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The African Development Bank (AfDB) is funding two ongoing major projects in Cameroon – the Project to Develop Access Roads to the Industrial and Port Area of Kribi (PARZIK) and the Yaoundé City Sustainable Enhanced Drainage and Sanitation Project (PCADY).

Serge N’Guessan, the bank’s Director-General for Central Africa, and Alamine Ousman Mey, Cameroon’s Minister of the Economy, Planning, and Regional Development, signed the loan agreement on 20 September 2022 in Yaoundé. 

Under the agreement, PARZIK received €40 million, following an earlier €114 million tranche. The PCADY project will receive €33.5 million. 

“For the African Development Bank Group, these two operations bring the volume of its active portfolio in Cameroon to almost €2 billion, broken down into 25 operations,” said N’Guessan. 

He added, “The transport sector alone accounts for 51.6% of the portfolio, or more than €1 billion, demonstrating the leading role of the African Development Bank Group in financing the transport sector in the country and the sub-region.”

The PARZIK project will include:

1. Rehabilitation and upgrade of the 110 kilometres of the Edéa-Kribi section and 39km of the Lolabé-Campo cross-border bridge with Equatorial Guinea over the Ntem River section. The construction phase of this part of the project is expected to begin in 2023. 
2. Socio-economic activities will boost the region and help pockets of fragility and gender imbalances in the project impact area.
3. Improvement of mobility and security and measures to mitigate the negative impact of traffic in and around the complex.

The project is expected to improve the transport system in Cameroon by achieving optimal operation of the Kribi Industrial Port Complex and promoting regional integration in Central Africa. 

The PCADY Project is in line with the objectives of the Yaoundé City Sustainable Sanitation Project (PADY) Phase 1 and 2. Under these two phases, 17 kilometres of canals were constructed in the watercourses that drain Yaoundé City. The canals have decreased the frequency and impact of floods in the region, but new problem areas call for building new structures. 

The new construction works are:

1. Waste treatment and management.
2. The construction of a flood retention basin.
3. Maintenance of roads on the banks of existing canals and their integration into the urban transport network.
4. Solving the problem of recollection and recovery of solid household waste. 

An US$8 million grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) will be used to undertake design studies for the planned Ongot landfill in Yaoundé. The grant will also go to constructing a treatment centre for hazardous waste in Douala’s Ngombé district.

Top Photo: A drainage system in the Yaoundé area as part of the PADY II project (sgigroupe.com)