By: Business in Cameroon

Work to renew 330 km of railway between Belabo in the East region and Ngaoundéré in the Adamawa region is scheduled to begin in the first half of 2027. The update was disclosed in a statement issued on August 14 by Camrail, following a visit to the company on August 6 by the European Union ambassador and the United Kingdom High Commissioner to Cameroon. The diplomats were assessing the progress of the project.

“The bidding documents are being prepared according to the procurement plan approved by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the French Development Agency (AFD). The tenders will be launched between the second half of 2025 and the first half of 2026, starting with supplies (rails, sleepers, ballast, etc.). The actual works are set to begin in the first half of 2027,” the statement quoted Jacques Fansi, director of the PQ2 Project at Camrail, as saying.

Speaking in Yaoundé on June 19 during an extraordinary session of the Interministerial Railway Infrastructure Committee (Comifer) and the Passenger Transport Committee (CTV), Claude Misse Ntone, director of railway transport at the Ministry of Transport, confirmed that financing for the project is already secured, without giving details on the total amount.

However, it is known that by 2023 the government had mobilized about CFA110 billion from the AFD and CFA80 billion from the EIB and the European Union, bringing the total to CFA190 billion.

The works, set to start in 2027, will mark Cameroon’s second major railway project in 30 years, following the renewal of 175 km of track between Batschenga in the Center region and Ka’a in the East region.