By Benjamin Wickham
MARRAKECH, Morocco, November 11 — A recent report highlights Africa’s substantial road infrastructure deficit, underscoring the need to address heightened production and transaction costs to fully capitalize on opportunities envisioned under the Africa Continental Free Trade Area.
The report, titled “Cross-Border Road Corridors: Expanding Market Access in Africa and Nurturing Continental Integration,” reveals that despite roads serving as the primary mode of transport, handling 80 percent of goods and 90 percent of passenger traffic, only 43 percent of Africa’s main population has access to all-season roads.
The publication, released during a special session of the Africa Investment Forum 2023 Market Days in Marrakech, Morocco, emphasizes that a mere 53 percent of the continent’s roads are paved, isolating communities from basic services such as healthcare, education, trade hubs, and economic opportunities.
The session, themed “Regional Corridors: Quest to Integrate Africa,” hosted a panel discussion featuring government representatives, regional economic communities, development partners, and private sector service providers.
Opening the session, Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, urged collaborative efforts to accelerate the integration of African economies, reduce transport costs, connect landlocked countries to coastal nations, and enhance regional trade and competitiveness.
Describing the desired outcome as “a fully interconnected Africa,” Dr. Adesina proposed dedicating a special boardroom annually for regional corridors at the Africa Investment Forum, fostering collaboration, co-financing, and expedited development of strategic corridors.
To optimize the benefits of developing regional corridors across Africa, Dr. Adesina outlined five priority areas:
1. Dedicate pooled financing facilities to corridor projects.
2. Establish special industrial zones around corridors to optimize existing infrastructure.
3. Adopt a systematic approach and platform to syndicate around the development of strategic regional corridors.
4. Complement the development of regional corridors with one-stop border posts to facilitate trade and reduce travel times.
5. Propose concessional financing, such as the African Development Fund, to support low-income countries committed to developing regional corridors.
Dr. Adesina reaffirmed the African Development Bank’s commitment to infrastructure development, citing over $44 billion invested in the last seven years in road corridors, ports, railways, and expanding power pools to interlink countries and boost trade.
In the latest commitment, the Bank pledged $500 million to develop the strategic Lobito Corridor, connecting Angola, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Other projects include the Desert-to-Power initiative, the Mozambique-Beira corridor transport system, the commissioned Kazungula bridge, the Nacala rail and port project in Mozambique, and the Lagos-Abidjan highway, which secured $15.2 billion in investment interest at the Africa Investment Forum last year.
As of 2022, the African Development Bank had financed 25 transport corridors, constructing over 18,000 km of roads, 27 border posts, and 16 bridges at a total cost of $13.5 billion.
Danae Pauli, Senior Advisor for the US-led Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII), a key partner in the Lobito Corridor, emphasized her government’s commitment to partnering with African nations and institutions. She highlighted the project’s goal not merely as rail development but as a catalyst for investments across multiple sectors, projecting operational status by 2028.
