The 2nd Dakar Financing Summit for Africa’s Infrastructure Development opened Thursday in Dakar, the Senegalese capital, with sixty-nine infrastructure projects worth $160 billion on showcase.
Working together with partners, the African Development Bank has provided $50 million in technical and financial assistance to the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s government to develop the INGA 3 Hydropower Generation Project, and African heads of government, development finance institutions, and institutional investors will gather to draw the modalities for pushing the projects to completion by 2030.
The INGA 3 Hydropower Generation Project, which has the potential to transform DRC into the largest exporter of renewable energy in Africa, The African Union Development Agency and the Government of Senegal are co-hosting the summit.
Also among projects of investment interest that stood out at the summit was the Gambia River Basin Development Organization Energy Project (OMVG Energy Project), which involves 4 countries: Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Senegal. It focuses particularly on the rational management of the joint resources of Rivers Gambia, Kayanga-Géba and Koliba-Corubal, whose basins have power-generating potential.
In addition to the list for investment promotion is 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.
All the 69 projects, including the energy projects under review, fall under the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA), a blueprint for infrastructure development to increase Africa’s competitiveness and economic integration.
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, which is PIDA’s executing agency. Its Priority Action Plan 2, was adopted by the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government in 2021.
The Dakar summit will feature side events, presidential roundtables, panel discussions and boardroom sessions to discuss specific infrastructure projects.
On February 2, African Development Bank Group Vice President for Regional Development, Integration and Service Delivery, Marie-Laure Akin-Olugbade, will participate in a roundtable discussion involving President Macky Sall of Senegal, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, and Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.
The discussion, titled Financing Africa’s Infrastructure Priorities under PIDA PAP 2, included Afreximbank President and Chairman, Prof. Benedict Oramah.
Akin-Olugbade is representing the bank’s president, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, at the summit. The bank delegation also includes Ambassador Modibo Touré, Amadou Hott, special envoy of the Alliance for Green Infrastructure in Africa (AGIA) and Mike Salawou Ag. Director, Infrastructure & Urban Development. Furthermore, Amadou Hott will participate in another session on exploring financing solutions for energy.
The 69 projects, which come from all five of Africa’s regions, are being implemented by regional bodies and unions, including ECOWAS, COMESA and SADC. One of such projects is 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 African Development Bank has provided over $7 billion in financing for PIDA projects under the first priority action plan (2012-2020). With close to $9 billion in the last 15 years to the continent’s priority infrastructure programs and projects under the NEPAD infrastructure program, the Bank is the lead financier, with more than 50% of total financing secured.
One of the best-known PIDA projects the African Development Bank supports is the Abidjan-Lagos Highway project, valued at $15.6 billion. The 1,081-kilometer Abidjan- highway will link Abidjan to Lagos, via Accra, Lomé, and Cotonou along the West African coast.
The Abidjan-Lagos axis covers nearly 75% of West Africa’s commercial activities. The transport sector accounts for 8% of the region’s gross domestic product and is an essential driver of economic development and job creation, particularly for women and young people. The African Development Bank provided €22.4 million for preparatory studies for the implementation and management of the corridor project.
