[Ecogreen Afrik, September 20, 2022] To facilitate the creation of wood processing units (UTB) in the Lomié Integrated Wood Processing Industrial Complex (Ciblo), the other municipalities in the East region will integrate this project by providing more than 1 million hectares (ha) of communal and community forests. This is following the inter-municipal consultation meeting to mobilize resources for the Ciblo chaired in Bertoua on Wednesday, September 14, 2022 by the governor of the Eastern region on the instructions of the government in the presence of the 4 prefects.
During this meeting, the mayor of the municipality of Lomié, promoter of the project, presented it as “a geographical space dedicated to processing by several established companies”. To make the project attractive, Gérard Lomié says he first bet on his two communal forests in his commune and 152 federated community forests. « This is what allowed the arrival of NAAZ Trading DMC Dubai, » he says.
This support from the communes of the Eastern region now makes Ciblo not only a matter for the commune of Lomié alone, even less that of the department of Haut-Nyong alone, but of the entire region. In this momentum, it is this region that will position itself as a leader in wood processing in the sub-region. “In this context, reassures the mayor, Lomié is only the geographical space that will just benefit from the advantages of these facilities. In addition, a space is reserved for small businesses (carpentry and furniture).
As a reminder, and according to the mayor of Lomié, « the history of Ciblo began in 2014 during a mission to Canada in 2014 during which several memoranda of understanding were signed with Canadian companies, including one on the creation in Lomié of a wood recovery complex, the area of which was declared of public utility in 2016 ».
To materialize its commitment, the Cameroonian government, through the Ministry of Economy, is financing in 2016 the works of the access road to this site, 8 kilometers long. At the same time, the Ministry of Employment gave its agreement in principle to the creation of a center of excellence for training in the wood trades. In 2017, feasibility studies were launched.
On May 9, 2019, with the visit to Lomié of the newly appointed Minister of Industry, the State relaunched the project. As a result, the municipality of Lomié is crumbling under the weight of requests from partners. NAAZ Trading DMC, a company based in Dubai, is chosen and has made it possible to have a visible progress rate in the field.
This project obtained an environmental compliance certificate in October 2021, which led to government authorization for the construction of the factories.
Bernard Bangda
