Douala City Mayor evaluates implementation of urban dev’t project.

At each stop, the City Mayor said he was on a mission to see how well the contracting companies in the road construction projects have gone in meeting up with their own side of contract. 

The City Mayor and his collaborators began the tour at Billes, entrance to the Village neighbourhood and went to the Bassa Industrial Zone, all in Douala III Subdivision. 

The 4,340 metre stretch of motorable road linking both areas, the contractors explained, has been completed at 80 percent while 800 metre is yet undone. 

The City Mayor was particularly displeased with the Chinese contractors' speed with the construction of 7,000 metres drainage canal from Douala III to Douala V Subdivisions.

The contractor explained that delay had been caused by the unavailability of some working tools imported from China. He, however, assured the municipal authorities that by the close of the deadline in March, the work must have been completed.

Leaving that area, the inspection caravan went to Ngombe, where the construction of a sewage sludge treatment station was seen to be progressing at a good pace. 

However, at Fin Goudron Logpom-Carrefour Hôpital des Seurs-Beedi Market in Douala V, City Council officials did not just notice the works being carried on 2,890 metres stretch of road, but were displeased with the population's violation of administrative orders not to display goods on the sidewalks. 

The City Mayor and his team, furious to have seen an emergence of a mini unauthorised market in Beedi, reiterated the dictates of a campaign the council had launched two years ago…calling on denizens to stop selling on the pedestrian paths. 

However, the construction sites were seen to be more advanced in Douala V, with the laying of bituminous concrete on a large surface of the roads.

Project in nutshell 

It should be noted that the rehabilitation plan or road construction projects going on in the city of Douala, have been implemented thanks to funding obtained by the Cameroon government from the International Association of Development. 

The project has as aim to improve access to basic services in certain towns in Cameroon. These are, Ngaoundere in Adamawa Region, Maroua and Kousseri in the Far North, Kumba in the South West Region, Batouri in the East Region, and the municipalities selected in two major metropolises including Douala. 

The overall amount of invested in Douala amounts to approximately 36 billion FCFA. The Douala City Council, within the framework of the project, wants to improve urban management and access to infrastructure in selected urban areas, particularly at under-equipped neighbourhoods, and increase resilience to natural hazards and crises. 

Though the general observation of the City Mayor on improvement in the rate of progress was positive, it should, nevertheless, be noted that the companies have not yet reached the cruising speed which would have made it possible to quickly complete the work in progress. 

"That's is why we are here constantly to mount pressure on the contractors to meet deadlines,” the City Mayor stated.