Douala Industrial Project Sites Get Facelift

An inspection team yesterday visited the sites and held a working session with actors involved in the laying of the foundation stone for the second bridge on River Wouri.

As the inhabitants of Douala brace up for the laying of the foundation stone for the construction of a second bridge on River Wouri, activity has also intensified on some giant industrial sites in the city. To say the least, the usual hustle and bustle that characterise the economic capital has gained in intensity notably in the Bonaberi, Base Elf and Logbaba neigbourhoods.

An inspection team led by the Minister, Director of Civil Cabinet at the Presidency of the Republic, Martin Belinga Eboutou, the Chief of State Protocol and a battery of cabinet Ministers criss-crossed the sites yesterday November 11 to ascertain that all was well. Starting from the ceremonial grounds to host the historic laying of the foundation stone, the Moroccan Cement plant (Ciment de l'Afrique, CIMAF) construction site, that of Dangote as well as the liquefied gas plant at Logbaba, activities were at high gear.

At the CIMAF site, work was intensifying on the ten hectares of land wherein giant structures are being erected to produce 500,000 metric tonnes of cement per annum with the possibility of extending it to one million metric tonnes annually. The FCFA 20 billion project, expected to span through 20 months from May 19, 2012 when construction work started, currently employs hundreds of Cameroonians who were seen active at work as the inspection team passed by.

The same effervescence was evident at the Dangote Cement plant project site where officials like those of CIMAF took the Members of Government and other dignitaries round to discover their workings. The Director General of the Dangote Cement Plant, Abdullali Baba said all is being done to get Dangote Cement in the Cameroonian market by April or May 2014.

The last stopover of the team at the Logbaba natural gas field in the outskirts of town, was not the least either. The natural gas reserves which were put on production in 2012 are used to supply local industries with clean energy said to be cheaper than fuel or gas oil. The Ministers discovered the transmission of gas through the 13-kilometer pipeline constructed by the operator, Rodeo Development Ltd, a subsidiary of a British company, Victoria Oil and Gas. Information garnered at the site yesterday shows that since February 2013, over 15 industries have converted their burners to gas and are using it as source of the energy. At Logbaba, construction work is going on with the three tribunes to host guests at the imminent inauguration, one with a 1000-sitting capacity and the other two 800 each. Here, the inspection team asked questions, got clarifications and gave instructions.