CAMEROON’S INFRASTRUCTURE: A CONTINENTAL PERSPECTIVE Cameroon’s air market is more competitive than that of other countries in the region. The HerfindahlHirschmann Index (HHI), a commonly accepted measure of market concentration,<sup>7</sup> shows that Cameroon has the lowest concentration of services among its neighbors, with the measurement taken before the collapse of Cameroon Airlines. The collapse of Cameroon Airlines was followed by a significant increase in capacity by Royal Air Maroc and Ethiopian airlines, indicative of a more liberalized environment.

Cameroon is one of the few African countries that has managed to attract private sector participation in its air transport infrastructure. Between 1993 and 2008, 7 of Cameroon’s 14 airports were included in a 15-year joint-management contract involving shared risk between the public and private sector. The contract was co-managed by Aéroports de Paris (34 percent) and the government of Cameroon (24 percent), and other carriers (42 percent).

## **Challenges**

In spite of the general traffic turnaround, the domestic market has yet to recover. The domestic market was the most impacted by the collapse of the air market: the number of domestic seats dropped from 640,620 in 2001 to 105,742 in 2007, a decline of 80 percent. In 2008 Cameroon's domestic capacity nearly collapsed with the demise of Cameroon Airlines. In 2009 the number of domestic seats further declined by 66 percent from 2007 levels, dropping to 36,480 seats (figure 11a). Similarly, the number of domestic city pairs dropped from 17 in 2001 to 10 in 2007 and 1 in 2009 (figure 11b).

Safety oversight needs strengthening. In September 2005 Cameroon Airlines was blocked from entering France until significant improvements in operations could be demonstrated. The ban was eventually lifted. But the 2005 safety audit of the International Civil Aviation Organization showed significant room for improvement. As part of a regional West and Central African project, Cameroon is now working on improving its safety oversight.

# Water resources

Cameroon is well endowed with fresh water. In the south, the principal rivers—the Wouri, Sanaga, Nyong, and Ntem—flow southwestward or westward directly into the Gulf of Guinea. The Dja and Kadeï rivers drain southeastward into the Congo River. In northern Cameroon, the Benoué (Benue) runs north and west, eventually into the Niger, and the Logone flows northward into Lake Chad, which Cameroon shares with Chad, Nigeria, and Niger. The renewable water resource per capita is estimated at about 17,520 cubic meters per year, more than twice as much the Sub-Saharan African average of 7,000 cubic meters per year. Rainfall averages 1,604 mm per year, but levels vary across regions and over the course of the year.

Several factors exert pressure on water resources. Agricultural production represents 74 percent of total water use—with rice, in particular, accounting for heavy demand. Household use represents 18 percent of total water use and has increased over time, but access to clean water remains a major challenge for the population, as inconsistent and poor policies, combined with weak sector governance in

> 7The index is calculated by squaring the market share of each firm competing in the market and then summing the resulting numbers. An HHI of 100 indicates the market is a monopoly; the lower the HHI, the more diluted the market power exerted by a single company or agent.

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