Grass covers signboard of Kribi Airport Kiven Brenda
News about the creation of the Kribi Airport in 1998, came as a great developmental aspect for the people of Ocean Division, yet 21 years after, the project is on a standstill and residents wonder if it would ever change.
A project conceived to help boost tourism and facilitate movement between Douala and Kribi ( a preferred touristic site in Cameroon), saw billions of francs CFA invested at its inception, with many villagers loosing land to create space for the airport.
Today, the airport is bushy and one can hardly see the signboard directing any traveler, he is at the airport zone. The field is completely occupied by grass, to the dismay of these residents who are mainly farmers/hunters, and who would have wished to continue their daily activities to sustain their livelihoods.
In September 2011, when President Paul Biya visited Kribi to lay the foundation stone of the seaport, expectations were high that the airport would finally be completed to receive the Head of State. Residents were appalled when the president arrived in a helicopter.
Kribi Airport project abandoned (c) Kiven
Hopes of the population were again raised in 2013 as part of the 2035 emergency plan, when studies were conducted on the area and an agreement reached between the then Minister of Transport, Robert Nkili and a Chinese company, on the construction and rehabilitation of the airport. The contract was signed on the 23rd of December 2013 but nothing came out of it.
Three years later, the population nursed hopes to see the project completed, when the then Minister of Transport, Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo'o made a two-day working visit to the South region in January 2016. Yet, the minister didn’t visit the project.
Some members of the community say they are tired of waiting and prefer the lands taken for the airport project, be handed back to them for farming. Kribi has become one of the most visited towns in Cameroon, with its beautiful beaches and other touristic sites.
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