Oyem Road Rehabilitation Project, Gabon: DERUMANN’s Role
TWO ROADS · ONE BRIDGE · CROSS-BORDER CORRIDOR
Country: Gabon
Region: Woleu-Ntem
Mode: Design-Build (DB)
Duration: 24 months
The Oyem Road Rehabilitation Project is located around Oyem, the regional hub of Woleu-Ntem Province in northern Gabon. Comprising two road packages and a 90-meter steel-concrete composite bridge over the Woleu River, the project forms an all-weather fast corridor toward the Equatorial Guinea border and the wider Central African transport network. DERUMANN participated in coordinating the project’s road and related infrastructure work packages. Before construction, the corridors were largely laterite tracks that became impassable during the rainy season, cutting off villages for hours at a time. Upon completion, travel time from Oyem to the Equatorial Guinea border is expected to drop from about two hours to roughly thirty minutes.
The works include the 36 km Oyem–Assok Mézan cross-border main corridor, the 32 km Apone/Zogogna–Mwana national-road connector planned to link Gabon’s Route 5, and auxiliary works covering earthworks, drainage, slopes, pavements, lighting, power provisions, road safety and environmental measures. Initiated in 2023 with preliminary site activities, the programme is advancing under a 24-month Design-Build arrangement financed by the Gabonese State and executed by a Chinese construction group. DERUMANN participated in the project’s coordination, assisting different work packages in maintaining aligned schedules and interface handovers, and providing coordination support for communication among the owner, the design-builder and local authorities.
A pavement trial section was completed in March 2025, marking a key quality benchmark before full-scale asphalt works proceed. With all parties working collaboratively, interface coordination among road, bridge and utility packages has progressed smoothly, and auxiliary works and handover are scheduled through 2026. DERUMANN took part in cross-package coordination during this process, helping to reduce interface friction. Beyond a road upgrade, this is a regional corridor that will move cocoa, coffee, timber and minerals more reliably, improve access to schools, clinics and markets, and strengthen cross-border links among Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon, while creating local jobs and skills transfer opportunities throughout construction.
