Complaints from Ngondo cultural officials have forced the City Council to halt work.

The demand for cement in the country has been on the rise in recent years with an annual increase of eight per cent. Cameroon imported at least 500,000 metric tonnes of cement in 2010, according to government data, which also shows that the yearly demand for cement is estimated at four million metric tonnes.

Government has however been redoubling efforts to boost national production from 1.6 million metric tonnes to about 2.2 million metric tonnes annually. But none of this met the rising demand, creating an unavoidable need to encourage multinationals to start-up production in the country. Two companies from Korea and the Nigerian multinational Dangote Group, signed investment agreements with government.

By September 2011, an agreement was signed between government and the Nigerian Dangote Group, authorising the latter to build a FCFA 55-billion cement plant in Douala with a capacity of one million metric tonnes of cement a year. Base Elf, the shorelines of River Wouri, was the site chosen for the construction of the cement plant. But work on the construction site was in the last two weeks interrupted, following an order from the Douala City Council (DCC), raising fears that the 18-month timeline may not be met.

DCC Government Delegate, Fritz Ntone Ntone, halted work on the site to bring dissenting voices together, following complaints from Ngondo officials. He explained that part of the site allocated for the cement plant belongs to DCC and will be used for the construction of an Urban Park. Much of the site, he said, is by tradition land for Ngondo cultural celebrations. During the Ngondo General Assembly of Saturday March 10, 2012, Sawa Chiefs and elite resolved not to give up the place for whatsoever reason.

Some people argue that setting up a plant close to the city centre would only exacerbate pollution that government is trying to prevent. But staff of Dangote Industries Cameroon Ltd say they are shipping in ultramodern and pollution-free equipment. “The equipment can be set up even in the heart of the city, and no one would suffer from noise or smoke. Our machines are environment-friendly,) an official explained.

The 2,000-metre piece of land that lies close to the Ngondo River Wouri banks cultural ground and Douala Ports Authority complex, was contracted from the government through a lease of 30 years,” a company staff explained. Yesterday March 13, the company’s delegation from Nigeria told Cameroon Tribune in Douala that they were ready to renegotiate in order to keep the venture going.