PPPs could be used to bridge Africa infrastructure funding gap

Posted on March 21, 2014 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

Sub-Saharan Africa is lagging behind other developing economies with regard to infrastructure development, which is constraining growth, Genesis Analytics economist Mitali Nikore said on Tuesday.

Speaking at the second South African Economic Regulators Conference, in Johannesburg, she pointed out that, according to the World Bank, Africa‘s total infrastructure funding requirement was about $93-billion a year; however, only $45-billion a year was currently coming from traditional sources – such as governments, the private sector and external sources – leaving the continent with a significant funding gap, which she said could potentially be bridged through public–private partnerships (PPPs).