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AfDB Wants African Countries To Embrace PPP For Infrastructure Devt

BY CHIKA OKEKE, Abuja
VP Quaynor (center right) and Korea Customs Service (KCS) Commissioner Kwang-hyo Ko (center left) with senior KCS officials and members of the African Development Bank delegation. PHOTO BY AfDB

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has enjoined African countries to embrace Public, Private, Partnerships (PPPs) for infrastructure development in the continent. 

Group Vice President for Private Sector, Infrastructure, and Industrialization, Solomon Quaynor disclosed this at the just concluded Global Infrastructure Cooperation Conference (GICC) in South Korea. 

At the two-day conference, which lasted from September 9-10, Quaynor engaged with leaders from Korean government agencies and the private sector. 

In his keynote address, Quaynor encouraged the leaders to  explore the vast investment opportunities in Africa, just as he highlighted the upcoming Africa Investment Forum, set to take place in Rabat, Morocco, from December 4-6.

He noted that one of the key impediments to scaling up PPPs and private sector investment is the substantial perception of the risk. 

Quaynor pointed out that Africa has emerged as a top performer in the infrastructure sector, particularly in the area of PPPs, citing Moody’s Analytics ranking of the continent in a 10-year retrospective analysis of default rates.

The GICC, hosted by Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport and supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was organised by the International Contractors Association of Korea.

It seeks to boost overseas contracts for Korean companies and foster partnerships with global financial institutions in infrastructure development. 

Quaynor, who was accompanied by the bank’s Asia External Representation Office staff members, hinted that Korea is among the top six non-African countries supporting the development of sustainable and resilient infrastructure in Africa through AfDB's funded sovereign projects. 

He stated that 69 priority regional and continental projects, worth $160 billion, were recently approved by the program for Infrastructure Development in Africa. 

News Rider reports that the projects, which cut across transport, energy, ICT, and water sectors, present significant opportunities for Korean infrastructure contractors through 2030.

The AfDB group’s delegation met with Commissioner of the Korea Customs Service (KCS) Kwang-hyo Ko, where both parties signed an Aide Memoire on customs reform and modernisation, endorsed in July 2024. 

Also, the team visited the Incheon Airport Customs Express Logistics Center and had discussions with the Customs Uni-Pass International Agency and the Korea Customs and Trade Development Institute.

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