Economy
Africa’s Infrastructure Boom and Its Discontents
April 8, 2025

Africa’s Infrastructure Boom and Its Discontents

Just beyond the southern edge of Nairobi, a new railway viaduct rises above the scrubby plains and scattered homes—its smooth concrete columns carving a sharp line across the horizon. Trains now glide over terrain once crossed by matatus and livestock, part of a national project to remake the country’s transport network. The Standard Gauge Railway, as it’s called, is one of many projects reshaping how people and goods move across the continent. Whether it’s a new road through Ghana’s cocoa belt or electricity pylons stretching across the Ethiopian highlands, governments are placing infrastructure at the center of their growth strategies. The effort is urgent, the ambitions large—but the consequences, both good and bad, are still unfolding.

Africa’s infrastructure shortfall is neither new nor abstract. For years, traders and travelers alike have complained that it’s quicker to ship a container to Europe than to move it overland to the next country. The African Development Bank estimates that the continent requires between $130 and $170 billion in infrastructure investment annually, yet the current spending levels leave a gap of up to $108 billion (AfDB). That deficit plays out in the real world—in long blackouts that stall small businesses, in poor road access that isolates entire farming communities, and in congested ports where shipments wait weeks to unload. It’s not just a question of convenience; these weaknesses directly undercut economic growth.

Most African countries have responded with long-term infrastructure blueprints, and regional institutions have stepped in to help. Initiatives like the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) now serve as frameworks for improving physical connectivity between nations. The stakes are high: if infrastructure catches up to even modest benchmarks—such as those in South Asia—Africa’s business productivity could rise by an estimated 40 percent. The logic is straightforward. Goods delivered on time mean less waste. Reliable power makes industry viable. Paved roads connect farmers to markets and children to schools, even in the rainy season.

Some of the largest investments have gone into rail transport. In 2017, Kenya unveiled a new line connecting its coastal port of Mombasa to the capital, cutting cargo transit times from days to just under eight hours (Xinhua). Ethiopia’s electrified railway to Djibouti, completed with Chinese funding, opened up a vital export route for the landlocked country. These are not isolated cases. Nigeria’s Lekki Deep Sea Port—one of the continent’s newest and most modern—opened in 2023 and is expected to serve as a major hub for West Africa. In East Africa, Kenya’s Lamu port is part of a broader strategy to provide an outlet for South Sudan and Ethiopia, whose access to the sea depends on regional cooperation.

Roads remain central to everyday commerce. Regional highways linking West African capitals have begun to improve, and parts of the long-envisioned Trans-African Highway are finally being paved and connected. In Ghana and Ethiopia, governments have focused on feeder roads—less glamorous than expressways, but far more relevant to people trying to move goods from farm to town. Meanwhile, regional economic blocs like the East African Community have prioritized transport corridors that ease trade, reduce redundancy, and align with customs reforms.

Energy infrastructure is another priority. More than 600 million people in Africa still lack access to electricity (World Bank). To address this, countries are drawing on a mix of generation sources: hydropower, solar, wind, and, in some cases, gas. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is a centerpiece of the region’s energy strategy, though it remains politically sensitive due to its downstream impact. Morocco’s Noor solar complex is now among the world’s largest. In Kenya, the Lake Turkana wind farm feeds clean energy into the national grid. The target of universal electricity access by 2030—set by the African Development Bank—requires the continent to connect roughly 70 million people per year. That includes both on-grid and off-grid solutions, from national transmission lines to village-level solar kits.

But infrastructure isn’t just about ambition—it’s about financing. China has been the most visible player, offering loans and technical expertise through its Belt and Road Initiative. Other actors, such as the World Bank, European Union, and African Development Bank, provide grants or concessional loans. Increasingly, African governments have turned to public-private partnerships (PPPs) and international bond markets. PPPs, in particular, are viewed as essential to closing the funding gap, provided that regulatory frameworks are strong and risk is fairly distributed (AfDB).

Debt, however, remains a critical issue. Zambia’s default in 2020 triggered renewed concern about how infrastructure is being financed. While “debt-trap diplomacy” is a contested term, critics point to projects that offer limited economic return relative to their cost. Kenya’s railway, though an engineering achievement, has underperformed financially. Officials have pushed back against fears of Chinese asset seizure, particularly regarding the Mombasa port, but the broader debate has led to more cautious borrowing and stricter review of project feasibility.

At the same time, the cost of inaction is significant. Delayed infrastructure means continued inefficiency and missed opportunity. Leaders argue that borrowing for well-targeted projects—especially those that improve trade logistics or energy access—makes sense. The emphasis now is on project selection, transparency, and ensuring that infrastructure actually delivers productivity gains rather than political bragging rights. Initiatives like the G20 Compact with Africa aim to improve investment climates and draw more private capital into this space.

Infrastructure also comes with environmental and social trade-offs. The railway outside Nairobi, while praised for reducing transport congestion, passes through protected land near a national park, raising concerns among conservationists. Large-scale dams, like those in Ghana and Ethiopia, have flooded villages and displaced thousands. In urban areas, highway expansions sometimes run through informal settlements, triggering evictions. The Lagos–Badagry road project sparked protests until resettlement plans were introduced. These tensions reflect a larger question: who decides what is sacrificed, and who gets to benefit?

Some governments have started to take a more participatory approach. In Kenya, residents near a new highway were hired during construction and awarded supply contracts. In Ethiopia, routing of power lines was adjusted to avoid taking high-value farmland. These examples suggest that infrastructure can be built with sensitivity to local contexts, though that is not yet the norm. The concept of a “social license”—community consent and support—is still evolving.

Another challenge is sustainability. Many African countries are filled with roads that were once new but are now broken and crumbling due to poor maintenance. Governments are beginning to allocate more for upkeep, but the shift is slow. Toll roads, where implemented, help generate maintenance funds—though Ghana recently removed tolls, citing inefficiency and congestion. The power sector also struggles with maintenance: Nigeria’s attempt to privatize electricity distribution aimed, in part, to solve this, with uneven results so far.

Looking forward, the nature of infrastructure itself is changing. Africa’s rising internet usage means that digital infrastructure—fiber optics, data centers, mobile towers—will be just as important as highways. Satellite broadband may help reach remote regions. Climate change, too, is forcing a rethink: infrastructure must now be designed for resilience, with better drainage, heat resistance, and redundancy built in. Green investments—solar grids, sustainable transport, climate-smart irrigation—are becoming part of the conversation, if not yet dominant in practice.

Regional infrastructure also has the potential to foster political unity. Cross-border roads, rail lines, and electricity pools build both commerce and interdependence. A planned highway linking Lagos to Dakar or the Eastern Africa Power Pool are more than transport projects—they are expressions of a continental vision, however imperfectly realized. The African Union’s dream of high-speed rail linking all capitals is distant but evocative—a symbol of how infrastructure can shape more than markets.

The transformation underway is undeniable. A trucker driving from Abidjan to Lagos today will encounter more paved road, faster checkpoints, and smoother crossings than a generation ago. A trader in Kigali can now move goods through modern ports with less delay. These are not abstract policy wins; they are tangible shifts in daily life. But the infrastructure boom also raises hard questions: about debt, displacement, environmental harm, and whose priorities are being served. To answer them, African governments must continue to build—but also to listen, adapt, and invest not just in cement and steel, but in accountability and trust. The true measure of this boom will be whether it connects people not just to markets, but to opportunity.

References

Primer Africa
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