United States assesses work at Marché Congo in Douala

The construction site at Marché Congo, not far from a place called Ancien 3e, received a delegation from the U.S Embassy in Cameroon on September 7.

Led by Dr Derrin R. Smith, Deputy Head of the Embassy's political and economic affairs section, the team from Yaoundé assessed the status of this project spread over 6000 square meters on which some 700 merchants will settle at the end of the work.

As a reminder, the project (with a total cost of 7 billion FCFA and fruit of a public-private partnership) is directed by the Cameroon subsidiary of South West International Construction Corporation (Sicc), an American enterprise specialized in the construction of residential and commercial buildings.

It is therefore not surprising that the American technology is being implemented. As explained by Tim Truax, an expert from the United States and Ms. Soppo Ngalle, Executive Director of Sicc - Cameroon, visitors could attend drilling operations from the ground "with stakes that go up to 4 m of depth", stated Ms. Soppo Ngalle. They plan to reach a firm surface before the rest of the work, "with the Congo soil being unstable”.

"The U.S. Embassy's political and Economic Affairs section is very interested in the creation of partnerships with private structures ". This contributes to create jobs in Cameroon, and to create jobs in the United States," Derrin R. Smith said after the visit.

The delegation then visited the industrial zone of Bassa, where Sicc-Cameroon built a plant intended to produce "before end of 2015", according to Ms. Soppo Ngalle, (prefabricated) parts for the erection of trading spaces or housing.

The topic of housing was the last discussion of yesterday’s visit, with a descent to Bwang-Bakoko (3rd District of Douala), where a 183 housing project gradually emerges. They visited the fully completed housing and the provision of its first amenities. More than 65% of the work has been completed. The rest is to assemble housing kits, noted the company.