By Guardian Reporter , The Guardian
THE African Development Bank (AfDB) has invested over US$50 billion on infrastructure projects across the continent, by far the largest investment of any
multilateral Development Bank or institution.This was said by Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina , President and Chairman, Boards of Directors, of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group during the opening of the Annual Meetings on Wednesday this week.
Explaining, Dr Akinwumi said the bank is raising $3.2 billion for the East Africa standard gauge railway connecting Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi.
The project is aimed at extending Tanzania's SGR, which is at various stages of construction, to Burundi and later the DR Congo with a $696.41 million financing package approved by the AfDB in December 2023.
Burundi expects to use the rail link to transport at least three million tonnes of minerals annually from Musongati, which is estimated to have the 10th largest nickel deposits in the world at 150 million tonnes plus other minerals such as cobalt and copper, to the port of Dar es Salaam along with around one million tonnes of other cargo.
He said the bank is also providing $500 million towards the development of the Lobito corridor to link Zambia, Angola and the DRC.
The Lobito Corridor project entails the construction of almost 350 miles of rail line in Zambia, along with hundreds of miles of feeder roads, linking the southern part of The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the northwestern part of Zambia to regional and global markets via Angola's Port of Lobito.
The third financing project, according to the AfDB President is the railway linking Nigeria to Niger republic costing $375 million.
The project broke ground in 2021 and is expected to cost around $2bn. As well as linking Nigeria and Niger, it will run east from Kano to Dutse, the capital of Jigawa State, and interconnect to a $6.7bn link between Kano and Lagos.
He said the bank is also mobilizing $3.5 billion to $5 billion towards the development of the Liberty corridor to link Liberia and Guinea.
This critical rail infrastructure project aims to link Liberia and Guinea, fostering stronger economic ties between the two nations and acting as a cornerstone for the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
“We have worked with partners of the Africa Investment Forum to mobilize $15.6 billion of investment commitment towards the development of the Lagos-Abidjan corridor,” he said.
The Abidjan-Lagos Corridor is a link in the Dakar-Lagos Corridor, part of the trans-African highway of the ECOWAS region, whose development has been identified as one of the priorities of the Infrastructure Development Program in Africa (PIDA).
The infrastructure is more than essential for the socio-economic development of West Africa, as it connects the most densely populated and economically active parts of the sub-region and, moreover, has interconnections with a railways network and the main ports and airports in its coverage area.
The new Abidjan -Lagos motorway will have six lanes (2x3 lanes), the study to be undertaken will be based on a basic principle: follow a new route, incorporating sections of the existing road, where necessary, in order to optimize the road.
The corridor is located on the coastal axis of the region and crosses the economic centers and the most densely populated cities of the sub-region.
The population along this axis is estimated at 70 million and will be the direct beneficiaries when the project is implemented.
Together with Africa50, AfDB is also mobilizing $630 million for the construction of the road and rail to link the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The project includes road and rail links in both countries as well as joint border control points (One Stop Border Posts).
A border control post will be located at each end of the bridge and will house border control officers. Inspections will only be conducted on one side of the river, on the departure side).
The existing road infrastructure will be extended by 10km to connect the bridge to the two cities.
He further said the bank is financing the Guercif-Nador highway in Morocco and the 1,000-kilometer highway linking Addis Ababa to Mombasa, which has expanded trade flows between Ethiopia and Kenya by 400 percent
Also, he explained, AfDB, Africa50 and the African Union established the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa (AGIA), which will mobilize $10 billion for green infrastructure in Africa and speed up green transitions.
The G7 Ministerial conference in Italy, five days ago, gave global endorsement for AGIA, he said.
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