Announcement of Five Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollar Engineering Credit to Cameroon on January 26, 1968 . : Announcement of Five Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollar Engineering Credit to Cameroon on January 26, 1968

• INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION 1818 H STREET, N.W .. WASHINGTON D. C. 20433 TELEPHONE: EXECUTIVE 3-6360 IDA Press Release No. 68/2 Subject: $550,000 E·ngtneering Credit January 26, 1968 to Cameroon A credit of $550,000 to the Federal Republic of Cameroon for engineering ser- vices connected with road improvements, was announced today by the International Development Association (IDA), an affiliate of the World Bank. Transportation, together with agriculture for which the Bank and IDA have al- ready lent $18 million in Came:-oon, has high priority in the GoverMtent's develop- ment plans. The IDA credit will enable Cameroon to complete prepa·cation of two road projects which would contribute significantly to the country's domestic and foreign trade and also to economic and administrative integration. • One of the roads involved runs about 175 miles from Ngaoundere to Garoua and is the final link to be improved in the main north-south route connecting northern Cameroon with Atlantic Ocean ports. The other road, extending about 15 miles between Tico and Victoria, has become inadequate for the present volume of traff:J.~; it forms part of the route now being built to link Douala and Victoria, the two main ports and business centers of East and West Cameroon. Consultant services for the Ngav~ndere-Garoua road will include the preparation of detailed engineering and cost estimates of two alternatives~ a gravel and an asphalt road, a refinement of the economic benefits, and the preparation of tender documents for the road design selected. The consultants will review the preliminary engineering already finished for the Tice-Victoria road, prepare detailed engineer- ing, and verify the economic justification. The local currency cost of the work, • estimated r...: the equi.valent of $220,000,will be financed by the Cameroon Government • The IDA credit will be for 10 years, including a two-year grace period. The credit is free of interest, but carrif:!s a service charge of 3/4 of n. to meet IDA' s administrative costs. If, in due course, an IDA credit is extended for construc- tion of the roads involved. the engineering credit would be refunded out of the proceeds of the construction credit. - 0 -