Cameroon has signed a memorandum of understanding with Bestway Finance Ltd and Austsino Resources Group Ltd for the construction of a 540-kilometer long railway to connect the town of Mbalam, an iron ore mining site to connect the port of Kribi where the construction of a mined port is planned multimodal rail with a capacity of more than 100 million tons per year

The eventual construction of a railway will boost Cameroon's development. With a total cost of 5500 billion FCFA, approximately 10 billion dollars, the project is expected to generate more than 20,000 direct and related jobs. The construction phase scheduled for the end of 2021 should give way to the mining exploitation phase in 2024, while the construction of an additional 1500 kilometers of railway is planned by 2030. The signing of this agreement follows the award on 30 November 2020 to Sangha Mining Development of three industrial exploitation permits known as “Avima”, “Badoma” and “Nabeba” as well as the award of three mining exploitation agreements to the said company for a period of 25 years. Funding mobilized by multilateral and bilateral financial partners, including China, whose firm Austsino Resources Group Ltd is responsible for carrying out the work.