by Olalekan Okusan, ITTF Africa, Press Officer

On Wednesday 27th December, in the Paposy precinct of Yaoundé the relevant documents were signed and the foundation stone laid by Bidoung Mkpatt, the Minister of Sport and Physical Education. He was present alongside Sun Wei, the Chargé d’Affaires at the Chinese Embassy in Cameroon.

Also witnessing the landmark occasion was Wang Peng, the General Manager of Shanxi Construction and Engineering, as was Louis Paul Motaze, the Minister of Economy, Planning and Spatial Planning in addition to Alfred Bagueka Assobo, the President of the Cameroo Table Tennis Federation,

“This ceremony is a support action of a friendly country” Bidoung Mkpatt

“It is a New Year’s gift offered by the Chinese people in Cameroon. It is hoped that this centre will train good players and that the Cameroonian table tennis players will rise in the table tennis rankings.” Sun Wei

“Building a specific room for table tennis has always been one of my long-term projects as the head of this federation. This has always been a condition for the promotion of this sport.” Alfred Bagueka Assobo.

The table tennis centre will cover an area of 110 square metres. It will include a central room with 300 to 400 modular seats, two changing rooms and two offices.

Importantly, the construction work started on Thursday 28th December and will last 120 days. In principle, the handover of the centre is planned for the end of March.