Business
Transport infrastructure needed in Africa before development
Program for Infrastructure Development
With Africa’s economy growing at 5 percent a year on average, African leaders worry that without a good road and rail network, such impressive economic growth may not translate into real socioeconomic development for Africans. In order to turn the situation around, they established the Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) in July 2010. An initiative of the AfDB, New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), and the African Union, PIDA is an ambitious effort to boost African infrastructure, including rails and roads.
Ibrahim Mayaki, the chief executive officer of NEPAD, says PIDA was designed to transform Africa and bridge its massive infrastructure gap. “At the moment,” he noted, “Africa is the least integrated continent in the world, with low levels of intra-regional economic exchange and the smallest share of global trade.”
One of PIDA’s remarkable projects is the construction of the 4,500 km Algiers-Lagos highway. Also known as the Trans-Sahara highway, the project is already 85 percent finished and the remainder is expected to be completed this year, according to PIDA.
Upon completion, the Lagos-Algiers highway will create a corridor through the desert that will facilitate trade between North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. This means countries such as Nigeria, Algeria and Niger will be able to facilitate trade by road transport easily. Historically, the Sahara Desert has hindered trade between the two sub-regions.
Many other rail and road construction projects are underway across Africa. In Kenya, a $25-billion infrastructure development plan, including a road construction that links Kenya to South Sudan and Ethiopia, was recently launched by the governments of the three countries. In addition, the AfDB is financing several roads projects in Central Africa.
State of rail transport
Today, only South Africa has a fairly good railway system, according to the World Bank. Before the FIFA World Cup in 2010, South Africa revamped its railway system, including the new underground commuter train between Pretoria and Johannesburg.
Some mining companies in Africa also have dedicated railway lines for transporting their goods. African Minerals, a company mining iron ore in Tonkolili Province in northern Sierra Leone, has invested up to $2 billion in mining and rail infrastructure, according to Africa Review, a Kenyan publication.
