Belgian company, Préfarail has signed an agreement with Cameroon for the construction of a tramway – a public transport vehicle running on rails –  in the country’s capital, Yaoundé.

The agreement, which was signed by the Managing Director of Préfarail, Joseph Rode and the Minister of Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi, is aimed at solving  transportation issues in Yaoundé and other major cities.

The construction of Cameroon’s first tramway, which will commence in 2015, is estimated to cost FCFA 491 billion ($1 billion) for the first 50 kilometers and will be operated using the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model.

This means Préfarail will fully finance the project and manage it for a period of time before transferring it to the State.

“The company will fund the entire project Préfarail the tram line in the city of Yaoundé, Cameroon and the State will manage the project after the return on investment,” the agreement said.

The Belgian company also has plans to embark on a similar project in the economic capital, Douala after the completion of the Yaoundé tramway.

A committee will be set up in Yaoundé to set things in motion and ensure that the activities of different parastatals involved in urban transportation are synchronized and in harmony for effective output.

According to World Population Review, Yaoundé boasts of a population of about 2.5 million people, thus creating the need to provide adequate transport infrastructure, which has been lacking in the urban city since Socatur (Société camerounaise de transports urbains) declared bankruptcy in the 90’s.