Lomié’s New Wood Industrial Park Could Create More Than 12,000 Jobs
Cameroon is moving ahead with plans to turn Lomié in the East Region into a more important centre for timber processing, with a new industrial park expected to generate thousands of jobs once fully operational.
On October 6, the Ministry of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicrafts (MINPMEESA) and the Lomié Council signed a partnership agreement in Yaoundé for the development of the Lomié SMEs Wood’s Park.
The project is expected to create an estimated 3,615 direct jobs and 8,500 indirect jobs, according to figures reported by Business in Cameroon. That puts the potential employment impact at more than 12,000 jobs.
But the significance of the project goes beyond the headline employment figure.
The park is being designed around a question Cameroon has struggled with for years: how to capture more value from its natural resources before they leave the country.
A new phase for Lomié’s timber project
The SMEs Wood’s Park is being developed under the Timber Sector Development Support Program (PAD-BOIS) and forms part of the broader Complexe industriel intégré de transformation du bois de Lomié (CIBLO).
The latest agreement gives the project a more specific focus on small and medium-sized businesses involved in timber processing.
According to MINPMEESA, the government is also working with the UN Economic Commission for Africa on the wider SMEs WOOD’S PARK programme, which envisages three timber-processing parks in Lomié, Sangmelima and Edéa.
The idea is to give businesses access to shared infrastructure and modern equipment for different stages of wood processing.
That could include activities ranging from primary processing to furniture, joinery and other manufactured wood products.
For Lomié, the objective is to build an industrial base around a resource that is already available in the surrounding area.
Why Lomié?
Lomié is located in the Haut-Nyong division of Cameroon’s East Region, an area with substantial forest resources.
Earlier work on CIBLO identified significant timber potential around the project area. A 2019 assessment by the Ministry of Mines, Industry and Technological Development noted that forests within a 250-kilometre radius included community and communal forests with substantial timber resources.
The municipality also has its own forest resources. Recent reporting on the new Wood’s Park project says Lomié has a communal forest covering about 55,000 hectares, with another 15,190 hectares undergoing classification.
That gives the industrial park something many manufacturing projects struggle to secure: proximity to its main raw material.
The challenge will be turning that advantage into a reliable industrial supply chain.
From exporting timber to processing it locally
The central economic argument behind the project is straightforward.
Instead of sending timber abroad for processing and importing some finished or semi-finished products later, more of the processing could take place in Cameroon.
The mayor of Lomié, Gérard Lomié Mabia, made that point during the signing ceremony, arguing that Cameroon needs to bring the equipment and technology used elsewhere into Lomié so that local timber can be processed locally.
That shift matters because processing creates more points in the value chain.
A log sold as raw timber generates one type of economic return. Processing it into sawn timber, panels, doors, furniture or other finished products involves additional workers, machinery, transport, maintenance, packaging, finance and commercial services.
It also gives local SMEs more opportunities to participate.
SMEs are at the centre of the model
The latest project is not being presented simply as a large state-owned factory.
The park is intended to create an ecosystem in which SMEs, social economy organisations and artisans can operate around shared industrial infrastructure.
According to Business in Cameroon, 241 SMEs, social economy organisations and artisans have already expressed interest in operating in the park.
That is potentially one of the most important numbers attached to the project.
If these businesses actually become operational, the park could create a cluster of companies working at different points in the same value chain rather than a single industrial operator.
That could create demand for:
Timber processing and furniture manufacturing
Equipment maintenance and repair
Transport and logistics
Packaging
Warehousing
Construction services
Financial services
Training and technical skills
Business support services
For local entrepreneurs, the opportunity may therefore extend beyond working directly inside the park.
The project has been years in the making
The current agreement is not the beginning of the Lomié industrial project.
CIBLO has been under development for several years.
In 2019, the Ministry of Mines, Industry and Technological Development said the project was intended to establish Lomié as a timber-processing hub and estimated that it could generate more than 3,000 jobs, including around 800 direct jobs.
