(Business in Cameroon) – The African Development Bank (AfDB), a key financial backer of the Batchenga-Lena road construction project, has expressed concerns about the slow pace of work. Serge N’Guessan, the director of the AfDB’s Central Africa office, raised these concerns during a two-day field visit to the site last week, urging the Chinese company Sinohydro to speed up the project. “work must be done day and night,” he said.
The AfDB’s impatience is due to the looming deadline for the closure of financing, set for December 31. With just six weeks left, several sections of the road in the Central region are still unfinished. There are still 25 kilometers of road left to pave and four bridges to complete.
The big question now is whether Sinohydro has the capacity to finish the project on time. Serge N’Guessan is confident. “I know companies that can pave one kilometer per day,” he pointed out, suggesting that doubling the teams on site could help achieve this pace.
Maurice Njontu, head of the road projects division at the Ministry of Public Works (Mintp), acknowledges that completing over 25 kilometers in just six weeks is a significant challenge. “We are doing everything possible to ensure that the remaining 25 kilometers are paved before the end of the year,” he said.
To meet this challenge, Mintp has made some suggestions to Sinohydro. “We have encouraged the company to increase its teams. We’ve allowed them to work at night, on holidays, and with both day and night shifts, and we have given them the option to double the teams if necessary,” Njontu explained.
Furthermore, Mintp has advised Sinohydro to use accelerators to speed up the drying process of concrete. This method allows concrete to cure in 15 days instead of the usual 28 days, which is critical for completing the four remaining bridges.
It’s important to note that this road, part of the National Highway No. 15 corridor, has faced significant delays. One of the delays was caused by the failure of the Chinese company CR20, which was responsible for one of the two sections of the road. To stay on track, Sinohydro, originally tasked with the second section, was brought in last February to address CR20’s shortcomings.
The Batchenga-Ntui-Lena-Tibati-Ngaoundéré road is a vital infrastructure project. It provides an alternative route—about 200 km shorter—that connects Cameroon’s ports in Douala and Kribi to N’Djaména, the capital and main city of Chad, improving regional integration in Central Africa.
The National Highway No. 15 development project involves paving 597 kilometers between Batchenga and Ngaoundéré. The first phase of the project covers 412 kilometers from Batchenga to Ngatt, located 32 kilometers from Tibati in the Adamawa region. The project, valued at CFA359 billion, is financed by the AfDB (CFA101 billion), the African Development Fund (CFA9 billion), the Islamic Development Bank (CFA109 billion), the Central African States Development Bank (CFA40 billion), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (CFA26 billion), and the government of Cameroon (CFA27 billion).
