Cameroon is set to launch its first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project in the capital city, Yaoundé, which will serve 43,000 passengers daily by 2028. The project is part of the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (Pmus) and has the financial and technical support of development partners including the French Development Agency, the German Agency for International Development Cooperation, and the European Union. Construction work is expected to start in the second half of 2023 at a total cost of around 120 billion CFA francs (nearly 183 million euros), subject to meeting certain prerequisites.
The “Trans-Yaoundé” project aims to provide a solution to the city’s traffic congestion and air pollution caused by the carbon dioxide emissions generated by the national car fleet, which was composed mainly of 190,000 thermal vehicles in 2018. The BRT infrastructure will initially consist of 52 buses and will connect various busy points such as the Olembé stadium, the Messassi district, the administrative center of Etoudi, the city hall, the central market, the central post office, and the Mvan crossroads. The project comes at a time of strong demographic growth, and the government is hoping to inspire a rush towards public transport modes that emit less greenhouse gases.
Financial Opportunities
Before that, Nigerian start-up Metro Africa Xpress (MAX.ng) is one such company that is already taking advantage of the growing demand for sustainable urban mobility solutions. The start-up raised $100 million in 2023 from venture capital firm Lightrock, among others, to roll out its electric motorcycles in ten African countries, including Cameroon, Uganda, and Egypt.
The launch of the BRT project could attract investors, and the government is looking to follow in the footsteps of other countries such as Senegal, which recently commissioned the BRT Dakar. The rush towards public transport modes that emit less greenhouse gases could be an opportunity for companies investing in sustainable urban mobility solutions.
