Construction industry in the development programmes of the Central African countries

Distr. a.

NlTED NATIONS

ECONOMIC

AND fOT 12 —* ^

SOCIAL COUNCIL ^^ original -0™

COMMISSION'-FoR AFRICA

CoNSTHJCTIoN IIOTSTRY IN ^' D^LOjPMSNT. fcBOGHAMMSS

OF TRfa C.^NTBAL. APEICAN CuUNTSI^'S ■ ..

AMD CONCLUSIONS * ... .... VV. . . , 1 - 12 CAM'^EOON . . , ,'"",..■, . . . '." . ":." ■. .13-20

THE CENTRAL AFHICAN R:^FU3LIC. v.'. . . ./..,'. . \,.. . '21-26

CHAD 27-32

,TKJi ^i^PUBLIC oF TH.^ CONGO (BEA^Z^yiLL^) ,■ '. .... . . •;.- 33 -.38

THU CuNS^HICHON tNKJSTEY IN GABON'". .' , . <'.'.. . 61 - 64

M69-2O94

S/CN.14/INR/178

LIST OF TABLES Table

1 Construction in the overall economy of the countries

of the Central African sub-region, 1963-1966 1-2 2 Construction in the overall economy of the sub-region 2-3 3 The share of construction in the investments of

different economic sectors 4

4 Employment, value added and cement consumption per

person engaged in construction in 1966 4-5 5 Imports of main building materials and components,

I960 7

6 Cement consumption in the Central African countries,

1961-1966 7

7 Projection of investment in construction and' its

components (low alternative) /. 9

8 Projection of employment in construction on the basis

of value added per person engaged 12

9 Construction investment in GDFCF 13

10 Area built according to building permits 14 11 Investments through international assistance in Cameroon 14

12 Investments in the building industry and public works 16

13 Evolution of GDP and GDFCF in Cameroon 17

14 Estimated employment in construction 18

15 Cement consumption , . 1"

16 Registered construction establishments (building and

■ :: public works) by number of permanent personnel in 1963 19

'* 17 Employment in construction by status _ 19

-18 GDECF.and investment in construction 21

19 Building permits by area and category _ 22

20 Investment programme 1965-1966 «

21 Share of .construction in GDP - 23

22 Cement consumption in the Central African Republic 24

23 GDFCF-to GDP ■ ■ . . . . ?2

24 Building .permits in urban centres . 34

25 Cement consumption in Congo (Brazzaville) 37

■26 Lime consumption i'n Congo (Brazzaville) 37 27 Production, trade and consumption of, cement in Congo

(1957-1960) - # 40

28 Distribution of cement consumption by provinces in

Congo - 1958-1965 40

29 Building permits in Kinshasa urban zone 43 30 Democratic Republic of the Congo construction in the

economy (1964-1966) 46

31 GDP in selected sectors of the economy in Congo

(value added in million Fr. CFA at 1958 prices) 47

32 Contribution of selected sectors and activity branches

to the national product 4o

33 The trend of employment in construction 1956-1966 .49

34 Classification of employment in construction "49

- ii -

■.-■■;,-■ ■■(.:■;>

LIST OP TABLES (Cont'd)

Table Pag

35 Effeotive labour force 50

36 Employment in seven biggest building enterprises 51 37 Production of main building materials, 1962-1965 54

"38 Utilization of the production capacity of building

materials in 1965 54

39 Distribution of the production capacities of selected

building materials by region 54

40 Consumption of imported building materials 55 41 Trend of building materials prices in Kinshasa 58 42 Projection of construction activities in the Democratic

Bepublio of the Congo in 1975 and I960 60 43 Main construction eoonomic indicators at current factor

cost 61

44 Cement consumption in Gabon 63

- iii -

&UMMARY "ALW'-COlfCIiU&IOlIS ' '"'

Prefatory note

In trying to establish the present situation of the construction industry and to project the future development, it would not be of

much use to look for data prior to independence... The national boundaries .have- changed and the economic'impacts have been different since

independence.

All the six countries covered in this study attained their independence in i960. However, it has taken some time before they were in a position to establish sound national acoounts and reliable statistics.

Moreover, in dealing with construction statistics it should be understood that this "roofless industry", was not only the first to be

■affected by political changes but, due to its mobile oharacter full statistics of its activities are difficult to secure. It should also be borne in mind, while reading construction statistios in oountries whose economies are still partly in the non-monetary sector, that the change from traditional dwellings, based on local materials in natural form, to modem dwellings, based on manufactured building materials, is a partial and gradual process. Subsistence construction is changed, step by step and part by part, into modern construction, thus distorting statistios and relations between value added and intermediary inputs.

Thus it was neoessary, wherever national statistics were incomplete, to rely to. a certain extent on estimates, based on the available meagre data and general established correlations.

..'. ...Tables 1 and 2 show; "in an abbreviated form, the place of. construp.-.;

tion industry in the national economies of the six countries of this

sub-region*

•Table 1

the Central

In mln, US&

current prioes Cameroon 1963

' 19651964 1966

African

GDPCF 61 69 8211

eub-re^ion*

Invest ment

. ..in--con

struct—

1 ion 29 35 37

■ 39 ■

1963-1966

■biiare of const.

in GD,>'CF^

48 4843 48

factor cost

532 615 652

Value added in const.

19 ■ 21 .23 25

Const•

origin

snare

% 3.6

3.8 ■

3.83.7

GDFCF/

GDP

11.5 12.4

12.5 12.5

"'"'

Page 2

In mln. US\; ,

current prices Central

African Republic Chad

-nvest ment in con struct

GDPCP ion

of const, in- ■

Value GDI- added factor in oost const.

19631964

1966 I9641963

1966

26 2530

"■343"

26 2726 29

The Republic, of the Congo

(Brazzaville)

Democratic Republic of the Congo ' Gabon

19631964 19651966 1963196^

19661965

2527 2729

224 132 180 I89.

1963 51 1964 44

1966 55

11 11

.1313 18.

