Cameroon Falls Short of Housing Targets in 2024
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Loading... - Sonia Odamtten
- 23 Dec 2024
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Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute announced earlier this month that the Cameroonian government managed to construct only 110 new housing units in 2024, significantly below the target of 550 units. These units were built in collaboration with local small and medium-sized enterprises in the regions of Mbanga Bakoko, Douala, and Olembé, Yaoundé. The total achieved represents just 20% of the original goal set for the year.
In November 2023, the Prime Minister presented the 550-unit target to Parliament but did not provide specific details on how this goal would be met. Around the same time, Minister of Housing and Urban Development Célestine Ketcha Courtès announced plans to construct 175 units as part of a broader initiative to build 10,000 social housing units in partnership with the Italian firm Pizzarotti. However, the Prime Minister's recent address did not clarify the reasons behind the shortfall of 440 units.
Despite the missed target for 2024, Joseph Dion Ngute outlined new plans for 2025, which include the construction of 675 new housing units in collaboration with local businesses as part of the 10,000-unit social housing program. Additionally, 200 units are set to be built in Bamenda (Northwest) and Buea (Southwest) as part of the government’s Three-Year Emergency Plan aimed at accelerating economic growth.
Cameroon is currently grappling with a severe housing shortage, with an estimated deficit of 2.5 million social housing units. In 2009, the government initiated a program to address this gap by planning to build 10,000 social housing units and develop 50,000 plots of land. The pilot phase of this project aimed to construct 1,675 units, and to date, nearly 2,000 units have been completed in various cities, including Yaoundé, Douala, Bafoussam, Limbe, Bamenda, and Sangmelima.
