(Business in Cameroon) - The Cameroonian government unveiled plans to extend its asphalted road network over the coming years. The plan, according to the integrated infrastructure strategy S2ITM, is to pave 1888,719 km of additional roads.

In detail, 656.959 km will be done in 2024, 414.6 km in 2025, and 817.16 km in 2026. For 2023, projections are 700 km, almost double the 395 km paved in 2022. The realization of this ambition will bring the total asphalted road network to nearly 12,000 km by the end of 2026, against 9,539.5 km at the end of 2022. A significant step forward since most of the country’s road network is still dirt (92.5% in 2021).

The project will further open up industrial zones, make access to production basins easier, and facilitate the movement of people. In terms of financial resources, road projects have always concentrated a large part of the state budget in Cameroon. Over the next three years, the Ministry of Public Works is expected to receive CFA3,853.027 billion, averaging CFA1,300 billion annually. For 2023, this department’s budget allocation was CFA491.5 billion, accounting for 7.8% of the overall state budget.

However, beyond the difficulties in raising funds, the insecurity in certain regions of the country is an obstacle that could slow down the progress of the work. The Anglophone crisis in the Northwest and Southwest regions is the most obvious. According to data from the Ministry of Public Works, asphalting work could not be carried out on about 44% of the Northwest’s road network due to the crisis.