The operational details of the Douala Urban Mobility Project (PMUD) highlight a strategy focused on infrastructure viability. Program officials emphasize the need to build new access roads to connect residential neighborhoods to main stations. Current urban roads lack the robustness to support the expected traffic density. The development of a new road network offers a guarantee of durability of over twenty years, a threshold necessary to encourage private operators to commit to a long period of operation.

The overall financial structure of the BRT network amounts to 335.3 billion FCFA. The World Bank remains the primary donor with a contribution of 261 billion FCFA. The private sector will complement the budget with 62.1 billion FCFA, while the State and the Douala Urban Community will mobilize the remaining 12.4 billion FCFA. The final contract formula awaits validation from the Council for the Implementation of Partnership Contracts (CARPA) by the end of 2026.

The construction site is scheduled to start before the end of 2026, with an initial phase focused on delivering 12 kilometers of feeder roads for a cost of 4 billion FCFA. Eventually, buses will run on a total network of 28 kilometers divided into four distinct lines. Users will have 48 stations spaced every 500 meters, as well as five major exchange hubs established at the old customs office, Ndokoti, PK14, Nelson Mandela, and Yassa to connect the city's different modes of transportation. The fluidity of urban traffic will depend on the good coordination between the installation of concrete infrastructure, the attractiveness of contractual clauses for investors, and the integration of artisanal transporters into the new metropolitan organization.


BCN

Tags: transport douala bus rapid transit pmud infrastructures mobilité urbaine partenariat public privé banque mondiale développement urbain