AfDB to close infrastructure gap via new framework

With the ratification of its first strategy framework for the development of public-private partnerships, the African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org) has taken a critical step toward closing the infrastructure deficit in African countries. This follows the Bank Group’s Board of Directors’ approval on January 19, 2022.

The infrastructure investment gap in Africa is projected to be worth more than $100 billion per year, negatively impacting Africans’ living circumstances and the continent’s global competitiveness.

Public-private partnerships, according to bank experts, are an alternative strategy to increasing private sector investments and increasing efficiency in the development and operation of infrastructure assets in Africa.

The new framework, according to Bank Group President Akinwumi A. Adesina, would serve as the foundation for the Bank’s infrastructure initiatives.

“This eagerly awaited strategic framework will go a long way to enabling the Bank to provide much-required assistance for the development and implementation of public-private partnerships in our regional member countries, and we look forward to its success,” he said.