Cameroon Govt launches FCFA 46B project to decongest Yaounde

The Cameroon government has launched a project worth FCFA 46.2 billion to construct new roads, open up road junctions and construct new motor parks in Yaounde with the aim of decongesting the city.

The project, called “Cœur de la Ville” (Heart of town), is part of the C2D project, a debt relief and development initiative implemented by the French Development Agency in poor countries.

The three-year project consists of building a peripheral road and reconstructing some major road junctions in Yaounde.

It will also involve building a new subway, an intersection bridge across some roads in the city, and a new motor park at Mvan and Messa (Mokolo).

The government will contribute FCFA 8.5 billion to the project, while the French government will provide the rest of the funds.

The project is expected to begin in mid-2024 and will last till 2027.

According to the project’s coordinators, over 1,000 people will be affected by the rehabilitation works, and the government has allocated FCFA 1 billion to compensate them.

The project will affect three major areas in Yaounde, which are prone to congestion: Mvan, Elig-Effa, Elig-Edzoa.

The Messa bus station will be constructed on a 1,516m² piece of land and will also involve the opening of a 1.2km access road and a sidewalk.

At Elig-Edzoa junction, the project will construct an overpass in coated beams, with two spans of 40 m long and 8m wide.

A 5,941m² car park reserved for long-distance buses will be constructed at Mvan, while Carrefour Mvan will be redeveloped into a traffic light intersection.

The Cœur de Ville project is a much-needed investment in Yaoundé’s infrastructure.

The city has witnessed a spike in its population in recent years due to the influx of internally displaced persons from the North West, South West and the Far North Regions as well as refugees.

“Yaoundé Cœur de la Ville has set itself the mission of improving the efficiency of the road network of the capital city, by intervening at intersections and places where major traffic jams occur in the heart of the city,” the project’s coordinators said.

The French Development Agency estimates that the population of Yaounde now stands at 4.3 million.

The population increase has put pressure on the city’s social amenities, including roads and water resources.

The road infrastructure in Yaounde remains porous in many parts of the city, where potholes and filth are the new norms.

The project is also expected to create jobs and boost the local economy.

By Washira Helene