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* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.
Requirement Details
Procedure 1.
Obtain a situation plan from the cadastre
Time to complete:
14 days
Cost to complete:
XAF 100,000
Name of Agency:
Cadastre
Comment:
Procedure 2.
Obtain a recent proof of land ownership
Time to complete:
7 days
Cost to complete:
XAF 20,000
Name of Agency:
Ministry of Urban Development
Comment:
A recent proof of land ownership or property certificate can now be obtained from the Ministry of Urban Planning Development (Ministere du developpement urbain). This was previously obtained from the Land Registrar (Service des domaines). Although the official fee is XAF 20,000, applicants often must pay an informal fee to obtain the property certificate.
Procedure 3.
Obtain a certificate of urban planning (certificat d'urbanisme)
Time to complete:
5 days
Cost to complete:
XAF 40,000
Name of Agency:
Ministry of Urban Development
Comment:
Procedure 4.
Obtain geo-technical assessment
Time to complete:
2 days
Cost to complete:
XAF 1,200,000
Name of Agency:
Certified companies, such as LABOGENIE, GEOFOR, APAVE
Comment:
For the geotechnical assessment, the services of a professional certified company are requested. Upon completing soil analysis, the company would produce and sign a report, a copy of which will be included in the building permit application. The permit fee is negotiable.
Procedure 5.
Obtain building permit
Time to complete:
45 days
Cost to complete:
XAF 3,902,800
Name of Agency:
Douala Urban Council
Comment:
To obtain a building permit, BuildCo must submit four copies of each of the following documents: - Application (stamped, with forms provided by the Douala Urban Council). Require are the fiscal stamp and two communal stamps (timbre fiscal et deux timbre communaux). - Certificates of ownership. - Certificates of urban planning (Certificat d’urbanisme). - Block and location plans (plan de situation et plan de masse). - Site, foundation, roofing, view or elevation, and septic tank plans. - Descriptive estimates. All plans must be signed by an architect accredited by the National Order of Architects (l’Ordre National des Architectes du Cameroun, ONAC). The company hires a structural engineer, accredited by the National Order of Structural Engineers, to develop a structural design that then serves as the execution plan. Because the engineer signs this document, it is not modifiable without his express consent. Although an XAF 1,000 application fee is payable upon submission, the building permit fee is paid upon permit approval. The official time limit for permit approval is 90 days. Afterwards, the silent-is-consent rule applies.
Procedure 6.
Receive inspection and obtain hygiene certificate
Time to complete:
20 days
Cost to complete:
XAF 50,000
Name of Agency:
Provincial service of health of the Ministry of Public Health
Comment:
The Provincial Health Services’ approval of the project is required for a building permit application. When applying for the permit, the company also applies for the hygiene certificat (certificat d’hygiene) because the official issuing the building permit must seek this entity’s approval. However, the Conseil Urbain de Douala (CUD) officials may either carry the file to the Provincial Health Service for approval or ask the applicant to do so. Usually, the certificate is issued within 15 days. The company requires four copies at XAF 50,000 total.
Procedure 7.
Receive on-site inspection by the Douala Urban Council
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
XAF 15,000
Name of Agency:
Douala Urban Council
Comment:
This inspection takes place before the building permit approval.
Procedure 8.
Receive inspection by the Ministry of Industry, Mines, and Technological Development
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
XAF 15,000
Name of Agency:
Ministry of Industry, Mines and Technological Development
Comment:
Procedure 9.
Receive inspection by the Ministry of Industrial and Commercial Development
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
no charge
Name of Agency:
Ministry of Industrial and Commercial Development
Comment:
In principle, all inspections by the Ministry of Industrial and Commercial Development must take place systematically. The law requires that the company deposit a copy of the work plan at the competent service of the Ministry of Industrial and Commercial Development to enable it include the copy in its schedule for the duration of the construction. In this case, the ministry does not need to be invited at the various ensuing stages when inspection is due. As a courtesy, the company should remind the ministry if it is not forthcoming. Because of the general laxity of the civil service, the inspections may be skipped at certain stages. A good number of inspections, however, are required for the Ministry of Industrial and Commercial Development’s representative to sign the final approval of the warehouse at the end of construction. It is known in advance when each inspection is due. In practice, the ministry communicates the actual date of an inspection (by telephone) to the company. Sometimes inspectors provide a week advance notice, but other times, inspectors appear unannounced or with a day’s notice. Even so, for practical reasons, a scheduled inspection may be postponed. In principle, the company should stop work until scheduled inspection has been completed. In practice, however, the inspection team might not adhere to strict deadlines, so the company does not necessarily need to stop work.
Procedure 10.
Receive inspection by Ministry of Environment and Forest
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
no charge
Name of Agency:
Ministry of Environment and Forest
Comment:
Procedure 11.
Submit final records of the construction project
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
no charge
Name of Agency:
Ministry of Public Works
Comment:
Procedure 12.
Obtain approval upon project completion
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
no charge
Name of Agency:
Ministery of Public Works
Comment:
The Ministry of Industrial and Commercial Development inspects and approves the project upon completion.
Procedure 13.
Obtain phone connection
Time to complete:
365 days
Cost to complete:
XAF 600,000
Name of Agency:
Camtel
Comment:
Procedure 14.
Obtain electricity services
Time to complete:
65 days
Cost to complete:
XAF 450,000
Name of Agency:
AES-SONEL – Société Nationale d'Electricité du Cameroun
Comment:
Beginning in 2009, AES-SONEL introduced improvements to the network that sped up electricity connections. In some cases, electricity connections can be obtained in as little as 30 days. On average the time to obtain an electricity connection for a commercial structure in a peri-urban area fell from 90 days to 65 days.
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