12

1513 1312 13 15 76 62 60 63 38

"22 26 28

42 44 4339 69 44 50 41 4848 48 41 1 3434 33 33 72 5P 51

51

140131

■ • 162 176 I89 202 238215 115137

121 130 1200 1210 1203 1248

■148 160 186171

4 .56 6 10 10 .11 .

12 67 6 7 23.6 24.6 25..24.

1413 1615

Sources ; i-, national statistics.

Const.

origin share

3.63.1 3.43.7 4.95^3 5.25.1 55 ' 5 5

2.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 Q.8 8.8 Q.6 3.6

17.9

1^5

.18.7

13.713.3 12.0 12.4 .21.71?.7 22.322 ..3 18.6 15.0

14.915.1 34.427.5

29.8

29-5

Table 2 Construction -in tae

Total 'GBFCF in the sub-region

Construction investment in the sub-region The'share of construction investment in

GVFQF (percentage)

Total GJ)¥ in the >sub-region

1963 415

I85

44.6

1964 372 152

4O.i

2,383

[mln. USS' 1965 1966

391 162

417 173

41.4 41

2,492 2,625

Table 2 (oont'd)

Value added in construction in the sub-region

Construction share in GDP (percentage)

GDFCF in GDP in the sub-region

(percentage)

Souro«s t 1. National statistics.

1963 .

78

3.4 18

1964

81 3.4 . 16 .

1965

86 3.5

1966

91 3.5 16

2. Referenoe framework for seotoral studies in Central Afrioa-

- . .-..;3. EGA. secretariats Statistics Division and industry Division

estimates.

7- "■ ■ ' " The Demand Factors

Capital formation

It is well known that construction activities are determined mainly by the national investment in fixed capital assets - the GDFCF.

.._ From..Table 1 and Table 2, we oan see that the total GDFCF in the*

sub-region fluctuated between 372 million US$ in 1964 and 417 million. US$

in I966 and that the construction investment which was 44*6 million US$

in 1963 fell to 40.8 million VB$ in 1964* and rose again to 41*5 million in 1966. These figures are much lower than the generally aocepted share of construction in GDPCF in many oountries whioh ranges from 50 to 60,.

per cent. To this point we shall return at a later stage when we shall try to project the future development of the construction industry in these oouritries•

It should be worthwhile mentioning that the relative share of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the total sub-regional GDPCP declined from 54 per cent in 1963 to 42 per cent in 1966 - a fact whioh is duemot only to the eoonomio difficulties this country had encountered, but also to the absolute rise in investments in the other oountries, especially in Cameroon*

In dealing with the demand for construction, we see that the urbaniza tion prooess has an overwhelming impact on the capital cities of the

suV-region. The other decisive factor is foreign aid, whioh, being the main source of investment., determines the demand in most civil engineering and industrial projects. Some oountries like Cameroon are making efforts to base a greater part- of the investment programmes on internal resources, but the feulk of investment in the,sub-region is financed from foreign

sauroas*.... - - , ' --- _■

Sage 4

1 *V' y >

V1 *V

*

^^afV leadB us t0 ohoose the lower alternatives, for the future demand, as situations might arise in Which a ?

^SS^1*11 ^ °OOU* *8 ■" .^09m.M Preset in

impact total investment on* the construction

t to a^uote a few figures fojr the relative ■ different seotoraj. investments. According to by the ECA secretariat in the 'West Africa*

- „ o^P^t tables for 1975 show the fo^lpwina rate

m percentage* iH'^he main sectors!' *";■'" ." " \"C. ' .. i

$ '' Th& share of construction in the investments of differ*

e-oonomio -sebtors

Agriculture Mining

Manufacturing

Housing Power

Tertiary sector

Source s Industrial development in West Africa.- Integrated Analysis -

The Supply Faotors- Gross output and value added

?f?SS °^?Ut °f oonstru°tio^ tee been estimated in 1963 at some.

EGA.

or 4

Employment , ' ..

Employment figures are given in the following table, Table ,4 5 Employment, value added and cement consumption per

engaged in construction in 1966

Country Cameroon

Central Afrioan Bep«

Chad

Bepublio of the Congo

Persons engaged in const.

(1000) 14

54

10

Value

adde d Value Cement

^7 per oonept,

const. person 1000 mln. US$ US# : .tons

256 12

7

1,785

1,200 300 700

118 18 8 45

Cement oonspt.

tons per

person engaged

8.4 3.6 2.0 4.5

Page 5

Table 4 (oont »d)

■ ■ /

Country

Democratic Hepublio Of the Congo Gabon

Tp^al eub-»region

Sources s !• National

Persons ■ engaged in oonst.

(1000)

50 6

. 89

statistics

Value : added

by const.

mln. U$3

25 16

91

Value

per person

j- us$

500 2,660 1,015

Cement oonspt.

1000' '.

tons-

250

35 474

Cement

oonspt.

tons per 1 person

engaged

5.0

5,8 .

.5.3- ,2# National accounts•

:3* , Cembureau

■ , 4* EGA secretariat estimates.

On the basis of the estimated employment figures for 1966 and the respeotive value added, we have an average value added per person ' engaged of US$l,vl,5 for the sub-region. - /'

..,t.,;On:.the. country scale this figure shows marked variations, from

300 .doilars in :Chad to 2,660 dollars in Gabon. The explanation for the low figure for Chad is to be found in the very high oost of Wld-*

ing materials - due to extensive relianoe on imports and the extremely high transport charges *- and very bheap labour.

It is hard to explain the high figure for Gabon, but partly it

may be due to the oheap building materials owing to exoellent transport

looation of the country and the high cost of labour overheads and

profits,. . .. .

cement consumption figure per person employed in construction is

fflT^ .#\tT"fOrthe Bub-region. Countrywise, it is Smeroon

which has the hxghest oement consumption per person employed (8.4 tons

per annum) while .the lowest is Chad (2 « tons per annum) where it is

a most expensive commodity (approximately 100 dollars per ton) and •

therefore bricks and traditional materials are preferred where^r possible

Contracting enterprises and qualified personnel

In the Democratic Republio of the Congo, the squatters1 building

movement in Kinshasa led to the grouping of skilled labourers with local financiers^ Similarly, a gpoup of forty medium subcontractors

Jjecairo linked to the CORiKA in Katanga. The other countries of the

iwb-region are still in the initial stage in this fields, one establish ment in Camerocnj a co-operative of labourers in the Central &

Heputblie,-,a government sponsored establishment in the Republic CongOi one or two semir-national firms in Chad and some seven

in Gabon. ■■■- ' ' " '■ ■ "'"" :'"'' ■■'■ * ■■. "■ /:• -;

This picture looks grimmer when it is realized that in all the countries of the sub-region most foreman jobs are held by expatriates.

