited (ASX: SDL) on the world’s top ten iron ore producers and enable Sundance Resources Limited (ASX: SDL) to secure longterm supply contracts with countless steel producers.

For the Cameroonian grassroots population, much is yet to be seen as to the effect and contribution of this project to the local economy. The general population understands little of the process and securing jobs is a far dream for them.

The problem is compounded by the contracted Chinese companies that make it a point to utilize imported Chinese workers for all levels of the construction. Given that it is a for-profit corporation, they can not to blamed for using cheap labor from China.

Sundance Resources Limited (ASX: SDL) Budgets FCFA 20.8 Billion (XAF) Towards the first stage of the Mbalam Iron Ore Project in Kribi, Cameroon is a post from: News Cameroon-Today.com

Yaounde, Cameroon Africa (Cameroon News) – The Cameroon government yesterday in Yaounde signed an agreement with SINOHYDRO for the construction of a new Hydro electricity dam in Memve’ele

SINOHYDRO is a chinese company with extensive expertise in the building of hydro electric dams.

It is one of several chinese companies used by the Chinese government in its outreach efforts in Africa.

The Memve’ele Hydro-electricity dam, is projected to be complete and come online in 54 months, just under five years.

Once completed, the dams, estimated to cost 365 Billion FCFA will provide 201 Mega Watts of electricity to the central africa nation.

It should be noted, that power shortages are rampant in Cameroon due to increase demand and a sharp raise in urban populations.

In addition, Cameroon exports electric power to neighbouring central african states and faces significant pressures to increase this supply capacity.

Cameroon Government and Chinese hydro-electricity company, SINO-HYDRO sign Agreement is a post from: News Cameroon-Today.com

Yaounde, Cameroon Africa. (Cameroon News) – Cameroon’s Southern Dam Projects Progress The Mekin and Memve’ele Hydro-electricity dam projects in the South Region of Cameroon are gradually progressing.

“35 percent of the work in the Mekin Hydro-electricity dam project has been executed,” said the General Manager of the Dam Project, Frederic Biya Motto on February 10, 2012 after an inspection visit to the project site, accompanied by the Governor of the South Region, Jules-Marcellin Ndjaga.

He said the place for the foundation has been filled, clearing of the site for the main factory and construction of staff quarters were on course, while the river has been diverted.

The Mekin dam project is expected to produce 63 kw. The work is expected to last 36 months, meaning that it must be completed by March 2014.

The Memve’ele dam project expected to generate 51.6 MW of energy, is still at the level of digging the access roads and compensating the affected population.

70 percent work on the access road has been covered, the Head of the Control Mission, Jean-Bertin Dokou Sitio said.

He disclosed that the bridge over the Mvila river which has been the major obstacle to the project may be completed by May 2012, stating that construction work on the access road was progressing normally.

Cameroon Travel - The kribi Beache and deep water seaport site in Cameroon Kribi

Cameroon’s Southern Dam Projects Progress is a post from: News Cameroon-Today.com

In a joined statement made public yesterday in Yaounde, Cameroon’s political capital by Perenco and the state run National HydroCarbons Corporation, SNH, stated that they discovered liquified natural gas sufficient to operate much need gas-fired electricity plant being erected by AES Sonel corporation.

According to the Dow Jones Newswires, the statement signed by SNH administrative general-manger Adolphe Moudiki and Perenco Cameroon general manager Denis Clerc-Renaud states:

“Each of the wells were was drilled to a total vertical depth of 1,463 meters below sea level and reached good quality of natural gas bearing reservoirs at the expected depth from recent geological and geophysical interpretations”

Cameroon Electricity Companies - AES SONAL

Cameroon National HydroCarbons Corporation, SNH and Perenco Announce Liquified Natural Gas Discovery For AES Sonel Electricity Power Plant. is a post from: News Cameroon-Today.com

Yaounde, Cameroon Africa. (Cameroon News) – The Cameroon Electricity Corporation (AES-SONEL) will invest FCFA 30 billion in 2012 as part of the programme to curb shortages in power supply, said the General Manager of AES-SONEL who doubles as AES Chairman for Africa, Jean David Bile.

“There are major projects like the 225 KV line between Bekoko and Nkongsamba to improve energy supply in the West and North West Regions,” Jean David Bile said during a press conference in Yaounde on Wednesday, January 11, 2012.

