Aimed at strengthening relations between the two countries while boosting trade between West and Central Africa, the Cameroon-Nigeria highway project is a top Government priority. Financed by the African Development Bank, the World Bank and Japan’s Agency for International Development and officially titled the Nigeria-Cameroon Multinational Highway and Transport Facilitation Project, the £308-million highway will connect Bamenda in northwestern Cameroon to Enugu in eastern Nigeria via a 269-mile-long corridor, and will include a 280-metre border bridge over the Cross River. First conceived back in the mid-1980’s, the project did not advance until donors stepped in to offer aid in 2008, considering it a strategic catalyst in diffusing lingering political unease between Cameroon and Nigeria. Work on the highway began over the summer of 2010 and it is slated for completion in 2013.
The road forms part of the Trans-African Highway, which is intended to link Lagos, Nigeria, to Mombasa, Kenya. The project contractor, the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, is overseeing the construction of 126 miles in Cameroon and 149 miles of the highway in Nigeria.
A second bridge for Douala. The Government has signed an accord with France to finance a second bridge over the Wouri River in Douala that will further aid with traffic congestion in the city. The agreement also provides for a cleaning of the city’s water ways. The new 820-metre Wouri Bridge will have five lanes for traffic and a two-way railway line.
Doubling the number of paved roads by 2015. The Government is committed to following its Road Master Plan that plans to double the number of paved road in the country by 2015. The Government’s primary road project is the new £667-million Douala-Yaounde-Bafoussam-Douala highway loop. Currently considered one of the most treacherous stretches of highway in Africa, the new road is expected to significantly reduce accidents and ensure a steady flow of goods between the country’s three largest cities.
New deep water port alternative to Douala. The planned Kribi deep water port will offer an effective alternative to the country’s main port in Douala and tops the list among major new infrastructure projects taking place. The port will support the take-off of the country’s mining sector, with its specialised terminals and deep berthing, and allow for large shipments of Cameroonian bauxite, iron ore, and aluminium. Kribi will accommodate huge commercial vessels with a capacity of up to 100,000 tonnes and a draught of 15 to 16 metres.
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