Cameroon and Nigeria to construct a bridge over the Cross River

Cameroon and Nigeria have just launched a joint call for tenders to recruit an independent consultant who will design a border bridge between Mfum (Nigerian side) and Ekok (Cameroonian side). This bridge will link the the Bamenda-Mamfe-Ekok (203 km) corridor in Cameroon and Enugu-Abakaliki-Mfum (238 km) in Nigeria ( Transafrican highway)

A so-called common component of this corridor is the construction of a bridge over the Cross River, including its 403 ml span access routes between Ekok and Mfum. The specific objective assigned to the consultant who will be selected is to examine the design of the new bridge, in order to check its adequacy and effectiveness.

The region concerned by this project has potential resources with regard to cash crops, forestry and fishery resources, mines, as well as tourism resources. However, the development of these resources and the development of the region are essentially hampered by the current poor traffic conditions and high rainfall, around 3,400 mm per year in Mamfe and 2,000 mm / year in the area Batibo.

The Mamfé-Ekok journey (70 km), the cost of transporting a person varies between 2,000 and 3,000 FCFA in the dry season and increases to 5,000 FCFA in the rainy season (about 9 months over one year).

This cost reaches 15,000 FCFA when travelling by motorcycle. Those who come from the Mfum side also complain about the high cost of transport. A situation that the Cameroonian and Nigerian parties want to change by building a border bridge to boost trade.

The duration of the bridge construction is four months and tenders for the design of this bridge is expected latest July 27.