“There is also another line between Waza and Kousseri in the Far North Region to supply the area with power from Lagdo,” he further said.

Cameroon Electricity Companies - AES SONAL

The AES-SONEL General Manager disclosed that in other regions, the company is replacing poles and different electric devices on the network. “So we have a vast programme for 2012.

We will be investing close to FCFA 30 billion this year on refurbishing the network,”, Jean David Bile stated.

The electricity company took some time to adjust power supply after the rainy season, its General Manager explained as he answered questions on the persistent power cuts in many parts of the country.

He assured that, “There will be no power cuts related to power generation,” stating that, “We may have problems relating to the network and we are doing our maximum to resolve the problem so as to ensure a continuous supply of power to the population.”

Cameroon’s Electricity Company To Invest FCFA 30 Billion in 2012 is a post from: News Cameroon-Today.com

Yaounde, Cameroon Africa. (Cameroon News) – The British mining company, Afferro Mining, has set aside 155 million US Dollars (about FCFA 58 billion) to finance the feasibility studies to accelerate the exploration of the iron ore deposits in Nkout, some 27 kilometers from the border town of Djoum, Dja et Lobo Division of the South Region of Cameroon. Afferro Mining is the mother company of the local Caminex SARL that has been exploiting the Nkout iron ore deposits.

Afferro Mining Chief Operating Officer, Captain Peter Taylor, granted a press conference in Cameroon’s capital city, Yaounde on December 15, 2011 during which he disclosed the decision of the company’s Board of Directors.

The Board of Directors of Afferro Mining agreed on the funding as a response to positive field reports. All stakeholders of the iron ore exploration project went to the site on November 21 to 23, 2011.

The funds, Captain Peter Taylor said, will be allocated through a series of studies, stating that as the project evolves and attracts more trust, the company will move closer to the point of developing the mine.

Cameroon Diamond Mining Industry - South Korea CK Mining develop Diamond Mine Yakadouma

The next three stages will consist of completing preliminary economic assessment that has to be done by the first quarter of 2012. “By March 31, 2012, we expect to have the first economic evaluation of the project”, he said, adding that, “Until now, we have been dealing with resources”. This phase of the project will lead to pre-feasibility studies and later, final feasibility studies, he said

The exploration of 8.9 km of the expected 20 km has led to the discovery of two billion tons of iron ore in the Nkout deposit. According to experts, the tonnage may increase to over four billion when all of the 20 km would be explored.

Afferro Mining – British Mining Company Disburses FCFA 58 Billion For Cameroon’s Iron Ore Project is a post from: News Cameroon-Today.com

Yaounde, Cameroon Africa. (Cameroon News) – Cameroon President Paul Biya Lays Foundation Stone of Kribi Deep Sea Port – China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd. President Paul Biya, candidate of the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) in today, October 9, 2011 presidential election, rounded off his campaign programme on Saturday, October 8 by laying the foundation stone of the Kribi Deep Seaport in South Cameroon.

Cameroon Travel - The kribi Beache and deep water seaport site in Cameroon Kribi

Government got a loan of FCFA 207.7 billion from the Export/Import Bank (Eximbank) of China and has also mobilised its counterpart funding of FCFA 36 billion to make up the entire budget of FCFA 240 billion, Louis Paul Motaze said.

Upon completion, the main port with five to 16 metres draught will receive big vessels with a capacity close to 100,000 tonnes. This will fill the gaps of the Douala Seaport whose draught is only six to seven metres and can at best receive vessels with a capacity of 15,000 tonnes.

The second and third phases of the project, Mr Motaze said, will be financed by private operators on the “Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT)” system.

Paul Biya said the laying of the foundation of stone of the port was to concretise his promise of transforming Cameroon into a worksite beginning 2012. The port, he added, will be a major export port in the Gulf of Guinea and will create employment, generate money and engender new infrastructure in the area.

The project is being executed by China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd.

Cameroon President Paul Biya Lays Foundation Stone of Kribi Deep Sea Port – China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd. is a post from: News Cameroon-Today.com

Yaounde, Cameroon Africa. (Cameroon News) – The United States of America (USA) has offered a financial and technical assistance of FCFA 11.3 billion to support the ongoing fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Cameroon.

