Lom Pangar: EDC releases 3.2 billion to population

The future of the population of Lom Pangar is the central concern of EDC to the extent that some income generating activities are likely to stop.

EDC has signed with the Netherlands Development Organisation (Snv), a contract "for the restoration of living standards of the local population and the implementation of local development plan (Pdl) hydroelectric project in Lom Pangar," revealed La Nouvelle Expression newspaper on Tuesday, October 20, 2015.

The SNV's role is to help people around the dam site in the development of their activities, "Agriculture, livestock, fishing, gold panning, health, archeology, biodiversity (forest and wildlife), ecotourism and water supply," listed the newspaper.

According to Phomolo Maphosa, a resident representative of SNV in Cameroon, "the project will be funded to the tune of FCFA 3.2 billion. The first phase estimated at over FCFA 2.2 billion, will allow the establishment of a local development plan," she said. The second phase in turn, funded "around FCFA 997 million, should be allocated to the construction of infrastructure," added Phomolo Maphosa.

The vast project of the Lom Pangar hydroelectric dam has an impact on the environment and the activities of local communities. EDC-SNV partnership aims to "mitigate these environmental and social impacts generated by the project as communicated by the Environmental and Social (PGEs) and the Compensation and Resettlement Plan (Pir) and unsupported account by the components 1 (dam) and 2 (plant and transmission line)," said Theodore Nsangou CEO of EDC.

According to the CEO of EDC, people expect a lot from the construction of the Lom Pangar dam. It is normal to think "the launch of restoration activities / improvement of living standards", after the relocation of their lifestyle related to the requisition of spaces that the project required.