Cameroon : Douala Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)

Challenge

Douala, a port city with a population of 3.5 million is the economic capital of Cameroon. With the Sea Port of Douala, handling most of the country's trade with its neighbors and internationally, the city, and by default Cameroon, serves as a key transportation hub in the Centra Africa sub-region. With this hub status and population growth averaging 3-4% per annum coupled by inadequate urban/city planning, urban mobility has become a major challenge for the city. A World Bank Group-supported Cameroon City Competitiveness Diagnostic identified lack of an efficient public transport system as an impediment to the economic growth and competitiveness of Douala, and therefore the urgent need for national and city authorities to develop an efficient multi-modal public transportation system for the city.

Solution

A GIF Project Preparation & Structuring Activity (PPSA) funding and technical support through the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to support the Government of Cameroon (GoC) to implement a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) scheme for the city. The support is providing in-depth transaction advisory support to bring the Douala BRT project to market as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) by preparing and structuring the project, as well as support the procurement of a private operator through a transparent and competitive process. The GIF support spans technical, legal, financial and commercial advisory services to GoC including but not limited to developing the necessary operational elements, detailed technical feasibility studies, conducting financial/economic analysis and modelling, drafting legal documents/project agreements, performing market sounding and roadshow activities and implementing bidding processes for the selection of a private operator and negotiations support till commercial and financial close.

Expected Impact

As the first mass transit public transport system in the country, the project is expected to lead to improved public transport services, which will facilitate access to economic activity and social services. Improved journey times would enhance productivity in both public and private sector institutions/enterprises thus contributing to improve total factor productivity and thereby economic development. The project will require an estimated US$200 million of investment, of which up to US$55 million is expected from a private operator for the bus fleet and related operations & maintenance infrastructure. The implementation of a mass transit scheme is also expected to contribute the abatement of 300,000 tons of CO2 and other green-house gases (GHG) thereby contributing the attainment of the country's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) as per the Paris Agreement.