(Business in Cameroon) - Minister of Public Works (MINTP) Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi recently issued a restricted call for tenders to select consultants for the technical, economic, environmental and social studies of the 270km road section connecting Yokadouma and Moloundou to the Congolese border in East-Cameroon. 

The consulting firms shortlisted for the procedure are Ecta BTP, Groupement Ceco BTP/Cincat International SA/MBT International SA, Groupement Socotect/GAIC/Batech Engineering, Groupement Setec International/Setec Côte d’Ivoire/Cerbat, Groupement Didon Conseil Sarl/Rainbow Env Cosult and groupement ACE/ACIA/Alpha Consul. “Every consulting firm on this restricted list should kindly confirm receipt of the invitation letter via letter, fax or mail, by October 14, 2021,” the MINTP stresses. 

Should this project be successfully implemented, the 270km road would be the second highway to link Cameroon and Congo. Indeed, on March 6, 2020, Denis Sassou Nguesso, President of the Republic of Congo, inaugurated a 300km road linking Ketta (in Congo) to the Ntam border post in South Cameroon. Nicknamed "route de l’intégration" (regional integration road) because it ensures better access to major regional markets and helps boost integration, it costs XAF103 billion, 90% of which were prefunded by the African Development Bank (AfDB). 

The infrastructure is part of the Brazzaville-Yaoundé corridor. It improves the circulation of people and goods between the two countries but also bridges the isolation of areas with high economic potential for agriculture, minerals, and timber in northern Congo and southeastern Cameroon.

The construction of roads connecting Cameroon and Congo is one of the goals of the Central African 2019-2025 strategic document for regional integration. The key focus of that document is to address the infrastructure deficit in the energy and transport sectors in line with the AfDB’s strategic priorities that are “Feed Africa”, “Integrate Africa”, and “Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa.”

S.A.