Bridge Infrastructures in Africa

Infrastructure development is one of the most important factors that can help the economic growth of a nation. Aside from right access to healthcare and medicine and need for creation of more stable jobs, another foreseen problem that the region faces is access to roads, buildings and bridges.

It cannot be denied that the African continent can generate a huge investment towards bridge infrastructures and agriculture from its countries, but despite this opportunity, there are many challenges that hinder the development of quality and safe access to bridge infrastructures over time.

The region’s relative and absolute insufficiency of infrastructure projects means that there is a lot more to be developed to tap the productive potential of Africa in terms of infrastructure development. By increasing investment generated by different government sectors, there can be more allocated funds towards bridge infrastructure development. Without proper access to roads and bridges, there can be no competitiveness in terms of facilitating a good international and domestic trade, as well as the participation of contingent areas to a much larger economic development.

Moreover, improvement in infrastructure, particularly aimed at road and bridge works, can really provide a substantial poverty reduction and economic growth in almost all developing African nations. Similarly, infrastructure development could also lead to reduction of stigma and economic constraints typically viewed by minority groups and increase in the global awareness of the African people.

With efforts to build relationships in the global market and improve the current status of infrastructure, the AfDB (African Development Bank) announced their plans to raise a total of 100 billion dollar funds in the next two years for the infrastructure development in the region.

Most of the funds will be raised by African central banks and the AfDB themselves and will focus on infrastructure growth, including bridge, railway and road construction, as well as agricultural and electricity infrastructures.

Since many developing nations in Africa are already experiencing a substantial economic boost in the past years, it’s now time for the region to keep the pace of achieving economic growth. Accordingly, the recent shift in the global economic crisis and challenges in the international market has turned things to Africa’s advantage. This is seen by the AfDB as an opportunity to sustain socio-economic growth within the region.

With the help of the fund, they can address the infrastructure gap in the continent, most of which will focus on railways, bridges, roads, ports and harbor construction projects. And in order to effectively distribute the resources to the nations, banks will leverage and manage the flow of resources, see to it that there is adequate infrastructure connectivity within the region, as well as aptly address some challenges in the infrastructure development.

Mr. Arun Panchariya – An International Financial Advisor, Investment Banker & The Consul General of Liberia to Dubai.