The two main problems confronting construction in the fcub-^region

(if financing is excluded) are materials and manpower. * "

The cement factories under construction will sooner or later solve the problem of the main building material. Nevertheless, the brick industry still has its marketing difficulties, especially in competing wi-th the cement products. Where the brick industry is not naturally pro/tec ted by the transport oost of oeme * it has to be supported by positive government measures. But the industry itself has also to overcome technological deficiencies and raise its productivity so that in price and quality its products will be able to compete better with cement blocks. It would also be wise to train bricklayers in adequate numbers and thus remove one of the obstacles to establishing abriok market*

The greatest problem in manpower is the laok of middle- and high- level managerial staff, mainly foremen. This could not be done in one day. Although public works' schools and the like would be of great value, it will not solve the problem overnight.

It appears that those who pass out of the schools prefer to take up olerioal positions with the Government or local authorities rather

than work on the building sites- Therefore it would be more appropriate to train outstanding skilled gang leaders with leadership abilities on the sites, in evening courses for. better profioienoy <and organization and thus*- to eno ourage^ them to become foremen and eventually contractors*

Such training programmes, if implemented systematically and on a suitable scale, oould solve the problem much better than schools.

Bull ding. Materials .-..- . ; ..- -

The sub-region is heavily dependent on import of building materials*

Table 5 shows that the share of building materials in total imports

is relatively small in the Democratic Republio of the Congo and Cameroon.

Bffort has been made to reduce this dependence on imports as far as cement, bricks and paints are concerned but the major contributors to the imports are the iron and steel products which account for three- quarters of the value of the total imported building materials*

Page 7

It may "be reoalled that during the eoonomio difficulties of the Democratic Bepublio of the Congo it was the lack of building materials

that contributed substantially to the slow down in construction and to higher costs-due to delays in the completion of works;

Table'■ 5 s Imports of main building materials and components, I960

• " ' - (Million US$)

Other Brick, Iron fabri- tile, and cated oer- steel bid. amio pro- Cement mat. wares ducts

S awn- woods

veneer

and woodPly

Glass .

and Paint manu* and fact- var-

ures nishes Total

total national imports

Congo

(Lr) 0.24 Congo (B) 0.94

Gabon ; 0.37 Cameroon 1.11 Central

African

0.11 0.02 0.07

6.78 0.01 4.86 . ■-■

2.05

2.59 0.10

0.090.04

0.10

.0.300.49 0.190.38

7.52 6.30 2.67 4-35

Bep.

Chad Total

0 0 3

.19 - .94 -

.79 - ⁰

.03 .02 -25

0.

1.

18.

83-22

33

■CJ.

0.

26 37 .

0.

0.

0.

0404

31 0 0 1

.21 .19

•76

1.

2.

.24.

30

67

81

117

6 Source : National statistics. '

Table 6 : Cement-consumption in the Central African countries^ 1961-1966

■t-. ( Thousand tons') 19.61. ..- 1962 ; 0,963 1965 -1966

Cameroon , 54

Central African Republic ' 16

chad ; . , , ; . lz.

Congo (Brazzaville) 53

Demooratic Eepublic of the Congo 143

Gabon r ,.2? ,:

2267

18 61 176 35

11673 9 49 211

8720 12 58 193 37

114 -e15;

43 213 33

118

; 8

18 25045 35 Total sufc-regi onal oonsumpti on ³⁰¹ 379 390

407 : 42-5

⁴⁷⁴

Souroe Cembureau.

Page 8

/

Cement Production

The Democratic,Republio of the Congo was until now the only

producer of cement in the sub-region and had the capacity to supply the whole subrregion. Hit, as the Katanga production is too distant from

the sub-regional - markets- and as the other factories around Kinshasa

had th^ir. difficulties, the sub-regional market was not utilized^

Three other countries of, the sub-region, .'Cameroon* Congo (Braazaville)

and Gabon, have plans for the development of cement.production. Thus,

the sub-region will be self-sufficient in -this primary commodity during the bpming few years.

Out of the secondary building materials, roofing sheets of local production are gaining ground. The corrugated aluminium sheets factory in Cameroon is successfully expanding its sub-regional market as are the asbestos-cement products of Congo (Democratic Republic)* Moreover,

beoause of the high transportation costs, some landlocked oountries like the Central African,Republic are considering the establishment of^small asbestos—oemeht products factories* t

The brick industry - which is indispensable in many areas but which laoks raw materials or the transport facility of cement - had many

setbacks, efforts are' made for its development as It does not require

•too lar.ge a soale of operations to be viable.

Due totlieir transport facility, plastic ..tiles are gaining grpun& .

as a flooring material, replacing the wooden or concrete tiled floors which are cumbersome, which require high proficiency and which bear ' 'r' _a heavy weight on the structure. The local production of such tiles

could roach its break-even point only in a large market and has : therefore to be considered sub—regionally.

Projection of Investment in Construction and its Composition In order to project the share of construction in GDFCF in the Central African sub-region we have chosen to look at the similar economies of other countries in the West African sub-region.

An industrial sectoral study for the West African sub-region has been made recently... .According tp this study, whic^is. based on inpuV, output tables, the share of construction in GDPPP was estimated to reach 1,927 million dollars in 3,975.fpr the.whole region and a gross output of construction of 2,309 million dollars. This relation, which works out approximately to 112 per cent, could serve as a guideline for estimating the position of the Central Afrioan sub-region.

Page 9

This same study showed that the share of construction investment

in GDFCF fur the sub-region' was"40.5 per cent. The net investment in construction amounted to 5.2 per cent of the net fixed capital formation.

