Boulevard De La République Works Almost Complete

Douala City Council's Government Delegate visited some major project sites to assess the level of work on July 4, 2014.

"Work is fast carried out on the new extension of the Boulevard de la Republique in Akwa Nord. Barely midway into the project duration, about 95 per cent of the total work is already carried out." The Government Delegate to the Douala City Council (DCC), Fritz Ntone Ntone, made the revelation last Friday at the end of one-day visit to some of the major project sites in the port city.

The project, which was greeted at its start by a handful of criticism from both denizens and commuters for the demolition of homes, is fast gaining praises for the ease it will bring to traffic flow and communication in the city.

Augustin Yombou, an inhabitant of Akwa Nord, said they thought the project was going to be another sham where homes are broken down and the project is never executed, but he is surprised that in just half of the project's duration, much of the work is done. "The ever-present traffic congestion between the heart of Douala and the Bonamoussadi neighbourhood will soon be a thing of the past," he noted.

Other infrastructure projects by the City Council, including the Roi Njoya road in Douala II Subdivision, the road in front of the Sandaga Market in Douala I, the roads in Bonendale and Bojongo in the Douala IV, and the extension of the roads in Japoma and others in the Douala III and V Subdivisions are being carried out.

"I am satisfied with the pace at which work is being executed. The next thing for us is to have our evaluation team assess the technical aspects. Most will be completed before the deadline. So it is laudable," Ntone Ntone said, noting that now is the time for the rehabilitation of secondary roads that were once tarred, and another phase will begin with the rehabilitation of earth roads with the onset of dry season.

After his first stopover in Bonanjo, where a building to host the technical services of DCC is under construction, he proceeded to the second campus of the University of Douala, where a recent landslide cut off access to the campus. However, the road is now usable due to the construction work going on.

Next was the flood-prone area south of New Bell called Meteo in Bonapriso, where a now abandoned building was constructed on a major gutter thus stagnating water that now floods across a wide area cutting off communication at every drop of rain. Neighbouring inhabitants have been given two weeks to quit as the building will be demolished with explosives.

Other projects visited include the construction of gutters at the Ndogpassi Market to the industrial zone of Bassa and the Chinese base in Nkolmbong.