DATE Africa Regional Infrastructure
African infrastructure is expensive. Tariffs for power, water, road, and communications are often more than double those paid elsewhere in the developing world. Long distances, low population densities, uneven governance and intraregional competition contribute to these added costs. A common characteristic of its development is the preference for more expensive rehabilitation over basic maintenance. The World Bank estimates that about 30 percent of Africa’s infrastructure requires rehabilitation – even more in rural and conflict-prone areas.
Despite the cost, both domestic and international players are keen to expand Africa’s infrastructure. For the most part, states control infrastructure systems but with a trend towards public-private partnerships (PPP). