Abuja — The African Development Bank (ADB) has signed a loan agreement of $45.4million with the Cameroon Shipyard and Industrial Engineering Ltd (CNIC), to finance the construction of oilrig repair facilities in Limbe.

At the formal signing ceremony in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Monday, Vice-President of ADB in charge of the bank's operations in West and Central Africa, Mr. Bisi Ogunjobi, signed on behalf of the bank while the Managing Director, CNIC, Mr. Zacchareus Forjindam, signed for his company.

In a statement, ADB said the project was consistent with Cameroon's industrial development policy and aimed at enabling CNIC to capture a large part of the oilrig repair market in the Gulf of Guinea.

The project, the statement noted, "will involve the construction of a 390 metre long quay, the dredging of 590,000 m3 of materials and the completion of 11 hectares of wharf area.

"It will also entail the construction of one 700 m long breakwater, 3,500m of offices and 12,000m of workshops. Moreover, the project will help procure a 30,000-tonne floating dock, two 300 tm cranes, machine tools, teaching aids, sundry vehicles and machinery."