(Business in Cameroon) - The construction of the Ring Road has been among the huge expectations of the North-West since 1983. President Paul Biya told cheering crowds that he will “personally supervise” the tarring of the Ring Road.

According to the Ministry of the Economy and that of Transport it is a heavy task to find partners capable of mobilizing 143 billion CFA francs (€ 220 million) to carry this project to completion. As of now, part of the road is under construction; the 61 km stretch from Ndop to Kumbo is under construction. Sogea Satom Cameroon is carrying out the work at the cost of 22 billion CFA francs.

Winding across valleys and over hilltops, the Ring Road is seen as the key to unlocking the economic potential of the region, whose people are among the most dynamic in the country.

The road leads to the country’s largest tea farm and factory in the chilly Ndu sub-division and a vast palm oil production basin in the warm Mboh plain.

Also the country’s largest cattle producers after the Adamawa, a dairy and beef processing industry have failed to develop because of transportation difficulties. And touristic potentials like the Menchum falls and the majestic rocks in Ndop have been left unexploited.

BOD