Ue have assumed for ths construction share in GEFCF the figure of 40.6 per cent. In some cases a higher alternative has been indicated but for estimating the demand for building materials and labour, it seemed wise to use the lower ratio*

The composition of investment in construction has been projected by using a selected relationship based on observations of the sub- regional scene and other statistics. The following ratios have been utilized for the three components of construction investment.

40 per oent for investment in dwellings

24 per cent for investment in non—residential building 35 por cent for investment in other construction works

This relation is applied to the low projection but in countries where major national projects, mainly in civil engineering, are planned modifications have been introduced. .

The figurss could be regarded as fair assumptions which will not be far from actuality but it should be remembered that they may easily be distorted, by changes in the yearly budge-ts, ohanges in foreign aid and by many other factors which cannot be foreseen*

Table 7 : Projection of investment in construction and its components (low

Country

Cameroon

Central African Hep.

Chad

Qongo (B) Congo (K)

Gabon

alternative)

19751930

19751980

19751980 19751980 1975l?80 19?01975

GEFCF

277 435 91 142 152 189 67 99 , 44 &

1036 102 79

Invest ment in ooiistr.

112 176

37 59 67 77 27 40 131 421 41 32

Invest ment in dwelling

45 71

15 24 2531 11 16 73 169 16 13

Invest ment in 'E. R. B,

28 ,44

9 14 1519 7 10 10545

10

8

CMillion

Invest ment in other constr.

3961

13 20 22

27 9 14 63 147 15 11

USB.)

Gross output in constr.

125 197

4165 . 69 77 30

45 20 3 472 46 23

Value added in in

constr.

59 93 18 29 30 86 15 23 95

222 36 16

Id

Possible Variations in Construction Investment

1 ■ ' and its Components

The projection givon in Tabled is based,on uniform ratios for all the countries of the sub-region. It has bien projected on the low alternative uf investment. The components are also uniform-for the whole sub-region, estimated on observation from the. data available.

It could be assumed with a reasonable degree of certainty -that these figures- will .be near: to reality... However, the countries -being . small, any big project, if not executed ,as planned,, .either, in t-ierms

of the volume of investment or'in terms of the time span,' may highly distort the relation of construction to total investment as well as its internal distributipn. In the following paragraphs we. may consider a few of these possibilities.

1. Cameroon

The alumina projectjincluding both mining and transformation from bauxite to aluminium, involvss a planned investment of 65 million

dollars out'of which 27 million, or 41.5 per cent, will be for civil

engineering works. This investment is planned to materialize between 1973 and 1977.

The Me*a electrolysis project, which is planned on the basis of an investment of 108 million dollars, out of which 40 million, or 37 per cent,will be civil engineering is expected to be implemented between 1972 to 1978.

The rolling mill with an investment of 111.' milliqn.-,dollars, of which construction is some 4 million dollars (36.5 per cent) is planned fcr .197-5-1960.

These threes industrial projects by themselves will not raise the share of construction in investments But taken along with the other projects, which'have a much higher construction content, like the Sariaga Eiver project, estimated afl80 million dollars,'or the reservoir dam on the Djerm Eiver, estimated at 20 million dollars, the share might go up. Both these projects are planned between 1969 and 1975 and their construction content may reach between 60-70 per cent.

It may therefore be expected that the share of construction in 1975 will be higher than that projected in Table 7 and may reach even

50 per cent of investment, which means 140-^150 million (instead of 112 million). The projected figura for 1980 might remain unchanged.

Page 11

obviously, the expected rise in 1975 will /be mainly in the other construction activity- The absolute figures of other building

activities will remain unchanged though their relative shares would alter as follows:

Dwellings

.Non-r-esi dential building

Other construction

. 45 million dollars 32 per cent of total oonstructio*

investment

28 million dollars 20 per cent of total construction investment

67 million dollars 48 per cent of total oonstruotioi

____ investment

140 million dollars

2. Central African Republic

Here the biggest national development is sight may be the "Traps Gamerounaise11. This may occur between 1975 to 1985> and may raise

somewhat the construction share at the end of the projected period but the rise may not materially affect the basic projected figures.

3. Chad

; Chad.has a few reclamation projects as well as some housing and

■industrialization projects but they are not expected to change the

relative, position projected* In case the industrial projects do not materialize the share of civil engineering and dwellings might rise* ■

The only major industrial project in view is the potassium salts factory with an investment of 130 million . No other great projects are in sight.

4. Gaafo (Democratic Republic)

-The Democratic Republic of the.Congo; has'many plans under considera tion} the most promising of these is the first stage of the Inga project.

The first step is planned with US$7O-12G,OOO up to 1972 and the seoond step between 1975-19&J*

Other projects are: the Wulaba and.Zilo projects intended for 1970-1975$ development of oopper extraction and processing to be oarried out up to 1975; and a siderurgioal complex of 150 million to be implemented between 1970 and 1975-

None of these projects excepting a few of the mining and the processing industries are expected to raise much higher the share of /construction in GDPCP.

12

The oonoluaibn, therefore, is that even after making allowanoe

for uncertaintiea regarding the volume of investment anft£ time span

fJZJ03?** "would te «*• ^alietio to use the lower iTS?

The Manpower Demand~

* „ ? e"J1?*IBent and manpower demand has been estimated on the basis

or value added per person engaged.

w*+fc +v ,-, ^.- „ that the emPloy™©nt figures available correspond with the available figures of value added, we may read for 1966 the

rigure from Table 4.

We have to. assume that value added per person will rise due to many factors like: higher productivity, cheaper building materials from local production, cheaper (improved) transportation facilities, and mechanization. The.relative rise will naturally be higher in the countries with low value added per person as compared to countries with higher values. Thus we have assumed that the annual rate of growth of value added per person will rise by 3 per cent yearly in Gabon; 4 per

cent in Cameroon, 5 per cent in Central African Republic and Congo

(Brazzaville) and 7 per cent in Chad and the Democratic Republic^ the Congo. This will give the following figures for value added per person

and number of persons engaged. ;

Tabl? 8 * Promotion of employment in oonstruotion on the basis of

value added per person

■ Total Value value added added per

in per-

1975 son

mln. in

.1975

Cameroon

Central African Rep.

