According to the Ministry of Public Works , the financing of the construction project of 14 automatic tolls, is closed.The entry into force of the contract of Tollcam, the project company formed by the French grouping Razel Bec-Egis, will come into effect at the end of May 2022 and the signing of an agreement between Mintp, the Ministry of Finance and Tollcam is expected in the coming days.
“It is an agreement that is based on the financial closure. It also induces the obligations of each party, details such as the amounts of rent, etc.. “we learn. After the signing of the agreement, work will start on the three sites on National Road 3 that have already been released. This will start on June 1, 2022.
According to Ministry of Public works, Guarantco, a company member of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), is now the new lender of Tollcam. It replaces Proparco, with whom discussions could not be concluded. Guaranto also confirmed its proposal for a guarantee in local currency (FCFA) and “a solution that would allow the State to be accompanied in the execution of expropriations with a complementary financing facility”.
Since the end of 2021, the project owner had recommended that Tollcam submit a timetable for the finalisation of the financial closing to be completed by December 2021. The relevant documents were made available to Guarantco for analysis and final approval.
However, the other details of the agreement (obligations of the parties, rents, duration of the agreement, etc.) of this new partnership are not yet known. The previous agreement covered a period of 20 years, including two years of construction and 18 years of operation. During the construction period, more than 300 direct and numerous indirect jobs were expected to be created.
For an initial investment cost of CFAF 28.94 billion, the revenue generated by the 14 toll booths was expected to start at CFAF 7 billion in 2021 and reach CFAF 53.59 billion in 2039 based on a single tariff of CFAF 500. The net revenue to be paid back to the State was set at CFAF 5.482 billion in 2021 and CFAF 48.995 billion in 2039.
As a reminder, the 14 toll stations to be built and the routes of the roads are as follows Nsimalen (Yaoundé-Mbalmayo), Mbankomo (Yaoundé-Mbankomo); Tiko (Douala-Mutenguene); Edea (Douala-Edea); Boumnyebel (Edea-Boumnyebel); Nkometou (Yaoundé-Obala); Bayangam (Bangangte-Bafoussam); Bafia (Obala-Bafia); Mbanga (Douala-Mbanga); Manjo (Mbanga-Manjo); Bandja (Bafang-Bafoussam); Matazen (Bafoussam-Bamenda); Foumbot (Bafoussam-Foumbot) and Dschang (Dschang-Bamougoum).
