The road projects being realised between Ekok (Nigerian border with Cameroon) and Numba passing through Mamfe on the stretch to Bamenda are foreseen to bring economic respite to the population of the entire central African sub-region. While factories in the vicinity are warming up to increase production, traders are bracing up to use the road to supply needs and wants of the populations.
To them, the road is an artery to revitalise the nation. On the industrial scale one observes in the markets of the area namely household utensils, detergents, textile and the rest, mainly from Nigeria. Socially, the thick populations along the Ekok-Mamfe-Numba road will integrate better as it will take shorter periods to travel across. On the Numba - Bachuo Akagbe stretch of the road, environmentalists, health experts, and social workers are already at work measuring the impact of the project. The Chinese company (CRBC) began construction works on the 52.131-km Numba-Bachuo Akagbe road in 2008. It is part of the Mamfe-Bamenda stretch of the trans-African highway being funded by the African Development Bank (82.60 per cent) and the Republic of Cameroon (17.40 per cent). The contractor reported a 95.2 per cent physical execution rate to Public Works Minister, Patrice Amba Salla, last 19 April while he visited the site.
The second project, Bachuo Akagbe-Mamfe-Ekok road, commenced in 2010 by another Chinese contractor; China International Water and Electric Corporation (CWE). The CWE took the contract for FCFA 49.6 billion (all taxes included). Funding is provided by the Japanese Cooperation Agency (JICA) for 49 per cent, the African Development Bank (46 per cent), and the Republic of Cameroon through its investment budget (5 per cent). Work on the Bachuo Akagbe-Mamfe-Ekok was contracted for 36 months. The job effectively kicked off 23 February, 2010, and is expected to round off by February 2013.
