Standard Chartered has arranged a financing package for the rehabilitation of the Kribi–Ebolowa Road in Cameroon.

The package comprised a €198.3 million ( $226 million ) export credit agency ( ECA ) guarantee from UK Export Finance ( UKEF ), alongside a €11.9 million commercial loan.

The loan has been extended to the Republic of Cameroon acting through the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Regional Development.

Standard Chartered acted as ECA coordinator, structuring bank, sole bookrunner and mandated lead arranger.

The 162-kilometre road linking the port city of Kribi to Ebolowa via Akom II forms a key economic corridor. The route currently constrains mobility, increases transport costs and limits trade development across communities. The project will upgrade the road from dirt to asphalt, improving safety, reducing vehicle operating costs and facilitating more efficient movement of goods and people.

The project is being executed by Italian construction firm ICM Group, appointed by Cameroon’s Ministry of Public Works, with Dar al-Handasah serving as project consultant.

UK exporters gain

With a substantial portion of the project’s input sourced from UK exporters including ICM Construction Limited and DINTS International Limited, UKEF’s support enhances the overall financing structure and underscores the UK’s commitment to enabling high-impact infrastructure development.

The deal also reflects UKEF’s wider ambition to provide £10 billion ( US$13.2 billion ) in financing for low and middle-income countries by 2029 – helping to unlock sustainable infrastructure, clean growth and trade opportunities in markets that need them most, while securing export wins for UK businesses.

“This transaction demonstrates our continued commitment to supporting sustainable infrastructure development across Africa,” comments Mustafa Sajjad Hussain, executive director, development and agency finance at Standard Chartered. “By mobilizing long-term financing alongside UKEF, we are helping to unlock a critical transport corridor that will drive trade, improve connectivity and support economic growth in Cameroon’s South Region.”

The Kribi-Ebolowa road project is expected to deliver transformative benefits to Cameroon’s South Region, strengthening a strategic economic corridor, improving road safety and supporting regional integration, including connectivity to Trans-African Highway networks linking Cameroon with Chad and Equatorial Guinea.