📋 Tender Overview
Scope :
The European Union has agreed to provide €123 million to support upgrading of the 330km Belabo – Ngaoundere railway line in Cameroon.
Once upgrading work is completed in 2028 more than 1 million passengers a year are expected to benefit from the improved service and upgrading the railway is expected to stimulate economic growth and create jobs along the route and in northern Cameroon.
The project includes upgrading rail tracks and engineering work, improving station facilities and improving rail crossing safety.
Once complete the lines is expected to enable passenger trains to travel at 90 km an hour and freight trains at 70 km an hour. The new loan for the Belabo – Ngaoundere railway represents the EIB's largest ever financing for transport investment in sub-Saharan Africa and the largest single investment in Cameroon.
Cameroon occupies a strategic position as a gateway into the Central African region and has a key role to play in opening the transport corridor between Douala (Cameroon), N’Djamena (Chad) and Bangui (Central African Republic). However, currently the lack of connectivity along this corridor, combined with long distances between major markets, and inadequate transport infrastructure, are hampering Cameroon’s capacity to exploit this position as a regional backbone.
The project consists of rehabilitating and upgrading a 330 km section of non-electrified, single-track railway line between Bélabo and Nganoundéré. This includes replacement of ballast, sleepers and rail. The Bélabo-Ngaoundéré railway section was opened in 1974 and has never been renewed. It consists of ageing, mostly single-track, non-electrified metric gauge lines that cause speed restrictions (60 km/h for passengers and 50 km/h for freight). The road network is not able to absorb additional traffic, consisting of mostly unpaved roads, which are prone to accidents.
As a result of the improvements, the speed restrictions will be lifted – allowing speeds of 90 km/h for passengers and 70 km/h for freight – while the bearing capacity will be increased from 17 tonnes/axle to 20 tonnes/axle. Expected outcomes include improved safety and mobility, for both people and goods, reduced operating costs, shorter travel times, improved food security and better access to trade and economic services. The railway line will improve services for the 1.2 million passengers using it annually, and will allow some existing road freight to be carried by rail, while also allowing for increased rail traffic. The improved railway infrastructure will lead to promotion of investment, job creation and income generation, and therefore also to poverty reduction.
