Cameroun accelerating road paving with 488 km annually until 2025

Between 2020 and the end of 2025, Cameroon is on track to pave an average of 488 kilometers of roads each year, a pace highlighted by national authorities. This ambitious target reflects a broader initiative to address the country’s long-standing infrastructure gap, where the proportion of paved roads remains disproportionately low compared to its vast territory and critical regional logistics demands.

Expanding the backbone of Cameroon’s road network

By the end of 2025, the cumulative effort will have added nearly 2,928 kilometers of asphalt surfaces, based on the yearly average reported by officials. This expansion spans key transport corridors, urban feeder roads, and regional links, reinforcing the government’s commitment to improving mobility and economic connectivity. In Cameroon, asphalted roads are not just infrastructure—they are a strategic lever for agricultural access, trade corridors, and reaching remote areas in the North and East.

The national road network, historically dominated by unpaved tracks, is gradually transforming into a more resilient and connected system. While the current pace marks a significant improvement over past performance—often hindered by delays in major projects funded by international partners—the ratio of paved roads to total classified roads still lags behind regional peers in the CEMAC zone. This shortfall keeps pressure on policymakers to deliver faster and more efficiently.

Logistics corridors and regional competitiveness

The stakes extend far beyond Cameroon’s borders. As a logistical hub, the country serves landlocked neighbors Chad and the Central African Republic, whose trade flows heavily rely on the port of Douala. Every kilometer of paved highway along the Douala-N’Djamena and Douala-Bangui corridors translates into lower transport costs, shorter travel times, and greater reliability for shippers. Poor road conditions during the rainy season, which accelerate surface wear, directly impact port operators and freight carriers by inflating operational expenses.

This road expansion aligns with Cameroon’s 2030 development agenda, which prioritizes infrastructure as a foundation for industrialization. Agro-industrial zones in the South-West, Littoral, and Far North regions depend on reliable road access to move goods to domestic markets and export ports. Additionally, road connectivity is a decisive factor for attracting investment in mining and forestry sectors, where investors closely evaluate evacuation routes for raw materials.

Funding, debt, and long-term sustainability

The rapid pace of road construction raises critical questions about financing. Projects are financed through a mix of domestic budgets, concessional loans from the World Bank and the African Development Bank, bilateral funding, and credit lines from Chinese institutions like Eximbank. While this funding model enables rapid mobilization of large-scale resources, it also increases public debt service obligations and demands rigorous fiscal discipline to avoid compromising future fiscal space.

The sustainability of the current construction rate hinges on the government’s ability to meet payment obligations to contractors, several of which have raised concerns in recent years over delayed payments. Equally vital is road maintenance: without a dedicated and predictable funding stream through the Road Fund and a systematic upkeep policy, newly paved roads can deteriorate within five to seven years, turning initial investments into long-term liabilities. Authorities have responded by announcing plans to strengthen toll systems and earmarked revenue mechanisms to secure consistent maintenance funding.

Looking ahead, whether Cameroon can maintain—or even accelerate—its current paving pace remains uncertain, particularly in a constrained fiscal environment. Meanwhile, unmet needs persist in rural and secondary road networks, underscoring the ongoing challenge of balancing expansion with upkeep and equitable regional development.