As you may recall, as part of the development of the second phase of the Priority Action Plan for the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa for the period 2021 to 2030 (PIDA PAP 2), the African Development Bank undertook to develop a Financing Strategy to guide African Regional Economic Communities, Specialized Infrastructure Institutions and Regional Member Countries on financing sources, options, modalities and arrangements that can be accessed and structured for financing the projects contained in PIDA PAP 2, through their development cycle. For your information, the Financing Strategy has now been finalized, and the draft strategy report is now due for validation by PIDA stakeholders.

The meeting in Accra, Ghana, on 20-21 February 2017, will discuss JICA's ongoing Project on the Corridor Development for West Africa Growth Ring Master Plan. Key Japanese stakeholders will take part in the meeting.

Dr Katsuya Kasai, Senior Infrastructure Liaison Expert at the ICA Secretariat, will contribute to the meeting by giving a presentation on the latest infrastructure financing trends in Africa.

The West Africa Growth Ring Master Plan is one of JICA’s strategic master plans in Africa. It aims to help promote robust economic development in the region by accelerating infrastructure and capacity development, which strengthens regional connectivity and promotes regional integration. The Master Plan includes circular transport corridor development plans that will serve to connect Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo. One of the key objectives of the Plan is to strengthen connectivity between coastal and inland areas in order to foster and expand inclusive economic growth.

Organised with the support of the African Union Commission (AUC) and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), this is the first time that the World Hydropower Congress will take place in Africa.

The partnership with the International Hydropower Association will provide an opportunity for the ICA to outline the work it undertakes to support and encourage investment in infrastructure development in Africa, and in particular to disseminate its knowledge products relating to renewable energy, financing trends, quality infrastructure and energy resources.

The 2017 World Hydropower Congress will bring together leaders and specialists to set the course for hydropower’s contribution to future energy and water systems. It will explore a diversity of perspectives and will examine how initiatives of governments, businesses, finance, civil society and academia can advance sustainable development.

The CEO-level Summit will facilitate bankable infrastructure investment project pitches from developers and sponsors, one-on-one meetings with investors and direct dialogue with infrastructure regulators. Africa Investor will co-host the summit with Africa50 – a member of the PPFN.

The PPFN will be a Strategic Project Preparation Partner for the Summit and a senior member of the Network will be a speaker in one of the Summit sessions. PPFN members attending the Summit will also have the opportunity to meet project developers and potential investors.

The PPFN will hold its annual technical meeting immediately before the Summit, on 2 May 2017. This will be hosted by the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), the current coordinator of the work of the PPFN, with the support of the ICA.

The PPFN is a network of funding facilities dedicated to sustainable infrastructure in Africa. Members advocate for more financial resources for infrastructure project preparation and are committed to work together through information sharing about projects, case studies and best practice in governance. For further information about the PPFN please contact the DBSA or the ICA.

Produced by the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa (ICA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) in cooperation with the United Nations Energy Programme (UNEP), the Atlas brings together data and information about the continent’s energy resources in a format that is easily understandable to policy makers, planners, investors and developers, while also being highly accessible to the general publication.

The Atlas details Africa’s energy resources, and also covers energy and cross-cutting issues (such as the environment and health), regional energy integration and markets, and energy and sustainable development. In addition, the Atlas contains energy profiles of 54 African countries.

The World Economic Forum on Africa will take place in Durban, South Africa, on 3-5 May 2017.

The first day on 21 November was attended by ICA members and invited stakeholders only, while the Plenary Session on the second day, where the theme was “Building Quality Infrastructure for Africa’s Development”, was open to wider participation.

Read more about the outcome of the meetings: 'Financial commitments to Africa’s infrastructure development grow by 12%' and 'Building quality infrastructure promotes sustainable economic development'.

The workshop, organised around the theme “ICA: Support to Transport Sector” was attended by AfDB officials from five departments, field officers, representatives from the private sector and officers from the ICA Secretariat. 

