AFD injects 46 billion for construction of Batchenga-Ntui highway

The Minister of Public Works (Ministry of Public Works), Emmanuel Djoumessi Nganou, received in audience the director of the French Development Agency (AFD), Hervé Conan.

It was an opportunity for both parties to make a roundup of infrastructure construction projects financed by AFD in Cameroon.

The main focus was on the road construction project of Batchenga-Ntui-Yoko-Lena which is 612 km long. The highway would facilitate liaison between the Central Region and the North. It will shorten the road by about 255 km distance between the two parts of the country and make a 255 km economy to reach Chad. It consists of four lots.

The first batch, Batchenga-Ntui, with a length of 21.3 km will receive funding from AFD, nearly FCFA 46 billion as announced by Hervé Conan. It will also be for Cameroon and AFD to ensure the construction of the bridge on the Sanaga.

"We believe that very soon we will sign the financing agreement that would be provided for this work which and will start running in 2016," said Hervé Conan. The other three batches of the project are Ntui-Mankim, Mankim-Yoko and Yoko-Lena which will receive funding from the State of Cameroon, ADB, BDEAC and JICA.

During their meeting, the Ministry of Public Works and the director also discussed three important projects for the city of Douala. They were planning the east and west entrances and the construction of the second bridge over the Wouri.

It shows that the rate of progress to the east entrance of the city has reached 73%, those in the west entrance, which began in January are around 13% and the bridge over the Wouri are to 47%.

According to Hervé Conan, who announced in mid-2016, delivery of access to East of Douala, "we reviewed the topics to address a number of small problems. I would say it is natural in this kind of project, so as to streamline the implementation of these projects; ensuring they are delivered on time."

There was also debate on the issue of upcoming projects for which the State of Cameroon would mobilize funding from AFD. This is because, as noted by the Ministry of Public Works, the government has organized itself to make the most of this partnership.

Both parties have therefore agreed that preliminary studies should be made to prioritize projects to be submitted to the funding agency, so as to achieve the financing made available to the Cameroonian government.