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NEPAD needs more private
investment: official |
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ADDIS
ABABA(August 13,2008) -
Financing of NEPAD regional infrastructure projects had reached
$4.3 billion between 2002 and last year, but investment from the private
sector remained elusive for the body that seeks to revive Africa's
economic development, Business Day reported from Johannesburg citing
NEPAD Business Foundation chairman, Reuel Khoza.
The figure represented 53% of NEPAD's original estimated cost for
its short-term action plan, the report quoted the official who also
emphasised that most of the funding to date had come from development
finance institutions such as the African Development Bank and overseas
investors, including Chinese and Indians.
Accordingly, most of the investment had been made in four key infrastructure
sectors -- energy, water and sanitation, transport, and information
and communications technology.
Among the infrastructure projects supported by NEPAD and in different
stages of implementation were the Mozambique-South Africa gas pipeline,
the Morocco-Algeria-Spain electricity interconnector, and the West
Africa gas pipeline. There were another 15 projects in the pipeline
with a total commitment of $8.25 million.
While significant progress has been made, there are certainly major
challenges in the implementation of NEPAD, particularly with regard
to the need to scale up private sector participation and investment.
"African governments needed to do more to create enabling environments
for businesses to invest in infrastructure"
Khoza cited regulatory frameworks and "onerous" bureaucracies
as some of the stumbling blocks to attracting private sector finance.
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