The primary purpose of the workshop was to facilitate an exchange of ideas on three transport studies recently supported by the ICA.  The first, on opening up aviation services in Africa, shared insights on barriers to the expansion of effective aviation services across Africa.  The study on urban transport development in Sub-Saharan Africa identified specific opportunities for investment to improve sustainable urban transport and mobility in five African cities – Accra, Addis Ababa, Dakar, Dar es Salaam and Lagos.  The study on trade facilitation assessed current transport and trade constraints in the West African Monetary Union (UEOMA) region and proposed solutions for improvement. 

During the discussions, participants reflected on the ways and means of taking forward the key recommendations of the studies.  These included: 

• building a consensus approach with key stakeholders at both regional and national levels to develop solutions in the aviation sector;
• hosting an investors’ conference to present and discuss opportunities identified for improved urban transport projects delivery; and
• for trade facilitation, establishing a unified & centralised tracking system to allow members to track transactions and exchange data in real-time, and to make electronic payments.

In his concluding remarks, Mohammed Hassan, Coordinator of the ICA, told participants that it was important for the Bank’s division to “disseminate the findings of the three studies, share the recommendations but most importantly investment opportunities in Africa’s transport sector.  Our all-inclusive consultations will undoubtedly help fast-track project delivery within the Bank and improve coordination, which is key to success when we engage external stakeholders and audiences.”

The Infrastructure Consortium for Africa (ICA) was launched at the 2005 G8 Gleneagles Summit, with the mission to help improve the lives and economic well-being of African people by supporting and promoting increased infrastructure investment from both public and private sources.

ICA also acts as a platform to increase infrastructure financing, help remove policy and technical barriers, facilitate greater cooperation, and increase knowledge through monitoring, reporting and sharing best practices.

The theme of this year’s meeting will be “Building Quality Infrastructure for Africa’s Development”.

The meeting will be organised jointly by the Government of Japan (Japan International Cooperation Agency - JICA) and the ICA and will be hosted by the African Development Bank (AfDB) at its office in Abidjan. The 2-day event will begin with a meeting of ICA members and African stakeholders on 21 November 2016, followed by a plenary session on 22 November 2016 which will focus on the theme of the meeting.

To help focus discussion, a background paper on the theme of the meeting, “Building Quality Infrastructure for Africa’s Development”, is currently in preparation. This will be made available on the ICA website in advance of the meeting.

Further information will be published on the Annual Meeting 2016 page of this website.

Meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 7 and 8 June 2016, members of the PPFN agreed that focussing on two key objectives – information sharing & project collaboration and governance & business modelling – would serve to enhance co-financing and collaboration.

The meeting also agreed that the Secretariat of the PPFN should be held by a member of the Network and rotated every two years. The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) offered to take on the Secretariat role for the next two years, and undertook to ‘champion’ the Network.

The PPFN meeting also asked the ICA to expand and improve the Fund Finder searchable database of projects on its website.

All the amended procedures and operational changes will be adopted when the PPFN meets later this year during the 2016 ICA Annual Meeting.

Launched in 2014 and managed through the ICA, the PPFN is a network of funding facilities dedicated to sustainable infrastructure in Africa. Members advocate for more financial resources for infrastructure project preparation and are committed to work together through information sharing about projects, case studies and best practice in governance.

Attended by government representatives from member countries, representatives from development partners such as the World Bank, African Development Bank, European Investment Bank, the French Development Agency (AFD) and other stakeholders, the primary outcomes of the conference were:

• Increased understanding of development and investment needs in the nexus of water, food and energy security in the region;
• Increased understanding by partners of NELSAP’s portfolio of priority projects; and
• Positive and helpful feedback and advice to develop a way forward for fundraising for the priority projects.

One of two investment programmes under the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), NELSAP promotes investment in power development & trade, river basin management & development, agricultural trade & productivity, and fisheries & watershed management.

The ICA’s financial and organisational support for the NELSAP conference is an example of the work of the ICA’s Water Platform, which strives to scale-up financing for sustainable water infrastructure in Africa.  Key objectives of the Water Platform are to facilitate regional water infrastructure programmes and initiatives, and to encourage greater co-operation and dialogue between these initiatives and sources of water infrastructure finance.