The appointment of Yves Roger Melingui to head the Kribi Port Industrial Zone (KPIZ) in Cameroon has already stirred reactions. On February 26, 2026, he was designated as the General Manager of this strategic industrial zone, following a board meeting held in Yaoundé. This promotion reignites discussions about the role of political heirs in the country's major public projects.
The KPIZ is an ambitious industrial project for Cameroon, representing an investment of 795 million euros, or approximately 521.485 billion FCFA. The zone will span nearly 4,000 hectares around the Autonomous Port of Kribi. The main objective is to transform the port into a true industrial hub, by attaching processing units to the deep-water port.
Prior to his appointment, Yves Roger Melingui was a Technical Advisor to the General Manager of the Autonomous Port of Kribi, with nearly ten years of experience. A graduate of the Universities of Angers and EDHEC Business School, he specializes in Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs). His mission will be to lead the first phase of the project, amounting to 400 million euros, supported by the AfDB, the European Union, and the IFC.
The Kribi Port Industrial Zone aims to develop various sectors such as agro-industry, metallurgy, textiles, and wood processing, in accordance with the National Development Strategy (SND30). The main shareholders of the project are Africa Global Logistics, a subsidiary of the Italian-Swiss group Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC), Arise Integrated Industrial Platforms (Arise IIP), and Belmont Investments, owned by Cameroonian economic operator Colin Mukete.
The KPIZ project aims to transform the port of Kribi, the main maritime gateway for Cameroon and landlocked countries in Central Africa, into a major industrial hub. Cameroonian authorities thus wish to move from a logistics platform dedicated to the export of raw materials to an industrial production center.
Roger Melingui, the father of the new general manager, served as Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance, in charge of the Budget, from 1994 to 2004. This appointment comes in a context where the issue of political succession and access to positions of responsibility is debated in Cameroon.
The appointment of Yves Roger Melingui is seen as a strong signal for the industrialization of Cameroon and the modernization of the governance of structuring public projects. It remains to be seen whether this promotion is more due to his personal merit or to his family network.
