The newly-constructed Cross River Bridge linking Cameroon and Nigeria has been commissioned.
The inauguration of the 1.5km- long structure took place on November 3, 2022.
Cameroon President Paul Biya was represented at the ceremony by the Minister of Public Works, Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi while the Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari was represented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Zubairu Dada.
The total cost of the project stands at 21.132 billion FCFA financed by a joint loan from the African Development Bank granted to both countries. According to the Cameroon’s Ministry of Public Works, the construction of the bridge will be followed in the coming months by the execution of related development initiatives financed by a grant of the European Union to the African Development Bank to the tune of 9 billion FCFA.
The same sources say the bridge is the result of President Biya’s commitment to work towards the implementation of the GreenTree Agreement, governing the transfer of authority from Nigeria to Cameroon over the Bakassi Peninsular on the one hand, and to continue the development of cross-border roads, while boosting economic exchanges between the two countries, on the other.
On the Nigerian side, Ambassador Zubairu said that the bridge will provide a veritable synergy to combat security challenges bedeviling the two countries.
“It is also our hope that it will complement the efforts of the governments of Nigeria and Cameroon to combat the scorch of terrorism and violent extremism in our region’’, he added.
According to President Buhari’s representative, the Ekok/Mfum Bridge and Joint Border Post at Mfum, Cross River would deepen socio-economic and diplomatic relations between both countries.
