Building responsibly in Kribi: a steelworks can meet international standards on four conditions

Main findings

1. The setting is sensitive, but the steel site is set back from its most valued assets. The site area lies on the coastal plateau about 3 to 4 km inland from the port frontage. The marine national park begins about 12 km away, the Lobé falls about 18 km and Campo-Ma’an National Park about 29 km. Villages and small streams are closer: the nearest mapped stream is about 2 to 3 km away and the nearest village, Boussibelika, about 3 to 4 km (Chapter 1 and Annex D, Table D.1).
2. Cameroonian law already requires a detailed, public assessment. Steelmaking needs a detailed EIES under the 2016 order, with consultations during the study, public hearings, an interministerial review and a certificate before any works. A separate classified-establishment authorisation requires a hazard study and an emergency plan. The administrative clock is four to five months, but seasonal baselines make the realistic timetable 12 to 18 months (Chapter 2).
3. National law sets no numeric emission or ambient limits for steel, so international values must fill the gap. Cameroon Steel will apply the stricter of national and international requirements for every parameter, and will ask for them to be written into its permits (Chapters 2 and 3).
4. Phase 1 sits at the Equator Principles’ climate threshold. Indicative Scope 1 and 2 emissions are about 97,000 tCO₂e a year in Phase 1 and about 328,000 tCO₂e at full capacity. We will carry out the full climate risk and alternatives assessment and report publicly from the first year (Chapter 3).
5. The airshed is already above the WHO fine-particle guideline. Modelled background PM2.5 is about 10 µg/m³, twice the guideline, mostly from harmattan dust and regional smoke. The plant must therefore add as little as possible. Our objectives are melt-shop dust below 5 mg/Nm³, dioxins below 0.1 ng I-TEQ/Nm³, and a project contribution at any village below a quarter of the WHO guideline (Chapter 4).
6. In Kribi, water design is about rain, not supply. Planned fresh-water demand is about 2 m³ per tonne, less than 1% of the Lobé’s low flow even at full capacity. The challenge is about 2,850 mm of rain a year and a 100-year day of 264 mm. Our objectives are no process-water discharge in normal operation and no direct or indirect abstraction from the Lobé without a specific study (Chapter 5).
7. Four fifths of the residues can become products; the hazardous dust needs a secure route first. At full capacity, residues are about 185,000 t a year, mostly slag suitable for aggregate after testing. EAF dust, about 16,000 t a year, is hazardous. There will be no first heat without a contracted, compliant outlet (Chapter 6).
8. Critical habitat is unlikely on the site but present in the landscape. The main risks come from what a project brings, such as in-migration, hunting, traffic and coastal pressure, rather than from its footprint. We commit to two-season surveys, no net loss of natural habitat and a contribution to conservation co-designed with communities (Chapter 7).
9. The social licence depends on engagement with integrity. The land has a history dating from the 2009 declaration of public utility. HIV prevalence in the South Region is the highest in Cameroon. Bagyeli communities live in the department. We commit to a land legacy review, early Indigenous Peoples screening, free, prior and informed consent where required, and a grievance mechanism open before any fieldwork (Chapter 8).
10. Kribi’s own record shows that timing and transparency decide outcomes. Land questions outlived the port’s construction. The coast changed after the breakwater, and a park offset was designed without the people who used the land. A shared approach to cumulative effects, with published data, is the main lesson (Chapter 9).