The bridge over the Logone River, which links the Cameroonian town of Yagoua and the Chadian town of Bongor, is scheduled for completion in 2024. Works are already 43% completed, the Minister of Public Works, Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi, said following a recent site visit.
“We are doing everything possible to complete the works and deliver the bridge on March 4, 2024, as initially planned,” said Dieudonné Zonou, who heads the project management unit. An optimistic Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi even believes completion could come ahead of schedule given the dynamism of the companies Razel and Sotcogog, the contract winners.
Building this 620m infrastructure is for the Cameroonian government an opportunity to boost its trade exchange with its neighbor Chad. In 2021, the landlocked country absorbed 3.8% of Cameroon’s African exports, making it the main destination for Cameroonian exports on the continent over the period.
This is the second of such infrastructure to be built between the two countries, after the Nguéli Bridge, which connects the cities of Kousseri in Cameroon and Ndjamena in Chad. It is expected to cost CFA74 billion, with financing coming from the African Development Bank (ADB) and the European Union (EU).
In addition to the bridge, the project includes the construction of 14.2 km of access roads: 7.4 km on the Chadian side, and 6.8 km on the Cameroonian side; as well as related facilities consisting mainly of socio-economic infrastructure (border posts, signaling system…). This brings the total cost of the project to about CFA92 billion.