National Metrology Laboratory to be ready by 2017

Experts from Standards and Quality Agency as well as the European Union visited the edifice on May 31, 2016.

Construction work on the one story structure to host the National Metrology Laboratory in the Draggages neighbourhood of Yaounde in the Centre Region to cover the whole of Central Africa is well advanced, with technicians disclosing that the project will be handed over to authorities in 18 months, everything being equal.

The centre upon completion will be dimensional, counting seven laboratories in construction, mass, volume, pressure, electricity and temperature.

A team from the Standards and Quality Agency and the European Union visited the construction site recently, to assess the progress of work.

The project controller, Jean-Yves Arriat of the Ascent Consulting told the visiting team that engineering work was completed. He revealed that the third phase of the project is expected to commence anytime.

The third phase comprises finishing, equipping, recruiting and training of technicians. The last stage will be the certification of the laboratory to meet international standards.

He stated that once operational, the National Metrology Laboratory will have the responsibility to realise and maintain national measurement standards. It will also offer traceability to users.

The centre will be opened to industries for the calibration of certificates issued and approved by ISO standards. Calibration certificates issued under such centres are fully recognised and accepted by accreditation bodies and regulatory authorities worldwide.

The centre is therefore timely, with Guy Aimé Fondja Head of Cooperation, Monitoring and Forecast Unit of ANOR, leader of the technical team unveiling the importance of the country.

He said the project comes at a time when the country is ready to open up its market with the European Union under the framework of the Economic Partnership Agreement. It is therefore a plus for Cameroonian companies.

The National Metrology Laboratory is co-financed by the European Union and the government of Cameroon. Benedickt Madl, Section Chief, was EU Representative to the field visit.