A Sunday 10 May 2026 visit to the Mutan Market project site at the MAGZI industrial zone in Nkwen, Bamenda III, revealed a construction pace that is steadily drawing attention within the region’s infrastructure sector.
Compared to an earlier visit on 5 April 2026, the transformation on site is striking. Roofing and ceiling across the market facility has been completed, plastering and painting finalised, tiling works across all stores completed and shutters fully installed. The toilet block is also complete, while installation of the solar energy system is nearing the final phase.
What stood out most was not only the level of completion, but the speed.
According to Edison Fru Ndi, Chief Executive Officer of Dreamland Holdings and contractor for the project, works are now “nearly 95 percent complete”, barely months after effective construction activities commenced in February 2026.
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The contract for the project was awarded by the North West Regional Assembly in October 2025 under the PROLOG programme with World Bank backing. Formal site installation took place later that month under the supervision of the President of the North West Regional Executive Council, Prof. Fru Angwafo III.
In a country where public contracts frequently face prolonged delays, stalled execution and cost overruns, the rapid progress at Mutan Market is emerging as an unusual example of delivery discipline.
The facility comprises 56 stores alongside a modern toilet block equipped with a bio gas system. It also integrates internal water supply infrastructure, solar energy installation and accessibility ramps designed to accommodate persons with disabilities, elderly users and children.
Edison Fru Ndi told Hilltopvoices that the project was conceived as an inclusive commercial space intended to serve all categories of users.
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“It is a market for everybody,” he explained during discussions at the site. “There is room for disabled people, there is room for elderly people, everybody.”
The ramps integrated into the design are expected to improve movement within the facility, particularly for vulnerable users who are often excluded from poorly planned public markets.
Beyond the physical infrastructure, the project is increasingly being viewed as a strategic anchor within the North West Regional Assembly’s wider dry port vision. Planned complementary infrastructure linked to the Mutan Market includes an external customs clearance warehouse and a food transformation unit aimed at improving value addition and reducing post harvest losses.
For years, the Bamenda industrial zone remained largely dormant despite investments in roads and electricity infrastructure. Earlier visits to the area in 2021 revealed widespread frustration among residents who believed the zone had failed to translate into meaningful economic activity.
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The Mutan Market is now beginning to change that perception.
The Dreamland CEO has repeatedly argued that the project is designed to bridge the gap between production and market access.
“Where you produce should be able to sell,” he said, describing the facility as more than a traditional market. The broader vision includes warehousing and distribution systems intended to support wholesalers and commercial operators within the zone.
The contractor also linked rapid execution to economic efficiency.
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“The more delay on handling it, the more expensive it is on the side of the contractor,” he noted, pointing to labour costs and operational pressures associated with prolonged construction timelines.
The project has additionally generated visible local employment during the construction phase, with many workers recruited from surrounding communities. According to Edison Fru Ndi, creating jobs and stimulating the local economy remain central objectives of the initiative.
As finishing works continue, expectations are growing that the Mutan Market could become the first major infrastructure project to give practical economic meaning to Bamenda’s long underutilised industrial zone.
If completed within the projected timeline, the development may not only stand as a commercial hub, but also as a rare example of rapid public project execution in the region.
By Bakah Derick for Hilltopvoices Web
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