Chad .

Congo (Brazzaville)

Congo (Dem. Rep.) Gabon

Total Average value per

person engaged

1859

30

1595 36 253

2,550 1,860

500 1,100 900 3,500

Ho. of

person?

in

1975

23,000 10,000 6,000

■ 14,000 106,000 10,000

Total value added in 1980 mln.

^^^—*■

93 2986 23 222 16

Value added

person

in 1980 3,100 2,400

800

1,400.

1,200 4,000

No. of persons engaged in 1980 30,000 12,000 10,000 16,000 180,000 4,000

169,000 466 _252,000

1,500 2,000

Page 13

General " ;" ""' " "

The second:Tive-year plan foresees an investment of 165,176 million CFA francs (670 million US dollars) half of it financed from public sources of which two-thirds are foreign aid.

About 20 per cent out of the total is going to be invested in the primary sector, 66 per cent is dedicated to housing, "building and infrastructure, and the rest is distributed over other items. If this plan is implemented as intended, we could assume that the share of investment in construction will be higher than the sub-regional average

and of the 1963/66 estimated figure of 48 per cent.

The demand factors

The following table gives the construction investment in the total GDFCF.

f ..■■■"

Table 9 1 Construction investment in GDFCF

Unit 1959 1962/63 1963/64

GDFCF mln. US$ 47*6 60.8 68.8

Investment in construction mln. USS 25.2 28.8 ' 32*8- Share of construction in

, GDFCF # 53 - 48 48

Source : Donnees essentiellesde I'^conomie de la Hepublique du Cameroun.

Statistical Bulletin for Africa, Part 2, Page 491-

The distribution of construction investment by uses shows that a major portion of investment was dedicated to roads before independence, tait since independence the share of building construction has been increasing and in 1964 the shares of both had reached,the same level.

The following table shows the trend of construction activitiy in the urban area and the high share of non-residential buildings, a result of

the relative high industrial and commercial activity in the coun,try*

E/CN.J4/INB/178

Page 14

Table 10 ; Area "built according to building permits

(1,000 m2)

Dwelling Non-residential Total

1958 1959I960 1961 1962 19631964

19-118.4 14.7 19.1 27.0 27.2

36.9

22.6 13*6 12.516.7 15-4 14.535.8

41.732.0 27.2 35.8 42.-4 41.772.7

Source Statistical Yearbook 1965-

The investment came mainly from foreign aid; (of which FAC .and FED are the main contributors) only one-quarter of this oame from governmental revenues. This state of affairs is going to "be altered in the second five-year plan which provides for 37«1 per cent of"the

investment from internal sources.

Table 11 : Investments through international assistance in Cameroon

; (Million QFA francs)

I960 1961 • 1962 1963 1964

FAC CCOi

United States

(yearly avera

United Kingdom

(yearly average)

United Nations F2D

131 2,414

160

2,166

(196I-1964)

830

' 12,025 since 1963 163

1,429- 861

126

1,551 411

.8

•0

average 2,766 per annum (I96I-I964)

The.statutory building society.SIC ,is constructing 200 dwellings a year, while according to the BCD and the building permits, it is estimated that dwellings are built at the rate of 500 per year.

ara gi

g

Yaounde and Douala

Traditional dwelling

3-

4-

Improvad traditional dwelling

(aluminium or iron sheet

roufing)

Heinforced dwelling (same as above plus cement floor) Stone concrete dwellings

The .Serj5^e_dMirbanis]no deals mainly with rural

Modern rural housing will be ancouraged by the Service through

- drawing village :uast-sr .OLans

■- 3U-b3idias? ccllootive ' equipment - techni oal as si s tance

- hiring presses tor manufacturing bricks and blocks on small scale

- granting credit fur materials

S/cH.H/INR/178

Page 16

Investment projects

Many development projects are at present in various stages of planning and implementation. Information about important national .projects is given below:

...,, :. .The1 project for the extraction and processing of alumina and the electrolytic process of ^dea, together with the rolling mill$' will involve an .investmant of approximately 185 million dollars of which 71'million dollars wj.ll be for construction. This investment is

expected to materialize from 1973 to 1978 and 198O#

A power station and dam over the Sanaga fiiver will need an investment of 180 million dollars and another 20 million dollars for

the reservoir dam at the Djeerm Hiver. Both are expected between 1969 and 1975-

A hotwl with 240 rooms is in its final stages of planning in

■Yaounde1. So are a number of factories and their extensions in the Douala district.

The output of construction in all Aas been estimated to be 21,000

million CFA francs (TJSa35 million) based on 10,800 million CFA francs

1963/64« Benewal and new investment in plans has been foreseen as

5,500.million CFA.francs for all the five years (900 the first"and 1,300 the fifth).

Table 12

Few Renewal

Total

.Tl

1 3 5

Investments in

ctal

,800 ,700

,500

1st year

300 6C0 900

the building

2nd year 350 670 1,020

industry

3rd year 350 730 1,030

and

(1

public ylillion 4 th year

1.

400 . 800 ,200'

works

CFA francs)

5th year 400 900

1,300

There is housing shortage in Yaounde and rents are high. The SIC is calculating annual rent of 15»44 per cent of building costs while

the fres market daaiands 25 P^r cent. In a way 'this is a result of the short—tarm loans given by the BCD.

In Yaounde, 50 per csnt of th3 civil sirvants and one-third of the workers are lodged at the employer*b expanse. Shortage cf housing causes also a squatting movement as thero is still absenoe of an

appropriate land tenure legislation.

k ;:lan fur th..- construction of 6s000 new dwellings to be financed with the occupant's &v:n rescurcis and small BOD cradits fur ths purchase of building materials is in prugress.

Page 17

A plan for 3,000 low rent dwellings (at US$2,000 per unit) ,has

"been drawn up with an investment of some 10 million dollars. (Tire" cost of utilities is excluded from the proposed "building cost). Investment

for improving existing, houses during the next five years has also "been secured. Investment in private dwellings has been estimated at ah

average of 2 million dollars per year.

