“It’s A Great Outcome of Good Bilateral Cooperation”

What motivated Cameroon and Korea to undertake this project?
Public health has been one of the priority cooperation areas of the two governments, and Korea has sufficient capability to construct a well-equipped and advanced general hospital. In addition, Korea considered the importance of supporting socially vulnerable classes and pursuing balanced development across different regions. The total cost is USD 60 million. The Garoua General Hospital is a great outcome of the good bilateral cooperation between the Republic of Cameroon and the Republic of Korea. I would like to thank the Prime Minister, Head of Government, and the Minister of Public Health, for the realisation of this important project. I would also like to thank the Minister of the Economy, Planning and Regional Development, and the Minister of Finance, who played important roles in the success of this project. Finally, we address our sincere thanks to the President of the Republic, for the fulfillment of his promise made to the people.

How long did this project take?
In December 2014, a loan agreement for this project was signed between our two governments after consultations and feasibility studies. SAMSUNG C&T won the international tender for the construction of the Garoua General Hospital in November 2016, and a market agreement was signed in June 2017. Construction works were launched officially in September 2017 and finished in March 2022. 

What will be the next cooperation project?
The Korean government respects the area and project item that the partner countries put priority on, while ensuring that each project serves Korea’s broader development policy interests. We will discuss the details once we receive Cameroonian government’s suggestions. 

With regards to bilateral development cooperation, what are the main highlights? 
In terms of the size of bilateral development cooperation, the Republic of Korea is the number sixth partner country within Cameroon. Korea’s development aid is provided by two main channels, the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) which provides bilateral loans and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) which provides bilateral grants and is a public organisation whose parent agency is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Korea. So far, two EDCF projects were carried out under the close consultation between our two governments. The first one was the construction of three vocational training centres in Douala, Limbe and Sangmelima, which finished in 2017. This project amounted to USD 33 million. The Garoua General Hospital, the second project, amounting to USD 60 million, concluded construction last March as one of the most advanced hospitals in Cameroon. The KOICA office in Cameroon opened in 2011, has been implementing grant aid projects. KOICA projects in Cameroon have four focus areas: public health, education and training, electronic government and humanitarian assistan...