The official ceremony to launch the works of the second phase of the Yaounde-Douala motorway took place yesterday. It was during a ceremony chaired by the Minister of Public Works Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi For the construction of this infrastructure which covers a linear distance of 141.1 km between Bibodi in Nyong and Kelle and Douala the economic capital of the country, a provisional budget of just over 899 billion FCFA is planned. It should also be noted that these works will be carried out on the basis of a unit price contract. This implies that the company will be paid according to the services provided on the ground.
The highway infrastructure aims to connect the cities of Yaoundé and Douala, facilitate trade within the Central African sub-region via the Douala-N’Djamena, Douala-Bangui and Douala-Brazzaville corridors, improve transport and transit on said corridors and contribute to the development of the localities crossed by the infrastructure.
For its implementation, the Minister of Public Works reassured that the project will not experience the same difficulties as the first phase. ” The second phase will not last as long as the first for at least two reasons. First, we have learned lessons from the execution of the work of the first phase. We will capitalize on them. Then, it is the same company that tested its technical capabilities in the first phase that is continuing the work,” said Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi.
The works are being carried out by the Chinese company China First Highway Engineering Company (CFHEC). For this phase II, five sections will be carried out: including Bibodi – Bodmon (39.5 km), Bodmon – Edéa East (Song Dong) 34 km, Edéa East (Song Dong) – Edéa West (Logbadjeck) 30 km, Edéa Ouest (Logbadjeck) – Pitti gare (18 km) and Pitti gare – Massoumbou (19.5 km). They will be carried out in 36 months, including 8 months for the design and 28 months for the execution of the works.
“Anticipatory measures have already been taken. I would like to reassure the populations who will know their impacted property that no home, no farm, will be destroyed without the payment of the corresponding compensation,” reassured the Ministry of Public Works He thus urged the populations to be civic-minded and especially patriotic “for a successful completion” of this motorway infrastructure.
Phase 1 work started in 2014 was completed in 2022. The work launched yesterday will connect Yaoundé to Douala via a 201.5 km highway infrastructure. If we add the cost of the first 60 kilometers, the complete construction of this infrastructure will exceed 1,200 billion FCFA.
