At the second African Infrastructure Financing Summit, $160 billion in projects on the table | African Development Bank

The 2nd Dakar Financing summit For Africa’s Infrastructure Development has opened in the Senegalese capital with sixty-nine infrastructure projects worth USD 160 billion.

African heads of government, the African Development Bank, development finance agencies and institutional investors will meet to define the modalities to complete the projects by 2030. The African Union Development Agency and the Government of Senegal are co-hosting the summit.

The 69 projects fall under the Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA), a blueprint for infrastructure development to enhance Africa’s competitiveness and economic integration. PIDA Priority Action Plan 2 was adopted by the AU Assembly of Heads of State or Government in 2021.

The summit will feature side events, presidential roundtables, panel discussions and boardroom sessions to discuss specific infrastructure projects.

On Thursday, February 2, Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, Vice President of the African Development Bank Group for Regional Development, Integration and Services, will participate in a round table discussion with President Macky Sall of Senegal, Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa. Madbouly.

The discussion, entitled Financing Africa’s Infrastructure Priorities under PIDA PAP 2, will feature Afreximbank President and Chairman Prof. Benedictus Oramah.

Akin-Olugbade represents the bank’s president, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina. The bank delegation also consists of Ambassador Modibo Touré, Amadou Hott, Special Envoy of the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa (AGIA) and Mike Salawou Ag. Director, Infrastructure & Urban Development.

Amadou Hott will participate in another session exploring energy financing solutions.

Projects cover all five African regions

The 69 projects, from all five African regions, are implemented by regional bodies and trade unions, including ECOWAS, COMESA and SADC.

They contain:

• The Transborder Submarine Fiber point of presence and Regional Smart Hub Facility and Datacenter project, which will provide ICT connectivity to 285 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

• The energy project of the development organization for the basin of the Gambia (OMVG energy project), involving 4 countries: The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Senegal. In particular, it focuses on the rational management of the collective resources of the Gambia, Kayanga-Géba and Koliba-Corubal rivers, whose basins have power generation potential.

• The Baynes Hydropower project, an energy project that will benefit Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

African Development Bank is the financial leader

The African Development Bank has provided more than $7 billion in funding for PIDA projects under the First Priority Action Plan (2012-2020). With nearly $9 billion over the past 15 years on the continent’s priority infrastructure programs and projects under the NEPAD infrastructure program, the Bank is the financial leader, with more than 50% of total funding secured.

One of the most well-known PIDA projects supported by the African Development Bank is the Abidjan-Lagos Highway project, worth USD 15.6 billion. The 1,081 kilometer long Abidjan Highway connects Abidjan to Lagos, via Accra, Lomé and Cotonou along the West African coast.

The Abidjan-Lagos axis covers almost 75% of West Africa’s commercial activities. The transport sector accounts for 8% of the region’s gross domestic product and is a vital driver of economic development and job creation, particularly for women and youth. The African Development Bank provided €22.4 million for preparatory studies for the implementation and management of the corridor project.

The bank has provided $50 million in technical and financial assistance to the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the development of the INGA 3 hydropower generation project, which has the potential to transform the DRC into Africa’s largest exporter of renewable energy.

PIDA is a joint initiative of the African Union Commission, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development Planning and Coordination Agency and the African Development Bank, the executive agency of PIDA.

Click here for a full list of PAP 2 projects

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