The project to be harnessed by PAMOL will create over 450 jobs.

21/07/2009 (allAfrican.com) - The year 2009 will end on a happy note for the population of Bakassi following the announcement by PAMOL authorities of the extension of the company's plantation to the region. The project which will be supported by the government in a bid to pull the Cameroonian population to the area is expected to create opening for 150 direct jobs and 300 indirect employment opportunities.

According to the General Manager of PAMOL, Obi-Okpun Wanobi Osang, who spoke to a local News Magazine, the company will be opening the first plantation on a 1000 hectare of land. It is already reflecting on cutting down tree and tilling the soil, he told the paper. The project, he said, is starting with an initial capital of CFA two billion.

The project is considered a veritable move not only to improve the socio-economic life of the area but to solve one of the irking problems that of effectively occupying the area after the official hand over of 14 August, 2008 by Nigeria. The Bakassi population remains highly inhabited by Nigerians, most of them fishermen. The opening of the plantation will usher in another wave of activity; agriculture, which could act as an attraction for Cameroonians.

The company intends to increase the plantation on 3000 hectares by 2012. Extension to the rest of the five administrative areas of the peninsular will be progressive, he said, stating that when the palm trees start bearing fruits, PAMOL would envisage opening a processing factory in Ekondo Titi, located east of Bakassi. With a turnover of 4 billion CFA Francs, PAMOL is presently the third producer of palm oil in Cameroon.