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Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Central and East Africa Improved Infrastructure Key to Development Great Lakes Centre for Strategic Studies Countries in Central and East Africa are engaged in ambitious projects of developing their infrastructure to make their economies more productive. The main focus involves developing and improving on the existing railway and road networks and the pace of these initiatives is likely to pick up sharply in the coming months. This month while addressing the 7th summit meeting of the African Union in Banjul, The Gambia, the President of African Development Bank (ADB), Donald Kaberuka, called upon African nations to develop infrastructure in areas such as energy, telecommunications and roads to attract investors and improve the competitiveness of the continent’s economies. The Central and East African region is currently developing national and intra- regional policy on indispensable infrastructure projects, which are expected to reduce the increasing costs of transportation of goods and services from one country to another. The ports of Mombasa (Kenya) and Dar-es Salaam (Tanzania) are the international shipping gateway to a population of over 150 million people and are a constant source of delayed shipments. This, coupled with inadequate transportation facilities within the countries, affects the economic competitiveness of the region. The region’s rail infrastructure is another source of delay and increased cost. Its lack of proper management has steadily deteriorated with the closure of many routes. A case in point is in Uganda where the western axis stretching from Kampala to Kasese bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is closed. Privatization of national infrastructure is seen as an immediate solution. The World Bank has advised the countries in the region to privatize their railway corporations for a better management and the International Development Association (IDA) had to approve Partial Risk Guarantees (PRG) of US$45 million and US$15 million to support Kenya and Uganda’s Joint Railway Concession (JRC). The two nations signed a joint railway concession agreement with the South African lead investor, Rift Valley Railways Holdings Ltd. (RVRH) and in September this year, Tanzania is expected to follow suit. Meanwhile, a study for the interconnection of Central African railways is underway within the framework of the Consensual Central African Transport Master Plan (PDCT-AC). In addition, in East Africa, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has initiated a multimodal transport corridor project targeting the following rail infrastructure: ● Kasama/Mpulungu (Zambia): 130km; ● Bujumbura/Cyangugu (Burundi and Rwanda): 108km; ● Kibuye/Bwera (Rwanda and Uganda): 123km; ● Kibuye/Kigali (Rwanda): 120km; ● Kabatoro/Kasese (Uganda); ● Renovation of the Kasese/Kampala line (312km). Other rail projects have been identified. The link between Kasese and Kisangani via Kasindi, Beni, Bunia, Komanda and Mombasa connecting to the existing railway networks in Kenya and Uganda (Mombasa-Nairobi-Kampala-Kasese) is also being developed. There are also plans to link Central Africa by rail to the Atlantic Ocean. In August 2004, the countries in the region adopted another railway project which connects Kasese-Goma, Goma-Kigali, Goma-Bukavu and Bukavu-Bujumbura and to link the Northern Corridor Transit Transport Coordination Authority (TTCA) to the Atlantic Ocean. However, the Great Lakes Centre for Strategic Studies (GLCSS) believes the region will continue to rely on maritime transport from Kisangani to Kinshasa, and from the Port of Matadi on River Congo which pours into the Atlantic Ocean by rail to Kinshasa for some time. GLCSS further believes that these projects could be abandoned since the region is in the process of privatizing the railway infrastructure. Until the rail infrastructure is complete, roads will continue to play an important role for the land locked countries of Central Africa. The road conditions in Central and East Africa vary from country to country depending on the general state of development and population densities. The state of tarmac road network in the region can be summarized by the following table: Country Kilometers Per 100 km² Burundi 1220 44 CAR 450 0.7 Congo 500 1.5 DRC 2000 0.8 Kenya 8600 15 Rwanda 1000 38 Uganda 2600 11 Source: “Great Lakes Initiative, Transportation Sector”, African Economic Commission, Development Center for East African Sub Region, Kigali, 2002. In terms of coverage, both Rwanda and Burundi lead the region in tarmac roads per square kilometers, which can partly be explained by their size and their complete dependency on roads since they are landlocked. Kenya and Uganda hold the mid-range positions with less than half the road density than Rwandan and Burundi. Finally, it should be of little surprise that the Central African Republic and the DRC are least developed and represent their own brand of challenges. Tanzania is making plans for a road network connecting the Central transport corridor that traverses the central part of Tanzania linking Dar es Salaam with the landlocked countries of Rwanda and Burundi. Another 245-km road stretch that links the inland transit depot of Isaka in Tanzania with landlocked Rwanda is in the pipeline. Although this would improve trade in the region, GLCSS believes the work will be affected by under-funding and corruption which has characterized some of the road network projects in the region. Considering the undeveloped rail and road systems in the region, air transport continues to play a significant role. Nairobi, Kinshasa, and recently Entebbe airports provide the regional with external regional connections. The recent dispute between Rwanda and SN Brussels airline provides an accurate assessment of the region’s vulnerability and dependence on European airlines to open external markets. Nevertheless, efforts to upgrade airports in the region are in progress. The Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) is being upgraded to Win the "category one" status from America’s Federal Aviation Authority. This status will allow direct flights between JKIA and American airports. Tanzania in collaboration with Kenya has embarked on two complementary projects. The East African Civil Aviation Project which entails a study on the establishment of an East Africa Upper Flight Information Region, and a Search and Rescue region. In addition, they will create a project to address common deficiencies identified by the ICAO Safety Oversight audits. This will allow JKIA to maintain its status as a regional hub in the face of competition and will allow the rest of the region to export their perishable products to the American market as well as boosting tourism in the region. Ocean transport, however, remains the key access to the region for large bulk items. Kenya's main sea port of Mombasa has a deep-water port with 21 berths, and it serves most of the East and Central African countries. Although the port acts a main port of entry for water transport in the region, the ever increasing congestion has necessitated introduction of new measures, including the fast-tracking of cargo verification by police. This is in an effort to speed up cargo clearance to Rwanda, Burundi, DRC and South Sudan. Also, the Kenyan government plans to construct a second commercial port at its Indian Ocean island of Lamu, north of Mombasa targeting cargos from Southern Sudan and Ethiopia. The transport infrastructure of the region remains one of the top priorities for stimulating economic growth in Central and East Africa. However, the governments of the region remain dependent on outside financing of these large-scale projects and project development time is extensive. The regional risks remain that a fast growing population, a continuing drought in some parts of the region, and continued corruption will present significant obstacles to further development. The Great Lakes Centre for Strategic Studies is a London-based think tank. Blogger News Network is advertiser-supported, and your visits to our advertisers help BNN to meet its expenses. Help keep us afloat! posted by GLCSS at 4:35 AM |
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