Lukong Pius Nyuylime
4 March 2008
CEMAC countries and finance institutions sign series of loan agreements to accelerate road construction project.
Inter-regional and intra-regional trade in the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) can only grow and blossom if there is a viable road network. Cameroon's Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Louis Paul Motaze and the Vice President of the African Development Bank (AFDB) in charge of Infrastructure, Private Sector and Regional Integration, Mandla Gantsho, recently signed a loan agreement of 76 million dollars (about CFA 37.5 billion) to enhance projects in this light.
According to the agreement, the money will be used to finance the Douala-Bangui and Douala N'djamena road corridor, linking Cameroon, the Central African Republic and Chad. "The loan's main objectives are to contribute to the growth of intra- and inter-regional trade in the Economic and Monetary Union of Central African States (CEMAC) zone as well as enhance the efficiency of the transport chain, including road infrastructure, railways and access along the Douala-Ndjamena and Douala-Bangui corridors», a statement issued at the signing ceremony said.
In June 2007, the World Bank Board of Executive Directors equally approved a 201-million dollar (about CFA 100 billion) regional operation to finance transport and trade improvements in Cameroon, Chad and the Central African Republic. The financial package consists of an International Development Association (IDA) credit of 147 million dollars to Cameroon, 24 million dollars to the Central African Republic and 30 million dollars to Chad for the three countries to finance the Transport Transit Facilitation Project.
Easy Movement
"The Transport Facilitation and Transit Programme of the Douala-Bangui and Douala-Ndjamena corridor is part of a sub-regional strategic investment which will enable the Republic of Cameroon, a transit country in particular, and CEMAC member states to promote and facilitate regional integration by improving free movement of people and goods," Motaze said. The project, in effect, opens up the port of Douala to Chad and the CAR thereby contributing to poverty reduction and improving the living environment of the population.
The sub-regional project is part of the multi donor effort to improve transport infrastructure, which is co-funded by the African Development Fund, the European Union, the French Development Agency and the World Bank's International Development Agency (IDA).
The timeliness of the project needs not to be overemphasized considering that transport costs in the sub-region remain among the highest in the African continent. For Chad and the CAR, both landlocked countries, transport costs represent 52 per cent and 33 per cent of the export value respectively. Travelling by road from Douala to N'Djamena currently takes an average of 15 days while travelling from the same place to Bangui in the Central African Republic takes at least 10 days. Meantime, delays at the port can increase the number of days to about 28 or even 30. The project targets specific sections of the road corridors connecting N'Djamena and Bangui to Douala for rehabilitation alongside rail improvement. The project recognises the need for regional cooperation to facilitate issues for landlocked economies.
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