(Business in Cameroon) - Cameroon is seeking a loan of CFA61.5 billion from Deutsche Bank Italy for Phase I of the construction of the Olounou-Oveng road linking Cameroon to Gabon. Last August 26, President Paul Biya issued a decree authorizing the Minister of Economy, Alamine Ousmane Mey, to sign a deal with the lender.

For this first phase, which covers 70 km of the 105 km of road to be built, the work will focus on the construction of a 1 x 2 lane road of 3.5 m with a reference speed of 60 km/h; 59 cross drainage structures; 13 bridges of various lengths for a total linear length of 260 m; crossroads; horizontal and vertical signs and safety equipment. Phase I is expected to last 24 months.

"Building this road section, as provided for in the 3-year Emergency Plan to Accelerate Economic Growth (PLANUT), will help open up the production basins by connecting each of the cities concerned by this project to the structuring network; extend the paved road network of the southern region to the major production basins; facilitate the flow of agro-pastoral production to the major consumption centers of Cameroon and Gabon; improve the population’s access to basic infrastructure and boost their income by facilitating the sales of their production,” according to the Ministry of Public Works.

As a reminder, in February last year, Nganou Djoumessi Emmanuel signed a commercial contract estimated at CFA67 billion with the Italian company Seas under the project. This amount was finally revised down to CFA61.5 billion after arbitrations between the parties.

Written by: Sylvain Andzongo

Translated from French by Firmine AIZAN