Project to expand Bertoua Airport: preparatory phase for compensating affected communities
Published: Monday, 25 August 2025 16:06
Dr. Nkwedi Simon Ndoh, the Senior Divisional Officer of Lom & Djerem in the East Region, launched a sensitisation campaign for communities affected by the expansion of Bertoua Airport on Wednesday, August 20, 2025. The meeting, held in a calm atmosphere, took place at the traditional chiefdom of Toungou, situated in the Mandjou subdivision of Cameroon.
The purpose of the meeting was to inform residents of the Aviation and Mboutoutou localities about the measures planned to compensate them for the loss of their land rights and the destruction of their property.
Indeed, the expansion of Bertoua Airport is a major project, part of a state-prescribed plan to rehabilitate secondary airports in Tiko, Kribi, and Bertoua. This initiative seeks to promote inter-regional connectivity and foster local economic development.
Previously established on a 180-hectare plot, the airport was deemed too small to meet the growing air transport needs of the region. As the Senior Divisional Officer emphasised in his opening remarks, "Every regional capital has its airport, and Bertoua's was very small. It had to be expanded to facilitate the transport of goods and people." The sensitisation phase, which has now been launched, will conclude with the distribution of compensation to those impacted by the project.
It is worth noting that this compensation operation follows Prime Ministerial Decree No. 2024/02597/PM of July 1, 2024, in which the total compensation cost was estimated at CFA 490,000,000. For this first phase of compensation, an initial amount of CFA 200,000,000 will be allocated exclusively to occupants who own real estate and buildings located within the expansion zone.
During the sensitisation, the communities were enlightened on several concerns, such as the absence of certain names from the beneficiary lists, the demarcation of the initial and expansion zones, the necessary documents to provide, and the implementation of a second payment phase.
The Head of the Aeronautical Heritage Department at the CCAA announced the imminent start of the physical demarcation of the airport's property. This operation will involve identifying the different zones using boundary markers and sensitisation signs. In 2026, the second phase will continue and will specifically address victims who have lost their crops.
This rehabilitation project is certain to boost the region's socio-economic development, particularly through job creation, the opening up of production basins (air freight), and the growth of economic, hotel, and tourism activities.
Trans: MKG/ARO-PRU
