The holding of the Market Sounding event of June 29 and 30, 2026 in Yaounde, has in earnest begin the operational phase of a process that would lead to the selection of a private partner for the rehabilitation, reconstruction and modernisation of Cameroon’s Refining Company, SONARA.
Gov’t & SONARA Officials at Market Sounding Event
The event presided at by the Minister of Finance, MINFI; Louis Paul Motazé also had the Ministers of Energy and Water Resources, Gaston Eloundou Essomba; the Environment, Pierre Hele and Acting Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development, Prof. Fuh Calistus Gentry in attendance.
Other top personalities present included the Representative of the Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic; the Board Chair Person of SONARA, Dr. Bertha Ndoh; the General Manager; Harouna Bako; and Members of the Multi-Sectoral Commission to Accompany and Follow-Up the Rehabilitation and Modernisation of SONARA, amongst others.
According to a statement from the Communication and Public Relations Division of MINFI, the first step after the two days of consultation will be to review and analyse the contributions gathered from industrial operators, banks, oil companies, engineering firms and specialised advisers. The State will examine their observations on the cost of the project, the financial model, risks, expected guarantees, timeline and conditions for profitability. The goal is to turn market expectations into a clearer, stronger and more attractive project.
Cross section of participants at the event
The second step would be the launch of a Public Call for Expressions of Interest. This phase will help identify the companies or consortia genuinely interested in the project. It will also make it possible to assess their experience, technical capacity, financial strength and ability to support a project as strategic as the revival of Cameroon’s lone refinery.
This will be followed by the pre-selection phase with the State going in for those offering the strongest technical, financial and industrial guarantees. At this stage, the challenge will be to retain only partners capable of handling a heavy, complex and strategic project.
The fourth step will be the competitive dialogue. This will be a very important phase. It will allow the State, SONARA and the preselected candidates to further examine possible solutions: the technical configuration of the refinery, financing, implementation timelines, maintenance arrangements, performance guarantees, risk-sharing mechanisms and remuneration terms for the private partner.
After this, the private partner will be selected. The successful partner will have to present the most credible offer, not only financially, but also technically, industrially and strategically. The aim will not simply be to rebuild facilities, but to restore Cameroon’s national refining capacity in a modern, reliable and sustainable manner.
The final step will be the signing of the public-private partnership contract, in accordance with Cameroon’s legal framework governing Public-Private Partnerships.
Cross section of participants at the event
Thus, after the Market Sounding, the process would enter the phase of clarification, selection and contractualisation. Cameroon is gradually moving from intention to the concrete structuring of the project. For SONARA, the challenge now is to move through these stages with rigour, transparency and efficiency, so that the announced rehabilitation effectively leads to the industrial rebirth of the Limbé refinery.
Ultimately, the Market Sounding would have made it possible to listen to the market. The next steps must now make it possible to choose the right partner, secure the right model chosen the government of Cameroon which is that of Design, Build, Finance, and Maintain (DBFM), and launch the works capable of placing SONARA once again at the heart of Cameroon’s energy sovereignty.
By Nformi Sonde Kinsai
