On visit to construction site: Minister urges contractors to speedup works at Pan-African University rectorate building.

This was during a visit at the construction site of the future rectorate located in Nkolmefou in the Mefou and Afamba Division of the Centre Region.

The minister was accompanied to the officials of the ministry led by the Secretary General, Prof Gabsa Wilfried, and other stakeholders in the education sector.

Speaking during a guided tour at the facility, Prof Fame Ndongo frowned at the pace of ongoing works launched at the envisioned futuristic facility some five years ago.

He told the officials of the Groupement SOCAM and Leader Service, charged with the works that government’s priority is to see the construction works completed as soon as possible.

The minister also urged them to respect all the guidelines necessary to ensure that the facility comes out as an architectural masterpiece that meets the satisfaction of the Cameroonian government and the African Union.

‘Market Cameroon’s beauty through facility’ 

Besides focusing on the timely delivery of the works, Prof Fame Ndongo, particularly laid emphasis on the design of the building.

He challenged the engineers to give the building an architectural orientation that will market Cameroon as a beautiful destination not only worthy of visiting but serving as a globally standardised working station.

The minister told the experts to give the building more efficient designs that will enable the users of the facility which will include officials and personnel from across the African continent, to enjoy the beauty of the area surrounding the structure.

He urged the engineers to design the structure in a way that will give its users the beautiful aerial view of the green natural vegetation in the surroundings. 

Construction works at the Pan-African University rectorate site started in 2019. Yesterday’s visit was one of several stops made by the Minister Prof Fame Ndongo to evaluate the progress since works began at the site in 2019.

The original duration of the work was 38 months, approximately three years and two months. 

The deadline was pushed forward last year after the group in charge of the project failed to deliver the facility at the of the January 2023 period outlined for the work to be finished.

Following the delay, June 2024 was outlined as the new deadline, another target which the construction group also failed to meet. The facility, upon completion, will be a five-storey building. 

Cameroon was chosen as the host of the facility 10 years ago during the 2014 African Union Summit in Malabo in Equatorial Guinea. 

This was in accordance with the decision of the Heads of States and Governments arrived at during the gathering.

Since 2018, Cameroon has been serving as the host of the rectorate. The institution is currently hosted at the Nlongkak neighborhood in Yaounde on a temporal basis. 

Contractors promise to deliver as requested by minister 

Speaking to the press at the end of the visit, the supervisor of the project, Fongang Octave, said works at the facility is generally over 70% done.

He said the group will work hard to ensure that the work is completed by latest May next year as requested by the Minister of State, Prof Fame Ndongo.

The engineer blamed the delays on the several constraints the construction group has been facing linked notably to lapses registered at the level of the feasibility studies carried out before the work got under way.

He also noted that the financial challenges that the construction group has been facing is also to be blamed for the delay, insisting that the setback which has now been handled, hugely affected the smooth flow of the work.

Despite the setbacks, Fongang Octave said that the group remains keen on delivering the facility as soon as possible as instructed by Prof Fame Ndongo.

The supervisor particularly noted that the group will pay keen attention on making adjustments on the designs as instructed by the minister to ensure the terraces of the building give users a chance to enjoy the beauty of Cameroon.

“We are working on ensuring that the terraces are accessible because, like the minister emphasised on, this building is not for Cameroon alone but it is a facility that will serve the entire African continent. We are looking to deliver so that it markets Cameroon internationally,” he said. 

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue N0:3178 of Wednesday July 24, 2024