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The loan will help Cameroon to develop its energy sector, road infrastructure, and a railway network connecting the country with Chad, its landlocked neighbour
Cameroon’s impoverished economy will get a facelift as the EU has pledged to lend the West African country USD 96 million over the next three years to tone up its infrastructure to attract foreign investment.
The loan will help Cameroon to develop its energy sector, road infrastructure, and a railway network connecting the country with Chad, its landlocked neighbour.
The loan was announced during a meeting between Cameroonian government ministers and an EU representative in Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde, which was attended by Cameroon’s Minister of the Economy Alamine Ousmane Mey. Funds will be used for the construction of a bridge over the Ntem River between Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.
Cameroon has been struggling to rebuild its road, energy, and port infrastructures, which have become seriously dilapidated in recent years. The West African country has also been plagued by a separatist conflict in the west that has killed more than 6,000 people and displaced over 760,000, according to the International Crisis Group.
The EU is already funding some major infrastructure projects in Cameroon, including the construction of a hydroelectric dam in the center of the country and a bridge between Cameroon and Chad. These projects are aimed at bringing more private investors to manage the projects.
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The EU Ambassador to Cameroon, Jean-Marc Chataigner, said the loan was conditional on the government’s proper management of the funds. Corruption is widespread in Cameroon. Last month, a report from the country’s National Anti-Corruption Commission found that Cameroon lost over FCFA 114 billion (USD 184 million) to corruption in 2023.
