Nigeria To Lead Africa’s Transport Construction With $9.8bn Investment

Nigeria will lead other Sub-Saharan African countries in transport construction with an investment portfolio rising from $7.6 billion in 2019 to $9.8billion in 2020, report by a leading data and analytics company, Global Data has revealed..
Moreover, investment in transport (road, bridges and railway) construction in Africa, according to the report, is set for rapid growth from $47.1 billion this year to $69 billion next year in nominal terms,.
This investment is poised at accelerating the economic and trade integration process on the continent with the entry into force of the Agreement on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
GlobalData’s latest report, Christened ‘African Transport Networks,’ reveals that growth in transport construction in Africa is being driven by increasing investment in railway projects. Spending will be led by Nigeria, Kenya and Egypt where transport investment will increase from $7.6 billion, $9.5 billion and $5.6 billion, respectively, in 2019 to $9.8billion, $8.5 billion and $7.5 billion in 2020.
GlobalData is currently tracking 448 large-scale transport projects across Africa worth $430.3bn in both the public and private sectors at all stages from announcement to execution.
When completed in their entirety, the tracked projects will total over 110,000km in length (54,110km for roads, 55,345km for railway and 599km for bridges) of which 75,297km will be newly constructed, 29,197km will be upgraded and 5,561km will have an element of both construction and upgrade, criss crossing the African continent.
Economist at GlobalData, Yasmine Ghozzi said Africa’s lack of infrastructure is a serious obstacle to growth and development, resulting in a low level of intra-African trade and trade with other regions.
Ghozzi said the continent accounts for 12 per cent of the world population, but generates a mere one per cent of global GDP and only two per cent of world trade.
“Over the longer term, Africa has huge potential for growth. There is a clear appetite in the region to improve and expand trade, and a realisation that to do so requires industrial integration and infrastructure development.”