Cameroon is moving on with plans to get a €50 million loan from the Hong Kong branch of Spanish multinational lender Banco Santander to help fund the second phase of its countrywide urban video surveillance system.
According to a document seen by ITWeb Africa, President Paul Biya recently authorised the minister of economy, planning, and regional development to execute the loan arrangement with the financial services company.
The first phase of the project began in 2014, and Cameroon has deployed approximately 1,500 CCTV cameras, 65 base transmission stations, four control centres, and 1,000 transceiver stations, primarily in its largest towns of Douala and Yaounde
The additional funds will help the project reach its objective of covering the country with 5,000 video surveillance cameras linked to 17 control centres, the government said.
The project also aims to install 10,000 camera-equipped transceiver stations for inter-service communication, establish base stations, connect police services via optic fibre, activate video conferencing facilities for police services, and implement an emergency call management system.
The project is being carried out by Chinese tech giant Huawei, which is the primary technological partner of state-run Camtel and offers connectivity for video transmission.
The project is being overseen by the Delegation of National Security (DGSN), the country’s police force.
“By opting for the use of video-surveillance systems throughout the country, law enforcement agencies aim to counter acts of organized crime, terrorism and other crimes that undermine our society,” said DGSN.
