Pressing need to fast-track infrastructure development

If Africa does not address its
infrastructure challenges, it will
not realise its economic growth.
“As much as this continent is
booming, with investors streaming in
and projects taking off – especially in
the mining and agricultural sectors
– it is all dependent on infrastructure
being put in place,” says Paul Runge,
managing director of Africa Project
Access. “There is a big drive for
resources in Asia – coal, copper,
iron ore are all highly sought-after
commodities which are plentiful in
Africa. But parallel to the interest
in mining and agriculture on the
continent is the need to fast-track our
infrastructure development.”
According to Runge, infrastructure
has taken a front row seat, with
upgrades to roads and corridor
development high on the agenda of
most countries.
“We are also seeing a renewed
interest in rail with many projects
either already under way or being
planned to link countries to ports.”
Runge said airports and sea ports
were also getting their fair share
of attention. “We have seen new
airports going up in recent years and
we have seen major refurbishments
at existing airports. From a seafreight
perspective we’ve seen rehabilitation
projects under way at the ports while
the privatisation of terminals is
taking place more and more.”