Car Assembly: Construction Begins On Douala Plant

Some 8 per cent of work on the 4-month project has already been executed in 10 days.

In about a year from now, ‘Made in Cameroon’ vehicles will be available on the market in the Central African Sub-region. The firs-ever project to assemble cars for domestic, tourist and industrial use in the sub-region, has kicked off in the Bonaberi Industrial Zone in Douala. The Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development, Ernest Gbwaboubou, noted with satisfaction the level of work on the first phase of the project. He made the appreciation during a visit to the site on October 13, 2016 to evaluate the level of work.

Officials of Matgenie, the company executing the project, told the Minister that 8 per cent of the 4-month project has been executed in 10 days. Initial work began with the paving of the 420-metre road to the site. Presently, a portion of the site is being filled and compacted with funds from Matgenie coffers. It is for this reason that the General Manager of Matgenie, Othon Niwa Long, said they were waiting for government to disburse funds for the continuation of the project. Obstacles such as heavy rains last August and September and problems in accessing the site were slowing down execution, he noted.