At meeting in Yaounde: Transport minister, World Bank delegation take stock of road safety, rail corridor projects.

The meeting, held at the Ministry of Transport, brought together senior officials from both sides, including the Minister Delegate to the Minister of Transport, Njoya Zakariaou, the Secretary General of the ministry, Mveimani Sombo Amba, the Director General of CAMRAIL, directors in charge of road and rail transport, representatives of planning and cooperation services, as well as officials from the project monitoring and communication units.

In his opening remarks, the Minister of Transport recalled that the audience formed part of a shared commitment to consolidate bilateral cooperation between Cameroon and the World Bank. 

The objective, he said, was to sustainably improve transport infrastructure and services in support of the country’s socio-economic development. 

Discussions centred on the status of projects benefiting from World Bank technical and financial support, with particular attention given to road safety initiatives and the regional rail-road corridor linking Douala to N’Djamena.

Road safety projects under review

On road safety, participants reviewed activities financed by the World Bank under several programmes, including the Transport Sector Development Project, PDST, the Road Infrastructure Support Project, PACRI, and facilitation components linked to the Regional Project for Improving the Performance of the Douala-N’Djamena Rail/Road Corridor, PCDN.

Both parties noted progress recorded so far and reiterated their commitment to strengthening actions aimed at reducing road insecurity on the national and regional transport network.

Zoom on Douala-N’Djamena corridor

A detailed update was also provided on the state of implementation of the PCDN, which entered into force on June 13, 2024. Discussions covered the rehabilitation of sections of the existing railway infrastructure, the facilitation of trade and transit operations along the Douala-N’Djamena intermodal corridor, and the gradual roll-out of the facilitation component.

This facilitation phase has been marked by the publication of calls for expressions of interest and the signing of initial contracts. 

However, it was noted that the effective start of certain activities remains dependent on the completion of technical studies and procurement procedures, which are expected to be finalised during the course of 2026. 

The World Bank reaffirmed its readiness to support stakeholders in reducing delays and ensuring that project objectives are met.

Outlook for ongoing, future projects

At the close of the meeting, both parties expressed satisfaction with the quality of the existing partnership and renewed their commitment to the effective and timely implementation of ongoing and forthcoming projects. 

The session enabled a comprehensive review of supported projects, identification of challenges, and consideration of prospects for strengthening cooperation in the transport sector.

The Minister of Transport thanked the World Bank delegation for its continued support to Cameroon’s transport infrastructure development and instructed that ongoing projects proceed smoothly, alongside the proper preparation of future initiatives.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3681 of Thursday January 22, 2026