Delivering the asphalt for Phase I of Cameroon’s first expressway

Meeting the exacting road design specifications, a Lintec CSM4000 containerised asphalt plant has formed an integral role in upgrading a strategic section of the corridor connecting the Cameroonian cities of Douala and Yaoundé. The new works replace an older roadway that has been in place for over three decades.

It was widely billed as the battle between Liverpool FC’s then finest strikers, as Sadio Mané (of Senegal) and Mo Salah (of Egypt) came face to face in the final of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) football championship, held between 9 January and 6 February 2022. A capacity crowd gathered in the Olembé Stadium in Yaoundé, Cameroon, to watch the match, which saw jubilant scenes when Mané’s penalty gave the Lions of Teranga their first-ever AFCON trophy.

The route to Olembé Stadium, which housed 48 000 football fans, was kick-started by a Lintec CSM4000 containerised asphalt plant. The plant played a pivotal role in the construction of Cameroon’s first-ever expressway, connecting the capital Yaoundé with its largest city, Douala – home to the region’s major airport and largest port.

The rapid growth of traffic on the old National Road No.3 had long left it struggling to support the economic and population growth of the two cities. Once labelled the world’s sixthmost dangerous road, at one time it was even responsible for a third of the country’s traffic accidents – the combined result of high traffic levels and neglected infrastructure.

A brand-new road was urgently required and, in 2011, plans were confirmed for the construction of 196 km of six lanes of dual carriageway, divided by a 5 m wide median strip. This would not only reduce the total travel distance between the two cities from 265 km to 215 km, but also enable the implementation of a 110 km/h speed limit across the route.

In January 2015, China First Highway Engineering Company – a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company – began work on Phase 1, which involved the construction of a 60 km stretch between Yaoundé and Bibodi, plus 25 km of access roads connecting it with National Road No.3.

At 98% progress before the tournament began in January 2022, the next step was to finalise construction of functional infrastructure, including five interchanges, nine toll booths, three rest areas, two service areas and 11 river crossings.

“This was such an important project that the government made opening up the 60 km of Phase 1 a priority before the tournament began,” says Tony Liu, CEO, Lintec & Linnhoff China. “Progress had suffered from the frequent heavy rains and other setbacks, but of course our CSM4000 performed perfectly whenever it was called upon.”

Part of that flawless performance can be attributed to the mixing plant’s containerised design. The plant’s components do not just fit in the container, they are in-built within the container, which is 100% ISO certified. Hence the working components are protected from harsh weather, thereby greatly reducing maintenance demands while also offering increased security

by restricting access to just one lockable door.

Tony Liu, CEO, Lintec & Linnhoff China

The CSM4000 boasts an impressive output of 320 t/h of asphalt in batch sizes of 4 000 kg. Its containerised design enables it to be transported to other jobsites quickly and effortlessly as each container houses the key components, enabling the Lintec trademark plug-and-play installation. Offering the fastest erection and relocation times of any large-capacity asphalt plant, no concrete foundations need to be prepared at the next destination due to the unit’s flat, rigid surface area, ensuring high stability on compacted soil. This saves cost and time during installation. “It’s always rewarding to play a part in enabling such vital improvements to a country’s infrastructure. The old National Road No.3 was slowing the country’s growth, and the problem was only worsening as it struggled to cope with rising traffic levels,” adds Liu. “Building Cameroon’s first The Lintec CSM4000 asphalt plant’s expressway improved the lives of components are built within the container, which ordinary citizens through enhanced is 100% ISO certified public safety, greater GDP and speeding up access between two major hubs,” Liu concludes. The cost of Phase 1 has been estimated at between US$441 million (R7.9 billion) and $528 million (R9.5 billion). Phase 2, which will be executed under a public-private partnership to ensure a speedy completion, will cover the remaining 136 km to Douala at an estimated cost of $1.271 billion (R22.884 billion).