The assistance is within the framework of the US President’s Emergency Assistance Plan against AIDS.

“We estimate that 7,300 babies born in Cameroon in 2010 were sero-positive. The country is among the 22 nations that count 90 percent mother-to-child transmission of the HIV virus”, the Chargé d’Affaire in the US Embassy in Cameroon, Lisa Peterson said in Cameroon’s capital city, Yaounde on Thursday, July 21, 2011.

Mama andre fouda omgba Cameroon Minister of public health

“There are about one million cases of pregnancies in Cameroon per year and over 900,000 of the newly born babies survive”, Cameroon’s Health Minister, André Mama Fouda disclosed during the occasion at the Yaounde Central Hospital.

The Minister further said only between 39 to 40 percent of pregnant women attend antenatal clinic.

Since 2005, the government of Cameroon is implementing an integrated anti-HIV/AIDS programme which a key priority action to reduce the rate of mother-to-child transmission of the virus.

The 2011 US government assistance to fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Cameroon that stands at FCFA 11.3 billion, registers a substantial increase from that of 2010 that was FCFA 6.6 billion.

USA Offers FCFA 11.3 Billion To Fights HIV/ADS in Cameroon is a post from: News Cameroon-Today.com

Yaounde, Cameroon Africa. (Cameroon News) – President Paul Biya of Cameroon on July 8, 2011 appointed the Roman Catholic Bishop, Joseph Befe Ateba, Bishop of the Diocese of Kribi, Chairman of the National Communication Council.

The Communication Council is a consultative body placed under the authority of the Prime Minister, Head of Government, with the mission to assist the authorities in the elaboration, implementation and follow up of the national policy on communication.

Cameroon Radion Television CRTV

Bishop Joseph Befe Ateba born on April 25, 1962 replaces, late Felix Sabel Lecco. He is a professional journalist who graduated from the Yaounde Advanced School of Mass Communication (ASMAC) in 1994 after having been ordained priest on June 20, 1987.

The new chair of the National Communication Council since graduation has handled key functions in the communication sector.

He was Regional Secretary of Social Communication of the Association of Central African Episcopal Conferences, Executive Secretary of the Pan African Episcopal Committee on Social Communication and press officer of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar.

Bishop Joseph Befe Ateba comes to the National Communication Council in a crucial moment, “2011 is a crucial year in Cameroon because of the upcoming presidential election”, the Coordinator of the Communication Council, Professor Laurent Charles Boyomo Assala said in Yaounde on April 19, 2011 as he chaired the first ordinary session of the Council for 2011.

“It is also crucial with regard to the role of the media in covering all stages of the election”, he added. The media must be regulated to enable all competing political parties have equal access to the media and also ensure that unethical practices are avoided , Professor Boyomo stated.

The new Chairman of the National Communication Council will join the other members in the election media coverage proposals they made to government in April 2011 and also work to improve the media landscape in the country.

The mandate and attributions of the National Communication Council were defined in the presidential decree of 21 June 1991.

Roman Catholic Bishop, Joseph Befe Ateba, Heads Cameroon’s National Communication Council is a post from: News Cameroon-Today.com

Edea, Cameroon Africa. Janaury 2011. (Cameroon News) - Cameroon has finalized the construction management contract for Lom Pangar hydro-electric project.

Coyne et Bellier

Cameroon has decided to finalize the contract for management of the construction project 56-MW Lom Pangar hydroelectric project across the Sanaga River Basin to French company Coyne et Bellier. The project budget is estimated to be around 16.0 million USD.

The Lom Pangar project comprises of the construction of the 46-meter-tall Lom Pangar Dam as well as a reservoir of 540 square kilometers which would be capable of storing close to 6 billion cubic meters of water.

The dam, Lom Pangar is being constructed with the motive of not just generating hydro electric power but also so as to curtail flow so as to improve power generation scope in downstream hydro electric projects.

The operations to be undertaken under the contract that was signed by the Cameroon utility Electricity Development Corp., earlier this week the French company is expected to conduct detailed site investigations, monitor supply and installation of hydroelectric equipment and manage project construction.

Coyne et Bellier

Construction Contract Given to French Company Coyne et Bellier For Hydel Project In Cameroon Africa. is a post from: News Cameroon-Today.com