Congo - Cameroon integration: 312 km road worth $180m operationalized

A 312 kilometre road linking Congolese capital Brazzaville to Yaoundé in Cameroon has gone operational.

The road is part of the integration plan of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), which aims to interconnect the capitals of its eleven member countries.

The asphalt road which cost over $180 million starts from Ketta to Ntam on the Cameroonian border. 90% of it was pre-financed by the African Development Bank

Inaugurating the road, Congolese President, Denis Sassou Nguesso, challenged ECCAS countries to work to better connect the economic community.

“Take the case of Congo, it is connected to Cameroon, we are there. Congo connected to the Central African Republic, we are not there yet. I think we’ll get there. Plans are underway for the Congo to be linked to the DRC thanks to a road-rail bridge over the Congo River.”

The communication route designed to open up the hinterland of the two countries was constructed by Chinese company Sinohydro Tianji Engineering Corporation Ltd.

Méféré Mohamed, a Cameroonian who moved to Sangha 14 years ago, commenting of the development said: “in the past years everything came from Cameroon: nutrition, clothing, textiles in general and not forgetting beer.

“Everything that is agro-food came out of Cameroon for Congo. Today, with the completion of this road, I believe that we will consume both Congo and Cameroon products here in Souanké. I mean products that come from Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire and others that come from Douala and Yaoundé.”

After Gabon in 2014, Cameroon is the second country in the sub-region connected to Congo by an asphalt road.