State builder boosts road connection in Cameroon

It was a busy weekday morning in late August for truck driver Osman Ngoh as the Cameroonian went about guiding workers while they loaded ebony and mahogany logs onto his truck.

"With the roads now in better shape, jobs for transporting local timber have increased, providing great opportunities for truck drivers like us," Ngoh said, referring to the Ntui-Mankim Highway, which is being built by State-owned China Railway 20th Bureau Group Corp, a subsidiary of Beijing-based China Railway Construction Corp Ltd.

Though not fully completed yet, the sections that have opened to traffic have already made travel more convenient and easy, he added.

In the past, driving on bumpy roads from Yaounde, Cameroon's capital, to the country's northern region would take at least 10 hours, but now the journey on newly built asphalt roads can cut the travel time by at least half.

The highway construction will soon be completed and officially handed over to the local government in October.

Construction on the project's 96.7-kilometer road has been completed, with asphalt paving finished by June, said Shi Fei, the highway's manager for Xi'an, Shaanxi province-based CR20G.

"We need to finish installing guide boards and ground markings, as well as conduct a final inspection of the construction quality along the entire highway within September," Shi said.

The project, which commenced in late 2021, marks CR20G's first undertaking in Cameroon. Built to French standards, it also serves as a significant local livelihood initiative.

Once completed, this highway will connect Yaounde with various northern regions in Cameroon, playing a crucial role in enhancing employment, improving travel conditions, and spurring the economic development of villages and towns along its route.

Cameroon is renowned worldwide for its abundant ebony and mahogany trees.

After the road opens to traffic, wood and cash crops along the motorway can be directly transported to Yaounde or exported from the country's ports, further boosting the local economy, Shi added.

"Cameroon is situated near the equator and experiences the climate of a tropical rainforest, with high temperatures and year-round rainfall. The rainy season can last up to four months," he said.

When the red clay in the construction area gets soaked, it becomes extremely sticky, making it difficult for dump trucks and unsuitable for filling roadbeds, This severely hampers construction progress, Shi said, adding that the extended rainy season posed the biggest challenge in building the road.

To ensure the smooth progress of constructing five large bridges in the section, CR20G's engineering team proactively communicated with the project's supervisory and design units. They secured efficient site drainage by reinforcing the foundation, improving the basic structure and modifying the surrounding waterways.

During the construction of the highway, the Chinese company not only provided job opportunities for the local communities, but also trained over 800 Cameroonian residents to actively participate in the project.

As China and several African countries are keen to deepen their cooperation for the next phase of the Belt and Road Initiative, many domestic companies are developing new strategies to expand their market presence in Africa, providing fresh momentum to economic growth in African countries, said Bai Ming, a member of the academic degree committee at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing.

With more than 17,000 employees, CR20G has built a market presence in more than 20 countries, including Angola, Mozambique, Uzbekistan and Mongolia.

Aside from the design and construction of transportation infrastructure, CR20G's business scope includes real estate development, manufacturing, logistics and trade, railway transportation, environmental protection, engineering project inspection, design consulting and training.

Fueled by China's robust industrial and supply chains, Chinese companies have ample opportunities to diversify their overseas market channels further, especially as globalization accelerates and many economies seek to build or upgrade their infrastructure, said Sang Baichuan, dean of the Institute of International Economy at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.