2017-2025, The story of The Bamenda-Babadjou Road

Matazem on the day of the inauguration 

Prime Minister, Head of Government, Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute will officially commission the Bamenda-Babadjou road today.

The 59.9Km road is part of the Yaounde-Enugu corridor passing through Bafoussam and Bamenda.

The commissioning of the road comes exactly 8 years since the project was launched in Santa by the Minister of Public Works, Emmanuel Ngannou Djoumessi. The road works were launched in 2017.

To cost a total of 113 billion Francs CFA, the contract was initially handed to Sogea Satom. With a lot of delays in the execution of the project, the contract was finally accelerated in 2021 with the clearing of the debris and the opening of the road course. 

Unfortunately on the 22nd August 2018 the project came to an abrupt stop following an attack by armed separatists on an excavator in Akum.

This let to Sogea Satom revoking the contract and refused to continue execution.

Several delegations, one made up of all the 18 CPDM MPs of the North West called on the Minister to hand the contract to indigenous companies of the North West and the project will be delivered.

The contract was divided into three lots for easy execution but the other companies could not meet up leaving BUNS to do the entire project.

During the period of execution, businesses suffered great losses as they were persistent hold-ups due to slippery roads. The one hour thirty minutes drive from Bamenda to Bafoussam could only be done in nothing less than three hours. 

Persistent cries and complaints from commuters on the poor state of the road were top on every media Organ in Bamenda and its environs.

As the road gradually took shape, it was all joy as the population could freely transport their goods and services from the rest of the country to Bamenda. 

By

Ndi Tsembom Elvis