Dakar Financing Summit: $160 Billion in Infrastructure Projects for Africa | African Development Bank

The 2nd Dakar funding summit for infrastructure development in Africa has opened in the Senegalese capital with 69 infrastructure projects worth $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, acting Vice President for Regional Development, Integration and Services of the African Development Bank Group, will participate in a round table discussion with President Macky Sall of Senegal, Rwandan President Paul Kagame and the Prime Minister of Egypt. Mostafa Madbouly.

The discussion, titled Funding Africa’s infrastructure priorities under PIDA PAP 2will Afreximbank president and chairman, Prof. Benedict Oramah.

Akin-Olugbade represents the bank’s president, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina. The banking delegation also includes Ambassador Modibo Touré, Amadou Hott, Special Envoy of the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa (AGIA) and Mike Salawou Acting Director, Infrastructure and 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 Data Center project, which will provide ICT connectivity to 285 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
• The Gambia River Basin Development Organization Energy Project (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 last 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 to help the INGA 3 Hydropower Generation Project, which has the potential to transform DRC into the largest exporter of renewable energy in Africa.

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

To learn more about the 2^na Dakar Funding Summit, click here