The construction of Yicheng's future pharmaceutical complex, located in Meyo on the Yaoundé–Nsimalen highway, is entering a crucial phase. Idriss Confiance Mbe, CEO of Yicheng Pharmaceutical Group Fabrication Co. Ltd, welcomed a delegation of more than 30 Chinese engineers on March 3, 2026. These experts are responsible for supporting the final stretch of work on the first phase of this industrial infrastructure, with an overall investment estimated at FCFA 530 billion.
Their main mission is to supervise the finishing work, install and calibrate various industrial equipment, and prepare for the gradual commissioning of certain technical installations. During a working meeting, Idriss Confiance Mbe set a clear objective for his collaborators: "complete their mission in three months." He also emphasized the importance of this step for the realization of a project that he considers structuring for the future of the national pharmaceutical industry.
According to project officials, the overall progress of the work on the first phase, valued at FCFA 30 billion, is currently nearly 60%. The ambition of this complex is to locally produce a wide range of medicines, thereby helping to strengthen the pharmaceutical autonomy of Cameroon and, more broadly, Central Africa.
Ultimately, the factory aims to reduce dependence on imports and limit the circulation of counterfeit medicines on the regional market. The stakes therefore go beyond simple industrial investment, also affecting health security and the structuring of a local supply in a sector still largely dominated by external supplies.
The Yicheng project is part of a context in which the local pharmaceutical industry remains marginal in supplying the Cameroonian market. Despite the presence of around fifteen production units, local manufacturers capture only around 5% of the national market for medicines and medical consumables, while 95% of demand continues to be covered by imports. This dependence has even increased in recent years, with purchases of pharmaceutical products abroad increasing from FCFA 69.5 billion in 2010 to nearly FCFA 170 billion in 2024.
Several structural constraints hinder the sector's growth, including high production costs, sometimes insufficient or aging equipment, competition from medicines from informal and illicit channels, as well as taxation deemed "suffocating" by operators. In this context, the Yicheng project represents a large-scale industrial test. Its success will depend on the ability to complete the work within the announced deadlines, to install the critical equipment and to transform this investment of FCFA 530 billion into an effective production capacity. The presence of these Chinese engineers marks an important step towards this goal.
The first phase of the project is expected to be completed by September 2027.
