Public works minister sheds light on state of roads.

The meeting was part of a drive for transparency and dialogue around recurring concerns about national road infrastructure.

The aim of the exercise, it was disclosed, was for the minister to provide precise answers and clarifications on issues that are regularly debated, in particular the state of the road network; infrastructure construction costs; project financing methods; road maintenance strategies; and the implementation of decentralisation within the Ministry of Public Works.

The minister explained during the gathering that: "The Ministry of Public Works is responsible for developing road infrastructure construction and maintenance policy. Cameroon currently has 121,873 km of roads, divided into motorways (109 km), national roads (9,385 km), regional roads (13,834 km) and communal roads (98,583 km)”.

The minister disclosed that as at December 31, 2024, Cameroon had 10,575 km of asphalted roads. 

“Our national strategy for the 2020-2030 period gives the Ministry of Public Works the task of asphalting 6,000 km of roads. At the intermediate stage, we have achieved 69%, with a satisfaction rate of around 24%. In other words, we're behind schedule, but that's understandable,” he said. 

The minister said the strategy empowers the ministry to rehabilitate 3,000 km of asphalt roads. 

“We have completed 55.5% of this. The delay is also essentially due to the lack of a permanent source of funding. The Road Fund has less finances. This is understandable given the cash flow pressures. When we approach donors, particularly multilateral donors, it takes a long time to put the funding in place,” he explained.

He added that: “We should also note the consequences of the security crises we are experiencing in our country. If it weren't for terrorism, we would no longer be talking about the Mora-Dabanga-Kousseri road or the Babadjou-Bamenda road, even though work is progressing”.

He said added to security issues are the consequences of climate change, which he said is having a devastating effect on the roads. 

“…there is need for mobilization of appropriate, adequate and timely funding. These are the limits that need to be highlighted, bearing in mind that a road has a lifespan,” he explained.

The minister cited the case of the Ngaoundéré-Garoua road, which was built some twenty years ago.

He said: “It has reached the maintenance threshold. It needs to be rebuilt. I make a distinction between reconstruction and rehabilitation. The technical options of twenty years ago, in particular the sizing of the hydraulic structures, can no longer be the same”.

“It rains a lot these days, and as a result, the hydraulic structures need to be sized to capture the quantities of water, and this has a cost. So, reconstruction has a cost, which has to be mobilised. That too takes time. In the case of Ngaoundéré-Garoua, the process is sufficiently advanced for us to start work by the end of this year,” he continued.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3503 of Monday July 14, 2025