The government of Cameroon has signed a US $20m loan agreement with the African Development Bank (AfDB) for the construction of a Ring Road which will connect the Northwestern region of Cameroon, to Nigeria.
Construction of the Ring Road
The 357-km Ring Road will cross six of the seven departmental capitals in the Northwestern region. The road project will be in line with the government’s Growth and Employment Strategy Paper (GESP) 2010-2020, to build an integrated and efficient transport network at low-cost that will cover the entire country; opening it to neighbouring countries, and in turn effectively enhance economic growth and also reduce poverty.
Also read:Cameroon to pave 550-metre road in Mfoundi Division
Benefits
The project, which falls under phase three of the country’s Transport Sector Support Programme, aims to strengthen the foundations for strong and sustainable growth by promoting domestic and regional trade.
The project will have a positive impact on transportation where it will reduce travel time, and traffic of passengers and goods. The road will also result in savings on vehicle operating costs; increase in household income and reduction in post-harvest losses. The project will also help create jobs for women and over 30,000 youths.
The project will also include institutional support for the transport sector and related works such as the development of rural roads and the rehabilitation of socio-economic infrastructure in the countries.
The North West Region has a total of 4,200km of road network, 350km of which are paved. Stakeholders which include officials of the Ministry of Public Works, control engineers, road construction and civil engineering companies, amongst others will examine some of the road infrastructure projects being executed.