Shortage of housing together with the need for a systematic policy to improve town planning., has recently led to the setting up, at the Gffioe of the Secretariat of State for Public Works in Cameroon* of a

town planning and housing department for the i-ast as well as for the

.West-of ..Cameroon.

.This department has directed its effort to lower building costs by means of long-term programmes and standard plans.

; Regarding the distribution of investments-between the- different components, of construction, no reliable data are available in the natural statistics. Based on certain observations it will, however, be right to assume that 35 per oent of the new and replacement invest

ment will be directed to the civil engineering and F*bHo+WoS£!-M?™«

roads, railways, airport and maritime ports, 40 per cejrfc ,to dwellings.

and 25 per oent to industrial and public non-residential buildings.

The supply ■faoil-i ti es -

Data regarding GDP, GBFOF and-value added are given in the table-

below:

Table 13 : Evolution of GDP and GDFCF in Cameroon _

(in million CFA francs)

-—r— —- 1951 195^ 1957 1959 1962-63 1363-64

A. GBp , ' 61.6 82.1 88.8 113.6 144-7. 156,5

B. GDFCF 13-7 H-5 12-7 12'° ■ 15*2.--.-. J7-2

GDFCF/GDP (fo) 22.2 14 U-3 10.5 10-2 11-0

■ ■ *■■'

Sources : !• Secretariat.

* """ 2. Economic accounts; 1951, 1956, 1957, 195?.

,3, Economic development plan.

Value added by construction

Value added (million CFA francs) 4-4 5*0 5-5

%ot GDP 3-9 3.5 3.5

Average rate of growth in 4| years ». 5-2 per cent

/ 4

*age 18

' -Employment in construction is estimated to be 14,000 persons; in 1966. Although accurate statistics are hard to get, we can baee our calculations on the 1958 figure of 13,000 persons and by correlating it to the employment index in construction given in the ILC Statistical

Yearbook, 1965. The results are given in the following table.

Table 14 t, Bstimated employment in construction ,, f , , , . i-i

— ■ (Number of

persons in 3j3OO)

Tear 1957 1958 1959 I960 1962 1963 - 1964

Index 112.6 100 63 39 ■, 64

Humber of persons 14.6 13.0 8.2 5.1 8.3 ⁹²_12.0^{> 62}₈₁ ⁸⁰_10.4

The employment trend .broadly corresponds with the trend of oement

consumption which is shown in Table 15- Table 15 Cement consumption

Year

Consumption in l,000t.

1957

86

1958

78

1959

60

I960

47

1961

54

. 1962

67

1963

73

1964

87

1965

114

1966

118

Cement consumption Having risen from 87,000 tons in 196*4 to 118 tone in 1966, a parallel rise in employment, even considering a high ratio of oement consumption per labourer, would yield a figure of 14,000 for the labour force in construction.

Contractors and local personnel

There is only one local contracting establishment in Douala., the SAC3 Camerounaise, which is not without financial and manpower problems.

There are no local foremen or olerfcs of work. All of the "chefs d1 entreprise" are Luropeans. Only gang leaders and headmen are of Cameroonian origin. Three Cameroonian sub-contractors are working in

the Public Works. 1

The Ministry is considering the opening of a Public Works School to tackle the manpower problem. The FAC has decided to open such a school in Gabon.

Page 19

There are no organized self-help housing schemes, although there IS a private housing movement, in Douala. A few co-operatives were formed in rural areas' but the participants, mainly peasants, being too poor oould not raise any funds, even for mobilizing transport

facilities for instructors and building materials. Some self-help work

has been done in public buildings where the instructors worked themselves.

The Public Works employs about 1,300 persons, among whom there are some local mechanics but not many foramen*

Contractors and builders

.. The number of registered establishments in construction in 1963

was 95; Table 16 shows a classification of these enterprises by the

number of persona engaged, It,hoWever, covers only a part of the

effective labour force, especially in establishments which employ 1-10 persons. Besides, a multitude of small sub-contractors do not employ others and do not appear in employment statistics*

Table 16 : Registered construction establiahments (building and

public works) by number of permanent personnel in 1961

1-10 11-20 21-100 101-249 250^99 Total Tot.1

wage enter-

Number of estab- ?£Fot

lishments 14 16 45 13 7 6,504 95

The same registered labour force, divided .by skill and nationality, is given in Table 17. It is obvious that no national was engaged in business management-direction and that the share of nationals in production management was not fcigher than 8 per cent.

Table 17 « Employment in construction by status

Unskilled labourers Skilled labourers Employees

Foremen Direction

Source s ^ioonomie et plan de developpement (1965), Page 175, Table 22.

Nationals

2,629 2,963

422

17

Non-nationals 50

73 20749:

44

Page 20

In JMMtenr Cameroon, in 1963, there were some 20 modern contractors in buBiness employing 532 foremen and managerial staff but only 99 were nationals, 4fce rest (Bl per cent) were expatriates. .

Basicftiilding materials production ' ■

Cimenoam Nor^iii Fidgil produces 22,000 tons of cement per.,year.

Cimencam. Sud in Bbuala.produces' 70,000Uohs. of ':oeffl«nt ^

put of.clinker.

ICAB produces slats in granite and

;Socopar Charpente Metalique treated 1,400 tons of.iron in 1964.

£ (Argile,industriell.e de Gameroun), a new'factory in Yaounde

financed "by the German Bank "Creditanstalt", produces bricks. Accord ing to the adviser of the BCD, no serious market research, has been - made and there is no sufficient market for 6,000,000 bricks produced

per annum, aiilders refuse to use bricks. Instead they prefer to

make their own cement blocks. ... .

One of the reasons given for tfce unpopularity of bricks was -'

apart from their unsatisfactory quality - lack bf skilled bricklayers,

which makes "itunpr6fitable for the labourer to work on piece'rate, while the contractor is not satisfied with the output oh the daily

rates. Appropriate authorities have in mind the training of bricklayers.

fitter building materials producers

Woods 32 medium and large saw mill enterprises; 2 manufacturers of

plywood with 37»0OO cubic metres per annum.

1 eleotrdo poles and railway sleepers manufacturer.

