A number of years ago it was reported that six of the 10 fasted growing economies in the world were African states. Despite the reported and impressive economic growth record, African states face many challenges on their way to arriving as the new global economic forces. One of these challenges is infrastructure deficit across Africa. According to a 2009 World Bank report titled - “Africa’s Infrastructure: A Time for Transformation” - Africa’s annual infrastructure investment output stands at USD45billion.
The study suggested that this was not enough to bridge Africa’s infrastructure gap with other parts of the world. It is reported that only one in three rural Africans have access to an all-season road and one in five people in Sub-Saharan Africa have access to electricity. To address the infrastructure development challenges, the World Bank recommendation is for Africa to double the annual construction output reported in 2009 to USD93billion over a 10-year period to enable increased investment on power, transportation, water and Information & Communication Technology projects.
