On May 31, 2018, in Douala, the second bridge on the Wouri was partially commissioned.  The minutes for this purpose was signed by the members of the construction’s supervisory board presided by the minister of public works Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi.

According to authorized sources, the sections partially commissioned are namely, the Bonabéri section, the access to the nationale n°3  coming from the older Bonaberi bridge to Bonassama roundabout, the railway of Cami bridge, the superstructure of the old bridge as well as the CO and C8 viaduct.

Let’s note however that works remain to be done on the section as the completion rate is estimated at 93%.

Estimated at CFA141.6 billion, the second bridge on the Wouri is constituted of a 756-meters long road and 746-Meters long railway. It is a strategic bridge since it will ease the traffic between Bonabéri (an industrial zone), downtown Douala, the Northwest, Southwest and Western Cameroon.

S.A

This year, Cameroon will disburse CFA11.3 billion to build 28 drains on the nationale 3, Yaoundé.

The 215-kilometer itinerary is divided into two lots. The first lot from Yaoundé to Ndoupé bridge (106 km), the second lot spans from Ndoupé to Dibamba (109 km).

The first lot will be handled by Routd’AF which will build 18 drains to replace the old ones on that itinerary. Four of those have already completed. According to the minister of public works, the completion rate of this lot is 31%, for 31% of the set fund.

On the second lot, 10 gutters will be constructed by Mag Sarl. Here, the completion rate is 5% and 20% of the set fund has been used.

“The traffic and security will be improved and eased on the nationale n°3, Yaoundé –Dibamba bridge as of 2019 when the works are set to be completed", the minister said.

S.A

On May 24-25, 2018, Gabriel Bengono, executive director of Société Immobilière du Cameroun, visited the sites planned to host the social housing in Maroua and Garoua in the North of Cameroon.

According to the director, the site in Maroua is 5.5 hectares at Zokok Laddeo. It should host 400 social houses. The director indicated that the studies and fund search are ongoing and the works should start soon. In Garoua, the 4.5 hectares site is located at Koleré and should host 700 houses. Apart from those sites, Société Immobilière du Cameroun wants to renovate the houses in Borno.

Let’s note that in the framework of the PLANUT, initiated a little more than two years ago by Cameroon, 800 other social houses are already being built in Garoua and Maroua. According to the ministry of housing, the physical execution rate for the PLANUT houses are 45% in Maroua and 40% in Garoua. Alliances in charge of the construction have been required to set a new planning to complete the works by August 2018.

S.A

On May 31, 2018, during the cabinet council in Yaoundé, Jean Claude Mbwentchou, Cameroon’s minister of housing, revealed that 53 kilometers of drains are being built in Yaoundé and Douala for rainwater drainage.

In Yaoundé, the ongoing construction of 14 kilometers of drainage system will reduce floodings and water-related diseases. In Douala, 39 kilometers will be built and 9 kilometers of spillway will be reshaped.

Let’s remind that Yaoundé and Douala are regularly flooded during the raining season. In 2016, Louis Berger and B.E.C la routière, were awarded the CFA1.7 billion contract for the supervision, and coordination of the works on the drainage ditch in Douala.  

As for the Mfoundi canal, it is part of the Programme d’aménagement de Yaoundé (Pady), which is in its second phase. For that purpose, the French Development Agency provided CFA52.5 billion to Cameroon. During the first phase of that project, financed by AfDB (CFA22.3 billion), a canal of 3.5 kilometers was constructed.

S.A

Subjected to the French Agency for Development’s agreement, Razel will renovate 22 kilometers of roads and drain in Garoua, sources close to the case inform.  

This renovation falls in the framework of the works in preparation of the AFCON 2019 that will be played in Cameroon. It is also part of the project called capitales régionales  (regional capitals) funded by the  C2D Debt Reduction and Development Contracts.

Let’s note that the C2D contract is a debt remission initiative of the French government to allow the beneficiaries to invest in projects that will improve the living conditions of the populations.

BRM    

Cameroon road council (Conseil national de la route-Conaroute) reveals that in 2017, the road fund disbursed CFA61.9 billion to fund 40 road maintenance projects in 37 towns in Cameroon. This was revealed on May 24, 2018, in Yaoundé after a meeting of the road council.

