BY NDUMBE BELL GASTON IN DOUALA
The Chambers of Commerce of Cameroon and that of Tunisia cosponsored and jointly organized a forum broadly on issues related to the construction industry in Cameroon.
The occasion held recently at the Chamber’s precincts in Douala to acquaint prospective participants ahead of the upcoming Africa Building Construction Exhibition slated for Yaounde on Tuesday April 17-22.
Some important reasons to have fought to organize what is now known as the 1st edition of AFRIBAT Cameroun 2018, it was explained at the forum, is that the sector yields more or less 10% of the GNP and though laden with lots of expertise in the country, the professional associations are badly organized and mostly expatriates win most of the contracts.
In another light, it has been noticed that buildings are no more as solidly built as was the case in the past and as evidenced in collapsing structures in urban and suburban areas. The paints, marbles, floors and details could just be the cause of some infections and home accidents.
The President of the Chamber of Commerce, Christophe Eken threw some light on the above observations “Already the sector yields 10% of the nations GNP and this is a sector that originates other economic activities. As you all know, we are in an evolution within the public works and construction sector. We are all experiencing or know about the construction of dams, roads, bridges and buildings to name a few. We preferred to work with the Tunisians in this first edition to gain from their long experience in organizing such fora and their decades old participation in others.”
The Cameroonian engineers of all the subsectors such as electrical fields and more, are expected to exchange views and benefit from the rich experiences, ideas, and visions of other professionals that they will meet, and through this, help to make them become more organized and improve their performances. Already local experts have demonstrated their flair in simulating modern technology in the sector.
The Tunisian Consul disclosed his intentions to seek partnerships and to give to Cameroonians what they got in stock, but according to him, they are not coming to change the culture of structuring homes. It is for the Cameroonian experts to adapt their experiences for the betterment of their own society.
AFRIBAT will cover and exhibition area of 15.000m2and attract 400 Cameroonian, Tunisian and foreign exhibitors of various trades and crafts of the construction sector such as waterproofing and sanitation, real estate agencies, construction chemistry including glass ware experts and more. AFRIBAT is a B2B, win-win platform for international meetings where experts strengthen cooperation with entrepreneurs of the building construction and public works sectors.