Business in Cameroon | On June 21, 2024, Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi, Cameroon’s Minister of Public Works, inaugurated the construction of a bridge over the Nyong River in Malombo, located in the Makak district of the Nyong et Kellé department (Center region). Awarded to China First Highway Engineering Co (CFHEC) in December 2023, the project is scheduled to span 36 months. Seven months into the contract, progress stands at 2.5%, according to the Ministry of Public Works, with completion slated for March 30, 2027.
The planned structure is a 160-meter-long mixed steel-concrete girder bridge, featuring a bidirectional roadway with two lanes of 3.5 meters each, and two footpaths measuring one meter wide on either side. In addition to the bridge, the project includes 960 meters of access roads, with a two-lane carriageway of 3.5 meters each and 1.5-meter-wide shoulders on both sides.
The total cost of construction amounts to CFA 8,626,525,897. Technical supervision will be handled by the Cameroonian consortium Integc/General Engineering, costing CFA 897,892,875, bringing the overall project cost to CFA9.5 billion.
The bridge aims to enhance safety and facilitate crossings over the Nyong River at Malombo, where numerous lives have been lost in recent years. It also seeks to improve traffic flow, bolstering transport competitiveness in the Nyong et Kellé department and between neighboring departments (Mfoundi, Sanaga-Maritime, Nkam, and Wouri).
“With the Malombo Bridge, a new connection to the port of Kribi is opened,” stated Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi, adding that a study for the road leading to this structure has also been commissioned.