(Business in Cameroon) - On March 16, during the designated question time in plenary, Jean Claude Mbwentchou, the minister of housing announced that the government was exploring ways to minimize the cost of the social housings’ construction.

In that regard, the minister explained, Cameroon has initiated discussions with CIMENCAM, a subsidiary of LafargeHolcim, to set purchasing offices in order to reduce the cost of building materials and consequently make the social housings affordable to modest income earners.

To justify the ongoing discussions, Jean Claude Mbwentchou indicated that for the time being, the housing construction costs are onerous for many reasons.  For instance, he said, there is the shortage of government’s lands and the compensations for the lands taken for the construction are high. Moreover, the building materials (cement, iron, steel sheets, etc…) are expensive and the tax burden is high. In addition, there is the fact that materials are produced and transported on a small-scale.  

S.A