The history of the railway in Cameroon. Between internal challenges and geopolitical stakes

Railroad development in Cameroon is at the heart of a number of multi-scalar issues. On the scale of the African continent, the struggle for influence between China, Europe and the United StateÊ´tats-Unis implies new investment choices. On a regional scale, the presence of Boko Haram in the far north and the Anglophone crisis in western Cameroon influence the development of the rail network and the accessibility of territories. At a national level, the railroad, a powerful lever for unification in the wake of independence, remains essential as a political, social and economic tool, despite competition from road transport and an institutional and contractual architecture criticized by the authorities and public opinion. This complex general framework consequently calls into question the actors mobilized and the technical choices made to build the network, inherited from the colonial era. Does the governance model introduced, or even imposed, by financial backers and private shareholders meet the principle of efficient economic management in favor of the socio-economic interests of the territories crossed and the populations served? This article provides an answer to this question, by analyzing the role of financial backers in current geopolitical logics, with regard to China’s new Silk Road policy (Belt and Road Initiative), as well as Europe’s Global Gateway policy, in favor of the development of corridors in Africa.