The China Construction Bank Corporation (CCBC) has canceled its CFA33 billion funding for phase two of Cameroon’s intelligent urban surveillance system extension project, according to the National Sinking Fund (CAA).

The agreement, signed in 2021 for the project’s expansion, is now in the process of being canceled due to the withdrawal of the initial financial partner. The CAA mentioned this in its latest public debt report at the end of September 2024.

Although the CAA did not explicitly name the bank, it is known that, on December 29, 2021, the President of Cameroon signed a decree authorizing the Minister of Economy to contract a loan of CFA33 billion from China Construction Bank for the proposed project. The reasons behind the bank’s withdrawal have not been disclosed. “Negotiations are ongoing to finalize an agreement with another financial partner,” the CAA added, without providing further details.

However, another CFA33 billion is already being negotiated with Banco Santander, a subsidiary of Hong Kong. According to the terms of a presidential decree from March 13, 2024, this loan will be used for “partial financing of the second phase of the national urban intelligent surveillance system project.” This suggests that the new funding being negotiated, in place of the one previously agreed with CCBC, will complement the funds to be provided by Banco Santander.

The intelligent surveillance system aims to equip Cameroonian cities with surveillance capabilities to better combat insecurity. Phase one, funded by the Bank of China for CFA46 billion, has already been deployed. It involved the installation of 1,500 surveillance cameras in various cities and the provision of 2,000 handheld communication devices for better territorial surveillance by the Cameroonian police.

Among the cities covered in phase one are the capitals of the country’s ten regions and strategic locations such as the coastal city of Kribi, which houses the largest port in Cameroon; Kyé-Ossi and Garoua-Boulaï, which are located near the borders with Equatorial Guinea and the Central African Republic. The project also includes cities like Waza, Fotokol, Kousseri, and Amchidé, located in Cameroon’s Far North region, which has faced attacks by the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram since 2013.

Source: Business in Cameroon