Standard Chartered has signed a €198.3mn deal guaranteed by UK Export Finance (UKEF) to support the upgrade of a major road in Cameroon.
The 162km network, which connects the port city of Kribi to Ebolowa, both in the South Region of the country, is currently made up largely of dirt roads.
Upgrading the roads to asphalt is expected to enhance regional connectivity and trade by “improving safety, reducing vehicle operating costs and facilitating more efficient movement of goods and people”, Standard Chartered said.
As well as the UKEF-guaranteed facility, the package includes a €11.9mn commercial loan.
Standard Chartered was the export credit agency (ECA) coordinator, structuring bank, sole bookrunner and mandated lead arranger. Lloyds Bank and Kommunalkredit Austria are also included in the lending syndicate, a Standard Chartered spokesperson said.
The deal was signed on May 19 and the project will be carried out by Italian construction firm ICM Group.
UKEF backed the deal because a “substantial portion of the project’s input” will come from the UK, including ICM Construction and Dints International, a supply chain solutions firm.
Its support also forms part of its goal to provide £10bn in financing for low and middle-income countries by 2029, Standard Chartered said.
Mustafa Sajjad Hussain, executive director, development and agency finance at Standard Chartered, said: “This transaction demonstrates our continued commitment to supporting sustainable infrastructure development across Africa.
“By mobilising 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.”
Tim Reid, chief executive of UKEF, added that the deal would boost trade and create “new opportunities for UK exporters”.
Standard Chartered arranged €133mn in financing in 2022 to improve the road infrastructure to Cameroon’s coastal city of Douala, a deal also supported by UKEF.
In 2024, Deutsche Bank issued a €94.8mn loan backed by Italian ECA Sace to the government of Cameroon to upgrade a road linking the capital Yaounde with neighbouring Gabon.
