A recent joint portfolio review, conducted in Yaoundé on July 14, 2026, between the Cameroonian government and the African Development Bank (AfDB), has brought to light a significant financial risk for Cameroon. Seven operations, which had received approval from the pan-African institution’s authorities and amounted to 373.419 million Units of Account—equivalent to approximately 292 billion FCFA—are now at risk of cancellation. The primary reason for this predicament is not a lack of available resources, but rather the protracted internal procedures that are impeding the effective implementation of these crucial projects.
It is important to clarify that these are not funds already disbursed that Yaoundé would be required to repay. Instead, these allocations represent loans and grants that the AfDB had validated, but for which the respective agreements were not signed within the stipulated deadlines, or where no payments had been initiated despite the legal formalization. Six of these cases fall into the former category, while one belongs to the latter. The total value of financing with pending agreements reaches 339.419 million UC, or nearly 265 billion FCFA.
The Ngoura-Yokadouma road: a symbol of a 207 billion FCFA bottleneck
One particular project stands out due to its immense financial scale. The Cross-Border Economic Basins Opening-Up and Connectivity Program, designed to fund the development of the Ngoura-Yokadouma road in the country’s East, accounts for a staggering 265.4 million UC, roughly 207 billion FCFA, all by itself. This single operation represents over 71% of the total amount currently exposed to the risk of cancellation. Despite being approved on February 18, 2026, the loan agreement for this vital infrastructure initiative was still awaiting signature at the time of the review.
Five other projects find themselves in a similar administrative gridlock. Among the operations awaiting signature is the Project to Support the Pan-African University, Phase 2, which was allocated 3.64 million UC by the African Development Fund (AfDF) and approved on December 19, 2024. Also stalled are the study for the Minkouma hydroelectric development on the Sanaga River (2.994 million UC), the study project for the CUA-Y2 university campus (2.320 million UC), and the PROSTABLT program for risk prevention through stabilization at Lake Chad (5.095 million UC).
Adding to this list is a strategic regional initiative: the transport and trade facilitation project, which includes the construction of a bridge over the Ntem River, situated on the border with Equatorial Guinea. Approved on November 29, 2023, this project combines an AfDB loan of 39.97 million UC with an AfDF loan of 20 million UC.
PARZIK2: fifteen months without a single disbursement
The seventh project exemplifies a different, yet equally costly, issue. The Project for the Development of Access Roads to the Kribi Industrial and Port Zone, Phase Two, known as PARZIK2, actually has a signed agreement in place. However, more than fifteen months after this agreement was formalized, not a single disbursement had been recorded from its 34 million UC allocation, which translates to approximately 26.54 billion FCFA. This dossier, too, has thus entered the high-risk zone, despite Kribi being a pivotal component of the nation’s industrial and port strategy.
An execution cycle twice as slow as the norm
The data presented during the joint review paints a concerning picture regarding project execution. The average timeframe between the approval of funding and the signing of the corresponding agreement stands at twelve months, significantly longer than the AfDB’s standard of three months. Furthermore, it takes an average of sixteen months for a project to become effective, compared to an expected five months. The initial disbursement, on average, occurs twenty-one months after approval, whereas the target is twelve months. This means nearly two full years elapse before any funds are effectively deployed on the ground.
Alamine Ousmane Mey, the Minister of Economy, Planning, and Regional Development, acknowledged the gravity of this assessment. He highlighted several contributing factors, including insufficient project preparation, delays in public procurement processes, weaknesses within certain project management units, and the belated mobilization of counterpart funds that the state is required to provide as a complement to external resources. These persistent frictions not only inflate costs but also undermine the country’s credibility with its financial partners.
Since its inaugural operation in Cameroon in November 1972, the AfDB has committed 130 loans and grants, accumulating an estimated total of 3,345 billion FCFA. The current 2023-2028 program anticipates eleven new operations, with an estimated approval volume of 833.8 billion FCFA. However, the critical challenge remains the conversion of these financial commitments into tangible, effective projects. For now, this conversion process continues to represent the weakest link in the financial cooperation between Yaoundé and the pan-African institution.
