Canadian construction firm Magil Construction has renewed its bid to build a second bridge over the Dibamba River on the eastern approach to Douala, this time with a financing proposal.
Ralph Tropea, the company’s representative, met with Public Works Minister Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi on Feb. 24, 2026, and formally submitted a proposal to secure financing from the group’s international financial partners.
The amount has not been officially disclosed. According to a source close to the matter, the package would be around 59 billion CFA francs (approximately 90 million euros), in line with the project’s initial cost estimate. The approach is intended to avoid restarting a financing process considered lengthy and complex.
The project was announced in 2021 but has stalled after the expected 85.5 billion CFA francs in funding failed to materialize through Standard Chartered Bank London. Magil’s offer is intended as an alternative solution. The contractor is proposing an EPC+F arrangement (engineering, procurement, construction and financing) to accelerate the project’s launch, aiming to break ground once phase two of the eastern bypass is completed, which is scheduled for June 2026.
Under this structure, Magil would handle design, execution and financing in a turnkey arrangement. According to an authoritative source, the minister is currently reviewing the proposal to assess its compatibility with approved budget ceilings for the 2026-2027 fiscal years.
An aging bridge under strain, and ongoing works
The second bridge is planned as part of broader upgrades to Douala’s eastern bypass. The existing structure, now 42 years old, is no longer suited to the heavy truck traffic it carries daily. Its deck has already undergone several rounds of repairs.
The existing bridge, which stretches more than 400 meters, is currently under repair following vibrations reported by motorists, according to reports.
The widening of the roadway on the eastern approach to Douala and the construction of a second bridge over the Dibamba are intended to ease traffic on national highway N3, which links Douala to Yaoundé and to Kribi, a coastal city in the south that is home to a deep-water port.
The Douala-Yaoundé road is also a critical link in the Douala-N’Djamena and Douala-Bangui corridors. According to Cameroonian customs, goods worth 350 billion CFA francs from Chad and 55 billion CFA francs from the Central African Republic transit through these corridors each year.
Frédéric Nonos
