Battle For The Core Axes: Huge Progress, Challenges Of Ring Road Construction

For decades, National Road No. 11 - famously known as the Ring Road - existed as an infamous political mirage. The road, which begins in Bamenda, Mezam Division - and at the same time the regional headquarters – runs through the rest of Mezam Division to Ngoketunjia, Bui, Donga-Mantung and Menchum Divisions, back to Bamenda. Left out of the Ring Road itinerary are two of the North West Region’s seven administrative divisions - Boyo and Momo Divisions. 

Rugged, Conflict-prone Terrain
Spanning some of the most rugged, conflict-prone, and fertile terrain in Cameroon's North West Region, the Ring Road’s unpaved state effectively cut off communities during the rainy season. Today, funded by a multibillion-FCFA intervention from the African Development Bank, AfDB, the 88-kilometer Kumbo-Ndu-Nkambe-Misaje axis has become a sprawling, multi-speed construction zone. Where engineering triumphs crash directly into geopolitical realities.

Lot 1: Kumbo-Ndu (39 km) - The Insecurity Bottleneck
Handled by BUN'S SARL construction company for a total contract cost of 34,925,833,271 FCFA, this section remains a complex engineering challenge. According to the official Ministry of Public Works Weekly Works Monitoring Report compiled by the CPR-FC Unit (dated Saturday, May 30, 2026), physical progress stands at 55.09%, while contractual time consumption has reached 82.41% (979 out of 1,188 days elapsed).

Insecurity 
As Mr. Nfor Cyprian, the Regional Delegate for Public Works for North West, explained in an interview with Cameroon Tribune Online: "The greatest challenge has been the insecurity in that section, which was very high as compared to the other two lots... difficulties to go to the field and evaluate the right-of-way all stem from insecurity."
Recognizing these severe external delays, the Ministry granted the contractor a nine-month extension, shifting the final deadline to December 25, 2026.

Technical Metrics: As documented by Works Director, Tangie Joseph Ndifor and Control Mission Head, Zam Omer Patrick, heavy earthworks are well advanced, with excavation to spoil reaching 97.02% execution (755,896 cubic meters). Pavement layer works sit at 29.17%, with the foundation layer received from PK 5+000 to PK 39+000. Base course (GC 0/31.5) is complete between PK 24+000 and PK 39+000.

Structural Progress: Drainage structures stand at 37.70% execution, highlighted by 4,950 meters of laid 60x60 U-drains and 15,513 meters of concrete triangular ditches. Hydraulic works feature 67.90% completion, with 680 items of reinforced box culverts prefabricated.

Financial Friction: The technical report explicitly flags financial blockages at the state level: while older invoices are liquidated up to Voucher No. 23, Vouchers No. 24 (Feb 2026 for 375,915,733 F) and No. 25 (Mar 2026 for 321,761,121 F), totaling 697,676,854 CFA F, remain stuck at the treasury marked "processed but pending payment."

Lot 2: Ndu (Mbiyeh)-Nkambe (31 km) - The Blueprint for Success
In stark contrast, Lot 2, executed by indigenous firm MAG SARL for 28,999,925,838 FCFA, stands as an unqualified success. Currently tracking at 96.8% to 98% completion, works are practically finished.
As Regional Delegate Nfor Cyprian noted, the contractor bypassed lengthy state administrative delays by deploying an agile, direct community-compensation strategy: "Between Ndu and Nkambe, there was that challenge (of right-of-way structures)... MAG used a local solution. They decided to displace people with compensation, which will be handled later by the State. That was early in the contract."

Lot 3: Nkambe-Misaje (18 km) - The Nigerian Border Extension
This final lot, valued at 18.2 Billion FCFA, is managed via a Joint Venture between Bofas and Super Confort  construction comapnies. It represents the most severely delayed portion of the primary network, sitting at just 36% physical progress, against 83.74% time consumed. Official records reveal the contract's original timeframe has been completely surpassed, requiring an emergency extension until March 13, 2026, which has also lapsed.
Addressing the timeline violations, Regional Delegate Nfor Cyprian stated: "They too are facing challenges of right-of-way structures over there... Bofas and Super Confort have brought in a lot of new equipment. If everything works well and they finish with their earthwork and accelerate, we could still be expecting progress through that lot. Our projection is that in 2027, all the lots should be complete."

To Nigerian Frontier 
Regarding the international corridor extending from Misaje to Dumbo and Abongnshe on the Nigerian frontier, Cyprian confirmed that the state is consciously withholding intense field deployment: "For now, we are not talking much about the continuation from Misaje to the border with Nigeria because our focus is on the Nkambe-Misaje stretch. But the portion from Misaje to Dumbo and Abongnshe will be constructed because it is part of the contract from Nkambe to Misaje."

The Shared Supply Line Crisis
A major logistical nightmare was revealed by the Regional Delegate, who pointed out that all contractors on the three lots of the Ring Road from Bui Division to Donga-Mantung Division do not use standard corridors due to regional volatility:
"All the materials that were going for work in those three lots had to enter from the West Region through Magba-Ntaba before going round to the different sites. Meanwhile, Magba-Ntaba is not a national road. As a result, the contractors had to do a lot of maintenance there."

Financial Friction: The technical report explicitly flags fina...