The Build-Operate-Transfer option has worked elsewhere and a Chinese firm is currently considering embracing such in Cameroon.

Amidst financial constraints involved in transforming the lofty National Railway Master Plan that Cameroon has developed alongside other related mouth-watery projects into visible realisations, government could consider going in for innovative railway modernization options which have worked elsewhere. This is notably the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model which entails going into partnership with a technical and financially-viable firm to do the conception, funding and execution of the project. It would be on grounds that all conditions are put in place to ascertain the mutual benefits of both parties at term.

A Chinese firm, China Railway Construction Corporation Limited, a mega-size construction corporation under the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission  of the State Council of China, is strongly considering embracing the BOT option, among others in Cameroon. According to the outfit’s Chief Economist, Zhao Jinhua, the company is already prospecting in Cameroon. He told Cameroon Tribune Wednesday April 6, 2016 at the company’s headquarters in the Chinese capital, Beijing, that Cameroon is among some African countries where the firm is seeking to showcase its ingenuity in win-win investments.

Cameroon’s Strong Points

The country’s strategic location in the Central African Sub-region, investors agree, augurs well for huge investments, like railways and other infrastructure. Added to these are two aspects that militate in favour of serious investments in the country’s railway modernization. There is the multi-billion Mbalam-Nabeba Iron Ore Project with so much in store for the country’s socio-economic development but which has regrettably delayed for want of rail infrastructure. The over 510 km railway lines from Kribi (Cameroon) to Nabeba (Congo) demand a lot in terms of funding.

With Cameroon now in total control of the rail infrastructure development of the project and considering its cost (about FCFA 4,000 billion), going in for innovative funding and development options could offer a sure way to take the much-heralded project off the ground. The same may apply for the National Railway Master Plan whose full execution demands funds almost like the State’s budget for a whole year.

According to Zhao Jinhua, “We are interested in the Cameroonian projects. We will carry out detailed studies before going in for them.” The company, officials say, is already present, prospecting in Cameroon and holding talks with senior government officials. The company’s new business portfolio in 2015 stood at over 14.billion dollars in over 90 overseas countries across the world. The only inconvenience Cameroon may have with embracing electric railways now, which the potential investors also offers, is energy whose supply is to say the least intermittent in the country at moment.