EU allots funds infrastructure projects in Africa

According to a top EU official, the €150 billion “Global Gateway Investment Plan for Africa,” which was announced during the EU-Africa Summit in February 2022, has allotted enormous money for a number of important infrastructure projects in Africa.

The EU is mobilizing significant funding for energy projects, from solar to hydropower to interconnectors, according to European Commission President Ursula von de Leyen, who spoke at a press conference on November 28. The EU has also signed renewable energy partnerships with Namibia and Egypt on the sidelines of COP27 under the plan.

She declared, “We are prepared to sign a new finance arrangement for sustainable energy, major transportation routes, and digitalization worth €750 million. Submarine cable construction for a digital link between Eastern and Western Africa and Europe should begin soon.

For better and more environmentally friendly communication between the EU and Africa, eleven strategic transport corridors have been identified. According to a statement from the European Commission, these corridors will promote trade and travel both inside and between Africa and Europe, create new value chains, and help both continents’ economies.

These include the following routes: Abidjan-Lagos, Abidjan-Ouagadougou, Dakar-Abidjan, Cotonou-Niamey, Libreville/ Kribi/ Douala-n’djamena, Douala/ Kribi-Kampala, Dar es salaam-Nairobi-Addis ababa-Berbera/djibouti, Mombasa-Kisangani, Ma

By 2030, the EU-Africa Green Energy Initiative wants to help Africa install at least 50 GW of renewable electricity and 40 GW of electrolyzer capacity for producing green hydrogen. According to the initiative, private investors and state organizations will contribute a total of €15 billion.

EU funds of 3.4 billion euros will promote local value chain greening, energy efficiency, renewable energy, and the just transition. According to the announcement, a portion of this will be used to boost private sector investments through guarantees and blending through the European Fund for Sustainable Development (EFDS+).

A 200 km transmission line connecting the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation Limited network to the future grid of the Congolese National Electricity Company is one of the projects for which funding has been allocated.

The Zambia-Tanzania-Zambia-Kenya transmission, which connects the East Africa Power Pool (EAPP) and Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) nations, includes a 400 KV interconnection between Kasama and Mbeya in Tanzania.

The Southern Africa Interconnection corridor includes the Angola-Namibia Interconnection (ANNA). The statement said that following the signing of an MoU with Namibia on essential raw materials at the COP27, similar agreements are being negotiated with Uganda, South Africa, Rwanda, Senegal, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Burundi, Morocco, and Algeria.

3 billion euros are also included for the Just Energy Transition Partnership with South Africa’s implementation. A $1 billion Team Europe Initiative to support Côte d’Ivoire’s transition to a low-carbon economy. The EC President said that the EU will mobilize more than €4.5 billion for Africa through 2024 to provide immediate food assistance and to focus on enhancing and boosting local food production with cutting-edge technologies.

“We agreed today to launch a joint Task Force on fertilisers, to tackle together the various challenges for the short and for the long term as far as fertilisers are concerned,” she said.