Upgrading networks, undertaking structural reforms and introducing privatisation in transport to promote integration
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aware that Cameroon’s progress is contingent on its infrastructure
development, and taking into consideration the country’s natural
potential to serve as a regional transport hub, President Biya’s
government has taken considerable measures to upgrade existing networks,
and to implement structural reforms and privatisation within the transport
sector. A Transport Sectorial Program was launched in 1996 to serve
as a framework for investment with a view to improving and rehabilitating
the road infrastructure, and a Road Fund was set up in 1998 to secure
financial resources for road maintenance. Shortly after, the road maintenance
sector was privatised and handed over to small and medium-sized enterprises,
while the state role was reduced to planning and assisting.
Given its privileged access to the sea, Cameroon has considerable potential as a regional trading and transport hub. The country’s 32,000 miles road network, of which 2,500 miles are paved, has converted it into a transit route between Chad and the Central African Republic, and the volume of goods transported through Cameroon to its neighbours has been increasing at more that four percent annually. Projects for regional links include the extension of the Trans-African highway running through Cameroon and linking Nigeria to the Central Africa Republic, and the construction of a sub-regional transport network within the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) zone, which will position Cameroon as the business centre of an economic region that includes Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Gabon, the Central Africa Republic and Congo Brazzaville.
Minister of Public Works Dieudonné Ambassa Zang says that CEMAC leaders are committed to developing stronger regional transport links in order to boost regional integration. He states, “We are lucky that our heads of state are conscious of the need for regional integration. Consequently, a number of projects are being carried out with financing from donors such as the European Union, and we intend to construct new roads while rehabilitating the existing ones, and to link up all the capitals of the CEMAC member countries.”
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Internally, all of Cameroon's ten provinces are connected. The country’s main industrial and commercial port city, Douala, is linked to major cities in the seven southern provinces by good roads, and linked by rail to Yaounde, the nation’s capital and second largest city. Douala Port is the major point of entry for imports to Cameroon and to the entire Central African region, handling approximately 95 percent of Cameroon’s total maritime traffic and more than 90 percent of the country’s external trade. Cameroon aso has three international airports at Douala, Yaounde and Garoua, and over 50 small airports and airstrips, of which nine have permanent surface runways. The country’s 630 miles of railway has been privatised since 1990 and links the south of the country with the north. Railway is used extensively for the transport of goods and raw materials such as hydrocarbons, timber, cotton, and coffee, and plays a crucial role in the country’s export economy.
Today, partnerships between the public and the private sectors are boosting continued infrastructure development and the government is aware that the role of private companies in the transport sector is crucial. Minister of Transport Charles Salé comments, “Following the example of other sectors, transport is governed by the principles of globalisation and liberalisation. Within this framework, actions have been taken to disengage the state from productive sectors to the advantage of private operators and more dynamic small and medium-sized enterprises.”
Good prospects for foreign investment in transport
According to Mr Salé, opportunities for British investors in the transport sector are abundant, and the government looks forward to opportunities for partnerships that will foster the transfer of technological know-how. Mr Salé believes that the history of co-operation and ties of friendship between Cameroon and Great Britain mean there is a significant role for British investors to play. He states, “Cameroon is an open country, with many business opportunities, and an attractive and flexible investment code, and we invite British investors to come and discover her.”
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