In its press release published on May 6, 2020, the African Development Bank (AfDB) has announced the disbursement the sum of CFAF 26.9 billion on April 30, 2020, for the construction of the bridge over the Logone river which connects Cameroon to Chad. The two beneficiary countries of this investment each received part of these funds for the realization of their joint project.
Cameroon received 20.785 million euros (about 13.6 billion FCFA) and Chad received 19.215 million euros (about 12.6 billion FCFA).
“This is funding provided under the Africa Investment Facility mechanism, as part of a framework agreement between the AfDB Group and the European Commission. These funds will co-finance the construction costs of the bridge between Yagoua in Cameroon and Bongor in Chad, the access roads (14.2 km divided into 7.4 km on the Chadian side and 6.8 km on the Cameroonian side) and studies feasibility.”
Thanks to these funds, the project that began on February 27, 2020 with the laying of the foundation stone by the Chadian President, Idriss Deby Itno, accompanied by the Cameroonian Prime Minister, Joseph Dion Ngute, will accelerate.
The construction of this bridge to last 36 months, according to the contractual deadline, aims to: “promote interstate trade, in particular between Cameroon and Chad, to reduce journey times and transport costs, and improve the accessibility of basic services by neighboring communities.”
With a length of 620 meters, this “project has a total cost of 92 billion CFA francs, including CFAF 74 billion for the structure itself and CFAF 18 billion for related projects.
