Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi, Minister of Public Works, has galvanised the construction firms working on the National Road No. 15 – Batchenga-Ntui-Yoko-Lena-Tibati – into speeding up works on the highway. He stimulated officials of the different firms into action during a three-day inspection visit which took him through the road from Batchenga in the Center Region to Tibati in the Adamawa Region. Minister Nganou Djoumessi was accompanied on the field visit which ended on Wednesday March 6, 2019, by the Secretary of State in the Minister of Public Works in charge of Roads, Armand Ndjodom.
On Tuesday March 5, 2019, after visiting Stretch 4 (YokoLena, 44.9km), Stretch 5 (LenaSengbe, 71.5km) and Stretch 6 (Sengbe-Tibati, 63.6km), he commended the construction firms, Sinohydro Limited Corporation for Stretch 4 and Sogea Satom for Stretches 5 & 6, for their efforts. “The organisation and progress of work is satisfactory,” Nganou Djoumessi noted.
The physical execution rate of Stretch 4 stands at 65.94 per cent while that of Stretches 5 & 6 stand at 1.71 per cent. At each stop along the project itinerary, Minister Nganou Djou messi gave specific directives on what needs to be done to speed up works while maintaining top quality. He was impressed with some of the permanently constructed camps to host construction workers. The Minister told local leaders that it will be their responsibility to sustainably use and preserve the structures when it is handed over to them once construction is completed.
The Batchenga-Ntui-YokoLena-Tibati road project, part of phases one and two of the Support Programme for the Transport Sector, cost over FCFA 360 billion. The road’s main target is to link the Center and Adamawa Regions in order to improve transport conditions and the circulation of people and goods. This infrastructure will boost trade and consolidate Cameroon’s position in the Central African sub-region.
It will reduce travel distance between the north and south of the country by over 200km once its completed. It is jointly sponsored by the African Development Bank Group, French Development Agency, Japan International Cooperation Agency, Development Bank of Central African States and the Government of Cameroon.