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.”