Cameroon to launch e-Post project funded by China

YAOUNDE - Cameroon's postal sector will soon launch a major initiative that will enhance its performance following the announcement of an expected launch of the e-Post project that will be implemented by the state operator Campost through a Chinese loan of $62 million.

These revelations were made on Thursday in Yaounde by Cameroon's Posts and Telecommunications Minister Jean-Pierre Biyiti Bi Essam who was speaking during celebrations to mark the 138th edition of the World Post Day.

The minister said that e-Post project which comes as a response to the liberalization of the industry, will enable Cameroon's post offices to have superior production tools that will make them to recover the market lost by the public operator.

The project will involve the construction of a data center that will keep data, applications and a network of interconnections of all post offices spread across the national territory.

The data center which will host a control and management center, will be equipped with, among others, micro-computers, lap-tops, IP telephones and scanners.

The e-Post project is a continuation of the efforts that have been made for the last two years to reform Cameroon Postal Services (Campost) with the technical assistance of the French operator Sofrepost, after a structural crisis that was brought about by poor management that led many customers to abandon using the postal services.

The institution has improved its service provision and currently offers a 24-hour delivery service for parcels and letters in the capital Yaounde as well as in Douala, the economic capital, after acquiring 10 vehicles that are used in the distribution exercise.