‘Infrastructure crucial to regional trade growth

Using rail, road and air to connect to the Continent was essential to ensure better trade relations and an economic renaissance for Africa, according to Transport Minister Sbu Ndebele. Speaking at a conference in Durban last week, the Minister said a study of road conditions in sub-Saharan Africa conducted for the World Bank by transport researcher Robin Caruthers and others made it clear that most of the sub-Saharan African transport networks were in desperate need of upgrading and maintenance. Providing transport infrastructure would lead to the creation of an Africa which routinely trades with itself and routinely exchanges innovative ideas, he said.