[ad_1]
(Business in Cameroon) РPlanning Minister C̩lestine Ketcha Courtes has just published the results of two calls for tenders launched as part of a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) pilot project in Douala, a flexible transport system and adaptable to the configuration of the city served.
The first result awards a contract of over 45 million XAF for the development of a stakeholder engagement plan to Agora Consulting Sarl. Under this contract, Agora will also set up a complaints and dispute resolution system for the pilot project.
The second result awards a contract of CFAF 860 million, for the study of the economic and urban impacts of the project, to the Tunisian consortium Studi International-Idea Conseil-Dohwa.
This pilot project is part of the BRT network construction program that will be implemented in Cameroon as part of the World Bank’s sustainable cities development project. However, the project was announced in Cameroon seven years ago. Indeed, in 2014, a Brazilian consortium made up of Marcopolo, Queiroz-Galvao and Logit proposed to build a BRT network for the Cameroonian government.
Time saver
Since its announcement, no new information has surfaced on the project despite the many offers that have come afterwards. Companies that have made offers in addition to the Brazilian consortium include Egyptian Manufacturing Commercial Vehicles (MCV), Italian Industrial Vehicles Corporation (Iveco) and even China Machinery Engineering Corp (CMEC), whose chairman Zhou Ya Min has expressed interest. for the BRT in Cameroon during its visit to Yaoundé in 2018.
The construction phase should start in 2022. It will be very beneficial for the country, Douala in particular. In Douala, “the bus network is (…) inefficient and represents less than 1% of trips (…) Traffic jams have increased over the years. Some areas of the city do not have road infrastructure. In this context, the inhabitants of Douala are forced to walk, take taxis or even resort to informal modes of transport such as motorized taxis which are still considered dangerous and expensive.“the World Bank wrote in a document linked to the project.
For the Bretton Woods institution, with a BRT network in Douala, travel times would drop from 88 to 71 minutes per inhabitant per day on average, or 17 minutes saved daily. The minutes saved could reach 31 minutes in the poorest peri-urban areas. This would mean almost 1.6% of the city’s GDP saved each year if the time saved was estimated at half of the income generated.
Brice R. Mbodiam
[ad_2]
