The economic metropolis' rainwater drainage project has been boosted in recent months. The findings were made by a team from the Technical Support Secretariat dedicated to the execution of the Debt Reduction and Development Contract (Stade-C2D), which visited the field from 30 November to 08 December 2018. The aim was to assess the overall level of execution of this project, whose objective is to combat rain-induced flooding through the construction of drains and the strengthening of the capacities of actors in rainwater sanitation.
The mission, led by Josué OyaneNsola, head of programme monitoring at Stade-C2D, visited the various drain sites and exchanged views with engineers from the Douala Urban Community (CUD), the contracting authority and the technicians of the winning companies. The team was thus able to observe that the work on the drains, which had previously progressed very slowly, due to numerous pitfalls, was now proceeding at a satisfactory pace, with progress having increased from 28% in December 2017 to 70% at the end of November 2018, for a lead time consumption rate of 88%.
This increase reflects the effectiveness of 27 kilometres of canals built. In addition to the construction of these evacuation ducts, 1057 people were compensated for an amount of CFAF 2.88 billion, eight CUD managers and two teachers from the University Institute of Technology (IUT) of the University of Douala were trained in stormwater management and the production of catalogues to raise awareness among the population about the use of the canals built.
The implementation of this project concerns as a priority the execution of development work on nearly 49 kilometres of drains, which is carried out in two lots, as well as the development programme for poorly structured neighbourhoods adjacent to the drains built. The project is co-financed to the tune of CFAF 11.8 billion, as part of the 2nd generation C2D. It also benefits from a loan from the French Development Agency (AFD) and an additional contribution from the State of Cameroon of about CFAF 24 billion, covering value added tax (VAT) and the costs of releasing the right-of-way, which are scheduled to be completed in the first half of 2019.