Cameroon and neighbors to invest $30 billion in rail infrastructure. 600,000 jobs to be created

A new national railway master plan to connect Cameroon to Chad, the Central African Republic, DR Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria and Angola as well as the country’s main towns would create over 600,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities.

According to the plan released on February 3 by the Economy minister Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi, the construction is expected to take place between 2012 to 2020.

The whole project is estimated to cost US$29.9 billion.

The master plan will be executed in three phases. The short term plan envisages the construction of railway lines to link the iron-producing location of Mballam to the port of Kribi, a distance of 602.6 kms (374 miles) and the aluminum producing town of Edea to the port of Kribi which is still under construction.

Other short-term lines would link Douala to Limbe -73.5 kms (46 miles) and Ngaoundere to Douala – 908 kms (563 miles).

This part of the plan aims at linking mineral-producing areas of the country to sea outlets, the Director of Infrastructures in the ministry, Guy Daniel Abouna Zoa, said.

This phase of the plan is projected at US$16.9 billion.

The lines to be constructed under the medium-term phase include Douala to Wum – 352 kms (220 miles); Mbanga to Kumba – 21 kms (13 miles); Ngaoundere to Kousseri – 684 kms (425 miles); Bertoua to Gamboula – 183 kms (114 miles); Mora to Nigeria border – 36 kms (22 miles); Bafoussam to Foumban – 69 kms (43 miles); Bamenda to Jakiri – 75 kms (47 miles) and Mintom to Ngoyla – 120 kms (75 miles).

All these lines would cost a total of US$13.024 billion.