Let’s note that formerly, the road fund was financed by some taxes collected by the public treasury for road maintenance projects. Lately, however, an investment section has been created to build new roads.

BRM

Group Five and its subsidiaries aim to win infrastructure contract in Cameroon to demonstrate its know-how. This is at least what Themba Mosai, the group’s CEO reveals.

The operating field is quite large for the multi-sectoral group which is operational in 26 African countries in the mining, energy, transport, and construction sectors.

Let’s note that the group backed by the investment fund Pembani Remgro was among the three groups invited to submit their final proposal for the construction and management of the 14 automatic toll gates in Cameroon.

Brice R. Mbodiam

On May 24, 2018, during the annual asembly of the African Development Bank (AfDB) in Busan (South Korea), Alamine Ousmane Mey, Cameroon’s minsiter of economy, signed three loan agreements worth CFA37.45 billion.

The first agreement (for a CFA21.86 billion loan signed with AfDB) will be used to partially fund the construction of a 620-meter bridge across Logone river. Still in the framework of this same project, which will be another official exchange point connecting Yagoua in Cameroon to Bongor in Chad, the minister signed the second agreement for a CFA7.79 billion loan with the African Development Fund (ADF).

The last agreement has been signed with the OPEC fund for international development. This CFA7.8 billion loan will be used for the second phase of the rural electrification project which aims to improve access to energy by providing electricity to102 localities.

S.A

Following the Competitive dialogue procedure conducted from January 29 to February 16, 2018, for the construction of 14 automatic toll gates in Cameroon, the minister of public works invites the groups of companies shortlisted to submit their final proposals by May 28, 2018.

The first group is constituted of Razel, Bec and Egis Projects. The second is the consortium of Vinci Highway, Sogea Satom, and Vinci Concessions. The third group includes Group Five and Intertoll Africa Limited. They should submit an offer in three lots: administrative, technical and financial.

Let’s remind that according to the list of the group of companies shortlisted after the restricted call to tender of August 25, 2017, the consortium lead by Razel was top of the list with 94.7 out of 100-grade marks. Next was Vinci Highways’ group with 86.5 and Group Five’s consortium with 80.5.

For the record, Cameroon decided to build automatic tolls in 2009 after a study revealed that only 14 of the 45 tolls in the country were profitable. Indeed, they generate 75% of the revenues in the sector.

Sylvain Andzongo

Weeks ago, the South African construction group Raubex was commissioned to build Douala Grand Mall & Business Park. Since April 25, 2018, this same company has been in charge of the construction of a 3-star hotel for Onomo Cameroon (A CFA15.5 billion investment from Onomo International).

These projects will boost Raubex’s financial health after the drop of investments in the construction sector in South Africa where the company is the leader of the road construction market.

Indeed, according to the Nigerian business news Business Day, during the financial year that ended in February 2018, the orders Raubex received from the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) registered a significant drop from 23% to 12%.

The website also reveals that “L&R Civils, a company acquired in July 2012 in anticipation of a roll-out of water infrastructure projects in Gauteng, was closed down (…) Raubex also closed Strata Civils, which contributed revenue of R37.2m and suffered a net loss of R17.5m. Construction orders from the provincial government fell by 54% and those from municipalities dropped by 11%”.

In view of that tendency in the construction market in South Africa, Raubex entered the real estate market to stay profitable. “We’ve had to shift our focus while we wait for Sanral and the government to spend more on projects. This is why we are doing more private work, including building and selling houses as well as refurbishing shopping centres. We are operating more in Africa, with new exciting work in Cameroon”, Rudolf Fourie, CEO of Raubex, said during the presentation of the company’s financial results in February 2018.

Thanks to this focus shift (the acquisition of 70% of the Australian group Westforce Construction Group in January 2018) and mainly to the contracts won in Cameroon, the company expects to boost its overall revenues which dropped by 5.1% during the fiscal year under review to stand at R8.54billion (CFA351 billion).

Brice R. Mbodiam