One phrase, “Thank You” threaded through all the speeches that were delivered in Bonis, near Bertoua on August 23, to mark the official commissioning of the Ayos-Bonis highway. The ecstasy that illuminated the atmosphere at the ceremonial ground readily translated the satisfaction of the people of the East Region following the construction of the 191-kilometre highway which initially sounded like a dream to many.
The Prime Minister, Head of Government, Philemon Yang who cut the symbolic ribbon on behalf of the Head of State to declare the road officially ready for use, stated inter alia the importance of the edifice not only to the people of the East but also to the Central African sub region as a whole. “The Ayos-Bonis road will successfully contribute to the implementation of our national integration policy”, Yang said, stating that the benefits that will accrue from the road will erase the worries that were in the minds of the population during its execution. The Ayos-Bonis road, he said, is called upon to accompany the development of the rural sector and remove production zones from their remote state. The Head of Government was categorical in tone when he assured the population that all feeder roads will be effectively built contrary to growing fears.
More Road Projects
“Cameroonians will soon welcome the launching of some projects of which feasibility studies have been completed or are in the process of completion.” This statement rekindled more hopes in the population and as if that were not all, the Prime Minister announced the availability of funds for the construction of the Mandjou-Yokadouma road. Some of the projects announced for eventual launching are; Yaounde-Douala multiple lane highway, Ebolowa-Lolodorf–Kribi stretch, Kumba-Mamfe road, Batchenga-Ntui-Yoko-Ngaoundere road and the Ring road in the North West Region. Government’s decision to concentrate on road infrastructure takes cognisance of the important role the road plays in promoting strong and sustainable development, the PM said.
Earlier speeches crystallised the gratitude of the people, especially knowing that the bad travelling experiences of the past have been completely buried. To Dieudonne Samba, the Government Delegate to the Bertoua City Council, the road has come to wipe out the stigma on the East Region. “As a result of the absence of a good road, transfer of workers in the Region was considered punitive”, he recalled. The East Region, he said, is blessed with enormous natural resources and requires roads to facilitate their extraction.
Ayos-Bonis highway that officially went into use yesterday was, to say the least, a challenging endeavour both for technicians and the administration. According to the Minister of Public Works, Patrice Amba Salla, it took 44 months, FCFA 58.8 billion, supplementary contract, readjustments and revision of prices for the road to see the light of day. The road was constructed in two phases: Ayos-Abong Mbang and Abong Mbang-Bonis. It is 10 metres wide, three metres of which are the sideways and has reference speed of 80 kilometres per hour. It is built by Pantechniki S.A, a Greek construction company. The first stretch was officially received on October 03, 2011 while the second was temporarily received on July 05, 2012, the technical brochure of the project indicated. According to the General Manager and Representative of Edok-Eter Cameroun S.A. and Pantechniki S.A, projected traffic was 180 heavy duty vehicles per day but at the end of the project today, the road counts average 900 vehicles a day.