1 parquet mosaic maufacturer. ' \

2 cabinet-making factories.

8 joinery manufacturers. ;

Meta^: "Alucam" in 3d6a, manufacturing aluminium ingots and plates

5*000 tons per annum exported to France. . ■•-■■■•■

"Saotral" in -Sdea corrugating aluminium sheet 4,000 tons

per annual r and making metal construction hangars and

pylons. '

Metal

furniture; 2 nail manufacturers.

4 metal joinery producers.

V

i;/CN.14/lRfi/l78

Page 21

General ' ,

Being email in size and land-looked and lacking most raw materials, the CAB has a modest 'construction industry. Though 'small in itself, construction, however, is one of the main economic activities in the

ocun-try» • • - ■

-. Judging "by cement consumption it seems" that no significant

growth or decline has occurred during the last 6 years. The industry seems to have kept its activity more or less at the same level..

.The construction demand

Gross investment in construction during the last few years, has

"been estimated to be 11 to 13-million dollars a year; this is 40 to 43 per cent of GDPCF as could "be seen from Table 18.

Table 18 , : GDFGF and, investment in construction

, (Million US dollars)

: 1^63;: 1964 1965 - : 1966

-GDFCi^-.- -..'-■.. ... 25*5 -

Investment in

— construction 11

"Percentage share of

1 obstruction in GBFCF fo 43

Sources 1 Plan auadriennal 1967-1970 and other national account'

statistics and _.CA statistics and 3CA secretariat estimates.

This share of construction in GDFCP is quite low "but appears to be natural as the building stocks-are low and depreciation insignificant compared to new investment and cost of .machinery.

The rate of- GBPCF to GDP fluctuated from 18.8 per cent in 1962

to 17.1 in 1964. ■ v . ;. . :

The stock of traditional houses has been estimated in 1961 \J to

be 350,000 "cases". The average construction cost of such a.house is

around US$400. Total expenditure on traditional houses (some 27 -thousand etructurea) was estimated to be 11 million dollars a year, whereas

modern construction was estimated at 8 million only.

26.7

11

43

30

13 43

33

13 40

1/ Cprnptes ^conomioues annee 1961, Bangui, October 1963-

. E/CN.14:/INB/178

Page, 22

Statistics being scaroe, we cannot give a complete picture of the composition of construction activity, but from the data available we can deduce that dwellings form a high proportion as can be seen in Table 19.

Table 19 t , Building permits by area/and category

Residential Non-residential Total

Source : Flan

Unit

1000 m2 1000 m2 1000 m2

inte"rimaire

1961 14-5 5-4 19.9

biennal

1962 19-5 9.9 29.4 1965-1966,

1963 36.8 9-5 56.3

1964 26.9

17.0

45-9' pp. 124-125*

1965 31.1 6.2 37-3

The nature and magnitude of eoonomio activity which produces construction demand is illustrated in the following table, with reference to investments in 1965-1966.

Table 20 Investment programme 1965-1966

(Million CPA francs)

Economic activity

Total investment Rural development

Trade and industry

Infrastructure and telecommunication Social development

Town planning and housing Planning and statistics

Total

11 2 6 33

,890 ,975,431 ,240 ,000 160

42.9 10.7 23.2

11.710.9 0.6 27,696 100.0 Source Flan in.terimaire biennal 1965-1966. pp. 124-125*

Aooording. to the Plan interimaire biennal 1965-66, the sources of finance for this investment may be summed up as follows:

Central government Local authorities Private sector

Total internal souroes Foreign governments and

United Nations agenoies Total

3.6 per cent 1.1 per cent 4*6 per oent 10*3 per cent 89.7 per oent

100.0 per oent

Page 23

This was the plan fur 1965 and there-is hardly any sigh 'that the pattern will "be substantially different unless mining activity develops and governmental resources increase.

The. Sooiete immobiliere "built 632 dwellings during 1949^-1963- The SNH (Sooiete rationalede 1'habitat) is a governmental housing, company which promoted 64 dwellings in 1965 which had 64 m of detached houses.

In 1966 it produced some 83 dwellings. Prices ranged from 3>25O dollars to 7>3OO dollars, the cheapest being constructed with stabilized^ pressed earth blocks, board ceilings and corrugated aluminium roof.

The most popular housing system practiced by the SHE is the hir«~

purchase system based on 5 to 10 years.

This project, which is intended to promote 400 low-cost dwellings in 4 years, is intended to help civil servants in solving their housing problems. The maximum monthly instalment is 25 per cent of the salary.

The cadastre service is constructing 100 low-cost houses for the lower urban income bracket. These houses cost some 1,400 dollars and are built on wooden columns with earth blocks and aluminium roof

(without running water or electricity).

The; supply factors

Value added in construction and GDP - Although the construction in dustry in the CAB is a modest one, it has a sizable place in the economy.

We have to bear in mind that the size of the secondary sector, including mining, is relatively small contributing as it did only 16 per cent of GDP in 1964. Table-21 shows the.magnitude.of GDP and the contribution of construction to it.

Table 21 Share of construction in GDP

(Million

Tear iyei . 1962 1963 1964 1965 ¹⁹⁶⁶

GDP

Value added in construction

Share of construction in GDP percentage

131

3-1

138 143

5-5 4.1

4.0 2-9

156 178 193

4.7 6 6

3.0 3-4 3.1

Source s Plan quadriennal 1967-70, National statistics and jCA secretariat estimates.

24

^ngloymeat in conatruotion aotivif^H

The organised labourers are enumerated in 6 gradations:

Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Grade 6

unskilled labour .. . ,.

helping hand . ■'-/"'

half skilled labourer / ' .' \

skilled, holding professional certificate

highly skilled (able to read plans)

foreman, ■ »-

The only local contracting enterprise is the

s

Beoausa of an unsuitatle manager, the enterprise got into financial

haft V? X?$4> +\* °°Uld mt Pay itB °W^tionS andS?he government

^^fp x* «t *y »»«■ of a loan. The situation is still far from

satisfactory tut new business worth ,50 million francB (one motel, the Foreign tamstry Gilding and others) is.expected and this might

improve the prospects, . . ° .

