APA-Yaoundé (Cameroon) The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has approved a loan for regional development and private sector promotion in northern Cameroon.
On June 1, 2023, the financial institution’s active portfolio in Cameroon stood at $2.12 billion. At its meeting on 25 October 2023 in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, the Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group increased this with a loan of €203.11 million to Cameroon.
“By virtue of its inclusive nature, this operation will serve as a catalyst for the implementation of several other projects, notably in the agriculture and agro-industry sectors, water and sanitation, and the promotion of human capital,” said Serge N’Guessan, Managing Director for Central Africa and ADB Country Representative in Cameroon.
“It is truly one of the effective responses to the socio-economic marginalisation from which this region, the poorest in Cameroon, has been suffering for several years, and which justifies the option taken by the Bank, in consultation with the government, to concentrate its actions there,” he added.
The AfDB’s financial support, backed by €30 million from the European Union (EU), should in principle “contribute to regional planning, the improvement of the transport system and the promotion of the private sector with a view to the emergence of an integrated and sustainable development pole in the region.”
A number of infrastructure projects are planned. These include the rehabilitation of the Moutourwa – Maroua (36 kilometres) and Magada – Yagoua (137 kilometres) road sections, as well as socio-economic developments likely to help address the various social issues facing the local population. The technical specifications for these works will take into account measures to ensure resilience in the face of climate change.
In addition, the AfDB said, the project will enhance the value of the road infrastructure to be rehabilitated or built in its intervention zone, by promoting the involvement of the private sector to help achieve development objectives. In particular, these sector promotion activities will support the development of agricultural value chains with high growth and industrial transformation potential.
The aim is to create added value along the road corridors concerned in the following crops: millet, sorghum, cashew nuts, onions, rice, maize, tomatoes, potatoes, groundnuts and fruits, as well as small and large ruminants.
Ultimately, “the project will benefit the entire population of the Far North region of Cameroon and, more specifically, producer groups and other private sector players. The indirect beneficiaries are the people of the Lake Chad region and those of the border areas with Nigeria and Chad.”
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