Cameroon taps Terminal Investment Limited to run Douala port

DOUALA (Reuters) - Switzerland's Terminal Investment Limited (TIL) has been tapped to renovate and manage Cameroon's main Douala port starting next year, the port's director-general said on Monday.

Douala, located on the Atlantic coast, is the hub for Cameroon's exports of cocoa, oil and timber. It has been managed since 2015 by Bollore, but the French company was eliminated earlier in the bidding process as it sought to renew its contract.

The port's director-general, Cyrus Ngo'o, said in a statement that TIL had been provisionally designated the winning bidder. Discussions will follow to finalise a contract allowing TIL to take control of the port on Jan. 1, 2020, he said.

Geneva-based TIL has ownership stakes in 36 operating terminals across five continents, including in the West African countries of Togo and Ivory Coast.

(Reporting by Josiane Kouagheu; Writing by Aaron Ross; Editing by Himani Sarkar)