A 2022 assessment reported that the project covered approximately 59 hectares, with construction of the first processing facilities already underway at the time. Around 3,000 direct jobs were then expected from the infrastructure.
The latest Wood’s Park initiative therefore represents a continuation and expansion of an industrial project that has been in development for years.
The difference now is the stronger focus on an SME-based industrial cluster.
A larger timber-processing ecosystem
MINPMEESA says the SMEs WOOD’S PARK programme is also intended to improve the integration of SMEs into the timber value chain, promote local content and subcontracting, and develop new financing mechanisms for small businesses.
That is important because access to raw materials alone does not create a functioning industrial cluster.
Businesses need equipment. They need working capital. They need skilled workers. They need reliable transport and electricity. And they need customers.
The success of the Lomié park will therefore depend partly on whether these supporting systems develop alongside the physical infrastructure.
The road and logistics question
For a timber-processing hub located far from Cameroon’s largest commercial centres, logistics will be particularly important.
The older CIBLO project discussions identified road access as one of the requirements for making the industrial complex viable. Previous government support included work on the access road and feasibility studies, while a longer-term road connection between Abong-Mbang and Lomié was also discussed.
This remains relevant to the business case.
Processed timber and finished furniture still need to reach markets in Yaoundé, Douala and other cities. Export-oriented companies will also need dependable routes to ports.
If transport costs are too high or supply chains are unreliable, having production capacity in Lomié will not automatically make local manufacturing competitive.
More value from Cameroon’s forests
The project also fits into a wider government push to increase local processing of natural resources.
The Ministry of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises has identified the integration of SMEs into the wood value chain and the development of Special Economic Zones as part of the broader industrialisation agenda.
For the timber industry, the potential gain is not only employment.
Local processing can increase the value generated per cubic metre of timber, create markets for supporting businesses and potentially increase tax and local government revenues.
There is also a market opportunity for Cameroonian furniture and wood-product manufacturers if they can compete on quality, price and consistency.
But that will require more than simply making timber available.
What businesses should watch
For investors and entrepreneurs, the next stage of the Lomié project will be more important than the announcement itself.
Several indicators will show whether the park is moving from a project on paper to a functioning industrial cluster:
1. Infrastructure delivery
Businesses need functioning workshops, equipment, roads, electricity, water and other basic services before they can invest heavily.
2. SME participation
The 241 businesses that have expressed interest will need clear information on land, equipment access, financing, fees and operating conditions.
3. Financing
Small manufacturers often struggle to finance machinery and working capital. The financing mechanisms discussed by MINPMEESA could determine how many interested businesses actually become operational.
4. Skills
Modern timber processing requires technicians, machine operators, designers, carpenters, electricians, mechanics and other specialised workers. Training will have to grow alongside production.
5. Market access
The park will need buyers. Furniture, panels, processed timber and other products must find customers in Cameroon and potentially in regional export markets.
Final Thoughts
The Lomié SMEs Wood’s Park gives Cameroon another opportunity to move from simply producing raw materials to building businesses around them.
The numbers attached to the project are significant: 3,615 potential direct jobs, 8,500 indirect jobs and 241 SMEs, social economy organisations and artisans already expressing interest.
But the real test will come during implementation.
If the park gets the infrastructure, financing, skills and market connections it needs, Lomié could become more than a timber-processing site. It could develop into a cluster of smaller manufacturers supplying Cameroon and, potentially, neighbouring markets.
For Cameroon’s industrial policy, that distinction matters.
The value of the project will ultimately be measured not by the number of announcements surrounding it, but by how many businesses actually begin producing, how many people find sustained work and how much more value Cameroon keeps from the timber it already has.
Cameroon Business Review will continue to follow the development of the Lomié SMEs Wood’s Park and its implications for Cameroon’s manufacturing and SME sectors.
