Has gov’t scrapped Limbe cement factory, Cameroon?
The Government of Cameroon has been cited in the delay of construction of the Limbe Cement Factory that was supposed to begin last April.
When local newspaper ‘The Post’ visited the site Friday, June 13, only a security guard, a handful of idle people and huge containers could be seen here. Elsewhere, an official, who asked not to be quoted, said further studies still need to be carried out before quarrying equipment can be brought in.
However, local belief holds that the Biya regime is scheming to shelve the project, with a view to setting it up in Kribi, just like happened to the Chad Pipeline project and is happening to the deep sea port.
A South Korean company, NEOBIZ Partners Limited, had signed an agreement on January 16, in Yaounde to begin work.The documents for the final take-off of the cement plant were signed between the NEOBIZ Company led by Park Jong Duck and Prime Minister Ephraim Inoni.
Officials of the Korean company visited the Limbe site the following day before their departure. They had promised to be back by April to commence construction work.
The Post learnt that some 40-foot containers found on the premises are stocked with materials that had been ferried to the site about three years ago with a view to beginning the work.
These containers, however, are just "lying fallow", with their contents fast depreciating, courtesy of the Government that has refused to give the go-ahead for the project to take off.
At the site still, two office structures stand idle. This is where some marginal official business of the company has been going on.Meantime, at the gate leading to the office complex, there is a notice indicating that job seekers have been flooding the company with applications.
The weather-beaten notice states that there are no vacancies for employment. It states further that the public would be notified when employment opportunities will be available.
The cement factory, according to the Koreans, will offer some 120 direct jobs and 200 indirect ones.
Given the huge amount involved in the project (FCFA35bn) there are great chances for a big multiplier effect that would possibly lead to the creation of other indirect jobs.
Published under Cement News
