By Thabiso Malahleha
Road infrastructure development plays a crucial role in promoting economic growth and regional integration for the African continent. Being a vast continent with several economic regions well-positioned for potential to contribute significantly to Africa’s economic development, amongst the key challenges hampering agile and fast-paced regional economic integration is inadequate communications infrastructure broadly, and road infrastructure specifically.
Substantial investments in road infrastructure are being driven by Africa’s economic regions and so far, the investments, although not optimal, are proving to be a significant driver in overcoming obstacles and enhancing connectivity among the different regions. For example, the Trans-African Highways – a network of highways proposed and established by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in the early 1970s – are already contributing to promoting regional integration, trade, and economic cooperation by connecting Africa’s different regions. The nine main routes, when completed, will have the potential to link Africa’s Northern, Eastern, Western, Central and Southern corridors, covering a combined total of nearly 60,000 kilometres across the continent. The Trans-African Highways provide a foundation for interconnecting the continent’s regional economic communities (EAC, ECOWAS, SADC, and North Africa), thereby enabling seamless movement of goods, services, and people across the continent.
Kazangula Bridge – Botswana / Zambia border
It is no surprise then that African leaders at this year’s African Union (AU) Heads of State and Government’s ordinary session in February, called for a united approach to accelerate the successful implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement. In emphasising the need to accelerate the accession to AfCTCA agreement by AU member states, AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat described the Agreement as a “strategic project for the continent”, requiring African countries to mobilise requisite resources for its implementation, to amongst other, address the continent’s infrastructure deficit, promote seamless cross border movement, harmonisation of transport laws and ultimately ease the free movement of goods and citizens, thereby promoting greater intra-African trade and commerce.
The significance of road infrastructure in driving regional economic integration, is explored in this article with a focus on the continent’s economic regions of the East Africa Community (EAC), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Southern African Development Community (SADC), and North Africa.
East African Community (EAC)
This regional intergovernmental organisation, consisting of six countries on the eastern and central front of the continent, has among its objectives to promote and facilitate economic integration
among its member states, notably through the development and improvement of road infrastructure. The construction of robust regional road networks has played a critical role in linking EAC member states and enhancing regional trade in the process.
One example of the impact of road infrastructure in the EAC is the completion of the Northern Corridor which connects the major cities of Nairobi in Kenya, Kampala in Uganda, and Kigali in Rwanda. Completion of this corridor has significantly improved transport connectivity within the EAC, leading to a reduction in transit times and costs of transportation among member states through which it stretches. The Northern Corridor is not limited to road infrastructure, but also includes railways and ports, which further improve regional connectivity.
© Northern Corridor of East Africa
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
Similarly, the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), that includes regional economic powerhouses like Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, and Cote d’Ivoire, has placed a high priority on the development of cross-border road networks to promote trade and economic cooperation.
Efforts to improve road connectivity have been undertaken through various infrastructure projects including the US$15.6 billion valued Lagos-Abidjan Highway. Covering approximately 1,080 km and passing through Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire, it serves as a major trade route, connecting major economic centres and facilitating the movement of goods and people.
© The Lagos-Abidjan Highway
Also within ECOWAS is the Trans-West African Coastal Highway which aims to connect the coastal states from Mauritania to Nigeria, facilitating the movement of goods and people along the West African coastline. Economic experts suggest that completion of this project would not only enhance economic integration but also boost tourism and facilitate cultural exchanges among the countries concerned.
Outside of these regional projects, the ECOWAS region has also made significant progress in implementing what is referred to as the inter-state road transit facilitation scheme, which is essentially aimed at simplifying customs procedures as well as reducing trade barriers among member countries.
Southern African Development Community (SADC)
The 16 member state SADC economic bloc recognises the crucial role road infrastructure development plays in promoting regional economic integration within its member states and with other economic regions further north, such as the EAC, for enhanced intra-regional trade.
One notable road infrastructure development in the SADC region, which serves as a vital trade route, connecting landlocked countries to major ports and facilitating regional trade and economic growth, is the North-South Corridor, which spans over 8,000 km, connecting eight SADC countries – South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, Botswana, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
© North-South Corridor
And while more One Stop Border Posts are still needed in the region to streamline customs procedures and reduce delays at border crossings, SADC has made progress in the development of cross-border infrastructure. An example of this is the US$260 million Kazungula Bridge project over the Zambezi River with a One Stop Border Post facilitating movement of goods and people between Botswana and Zambia. In reality, this one stop border posts links several SADC countries stretching from South Africa’s port city of Durban all the way to the DRC and Tanzania through the North-South Corridor route.
North Africa / Arab Maghreb Union
In North Africa, a key road infrastructure project forging integration is the Cairo–Dakar Highway (see map below Trans-Saharan Highway 1), stretching 8,636 kilometres and linking eight countries along the Mediterranean coast of North Africa from Cairo in Egypt, all the way to the Atlantic coast of North-West Africa in Dakar, Senegal.
Map of Trans-African Highway – Cairo to Dakar
Driven by the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), another major road initiative in North Africa aiming to promote economic integration and cooperation is the Trans-Maghreb Highway, covering Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. This highway is designed to significantly improve the experience for movement of people and goods through implementation of a smarter corridor system, including installation of one-stop border posts.
For the foreseeable future and in the quest for greater integration of Africa’s regional economies, road infrastructure development will continue to play a crucial role. Encouragingly, the importance of developing and improving their road networks towards this end is a fact readily acknowledged by the economic regions of the continent. Their participation in the Trans-African Highway projects demonstrates a pragmatic commitment to enhancing connectivity and trade within and between Africa’s economic sub-regions.
Efforts to develop major highway and regional corridors are transforming intra and inter regional connectivity and promoting economic development, which coupled with adoption of harmonised customs procedures, simplified trade regulations, and enhanced trade facilitation, contribute positively to the economic integration of African countries and regions. Continued investment in road infrastructure, closer collaboration among African nations, and the completion of the Trans-African Highways projects will be central to unlocking the continent’s true potential for regional economic integration, fostering sustainable economic growth, and improving the lives of millions of Africans.
Thabiso Malahleha is Head of Strategy at the South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited – SANRAL