. The Public..Works Department employs permanently 200 persons and

tTlTl J Bom%600 ^ersons- labourers number 450 and theS maTn Ssk

is maintenance of roads and governmental buildings. . ■■■■■—*

Building materials . .

The OAH is importing paints., prefabricated elements as well as corrugated aluminium sheets and nails from Cameroon and the Congo

^Democratic Republic). Consumption of cement is shown in Table 22

Table 22

Oament consumption in the Central African Republic (1,000 tons)

Consumption

1953 195? I960 1961 1962 I963 1964 1965 1966

10 16 22 16 20 15 18

Page 25

A "brick faotory, "Briceram", produced 4.000 tons of brioks -

half its capacity - in 1966.

Owing to the fact that cement is imported and bears a high transportation cost burnt clay blocks or even the usual "bricks are

, cheaper than cement blooks.

The brick factory had to overcome some production problems like the unsuitability of materials and high breakage in the fire - because of the uae of firewood r- and at the drying stage.

Another briok faotory is operated by missionaries. They make only small bricks of 5.5/11/22 for 7 francs a piece, whereas the same briok in "Brioeram11 posts more than 14 francs, "Brioeram" makes blocks of

25/20/40 and 15/20/40 for 75 franos and 55 francs respectively, but

they too cannot compete with the handmade cement blooks which are slightly cheaper and preferred by contractors who can make them on their own equipment and make better profits.

In the CAR ircod is a local product, and to build in wood should be cheaper than in other materials.

A company, CoC iTRA, has constructed 216 houses of modern design based on standard wall panels and a specially designed galvanized tin roof, which has structural strength. The main use of these houses was for olassrooms, but a number of dwellings were also planned. It is claimed that the results in the dry as well as humid regions have

been satisfactory.

A standard house of 128 mo has three possible combinations:

Two classrooms at cost of 8,750 dollars One classroom and one dwelling 10,300 dollars

Two dwellings 11,800 dollars.

This was the oost in Bangui. For more distant places and in the bush the factory made an additional charge for transport costs.

According to the managers of CoCHITRA the oost of a square metre of prefabricated wooden house was £72 while the same house in blocks or brioks will oost about $160 per square metre.

The CGCUTRA employs a staff of 400 persons of which 17 were of European origin.

The cost in Bangui of corrugated sheets for roofing is $1.40 per square metre, while corrugated aluminium roofing imported from Cameroon cost $1.84 per square metre.

*y \Ff^'**'^fB%Fi'¥'" f^$pp'W;

Page 26

This .difference of 0.44 dLqllars per square metre, is not „ 'to give preference for galvanized iron as the latter rusts within

comparatively very few years and must be replaced,, not to ^mention It*

tendency to radiate heat into the house even after/sunset.

\

Page 27

CHAD

General

To understand the situation in Chad we must bear in mind that the secondary sector constitutes only 6 per oent of the economic activity, 88 per cent being the share of the primary sector.

The construction industry in Chad also is a modest one. Its

labour force never exceeded 7,400 persons (in I960 and 1961) and its pement consumption,which reached a peak of 18,000 tons in 1962,

was between 6.4 and 12.3 thousand tons, The industry had a setback in 1965 but is regaining its position.

The a true tare of demand

The urban population is still low - 6v4 per oent of the total

or 175,000 persons.

The GDFCF in 1958 was about 9 million dollars.

Government has plans to build 200 dwellings, this year, in apartment houses, with the aid of the EVench Assistance technique.

The work, will be tendered to contractors.

It is also expected that 800 dwellings will be built.or remodelled

by the people from their own savings.

The government is assisting this building activity by loans of

approximately US$2,000 per family. In 1966, the amount loaned for this purpose was over 1.8 million dollars.

The BDT, "Banque de dsveloppement du Tohad", is the agency that

looks after building loans for private modern dwellings. The loans

are based on the monthly salary of the applicant and his age. airing July 1964 through June 1965 the bank approved 167 loans for new dwell ings and 285 smaller loans for the amelioration of old houses.

Since 1949 (under the name of Credit de 1'AflF) it granted more than 7,000 loans, totalling 22 million dollars, of which 2,000 loans amounting

to 3 million dollars, were for housing. During 1963/1964 the bank granted 2,724 loans of 8 million dollars of which 252 loans totalling

500,000 dollars were for housing. •

The "SooiSte immobiliere" built, sinoe 1950-1963, 146.dwellings,

92 for rental and 54 for hire-purchase.

Page 28

/

The construction investment programme 1964-1965 by economic uses: l/

School construction

Public health . , ^

Housing and urban development Social uses and radio

(Million CFA francs)

2 075 1VH7

348 ' ;

PKD Is financing a big road development programme of' sdma ■'

2.5 milliards of Fr.. CFA which is scheduled to be tendered at the

end of 1967.

Since 1965, road works have had a higher priority than dwellings

in governmental programmes.

Plans for a dam in the Gantiot falls are scheduled for the decade

I97O-I98O. > .

Plans for the construction of the Impriaierie nationalef in Fort Lamy, are well advanced, with a construction budget of some 1.2 million Fr. CFA (48,000 dollars).

An industrial complex of food canning, a tannery and a shoe faotory is planned in Fort Arohambeaut, leased on a big; slaughterhouse.

The first five-year:plan foresees the. following investment:

» --1." (Million CFA francs)

1966 1967 l°-68 1969 1970 Total Urbanization-

housing ftater supply

Electricity supply Total

107 361.6 384-4 471.7 632.O 1956.7

?1 I64 139 412 204 < 920

224 135 149 106 160 774

402 660.6 672.4 989.7 996 3720.7

Planning is in progress for a "sugar factory-town!1 south of Fort Archambeaut. Larger civil engineering projects are also connected with

the drainage of Fort Lamy, the St. Martin Basin Project and the Hille

Rouge Hbrd. , .

Also Fort Arohambeaut has projects uf development for the Tombalaye

quarter, Mlondu (the Reverdy quarter) and Abeche (the Kamine project).

1/ Programme interimaire de developpement ^oonomique et sooial, 1964*1965

Chapter V. """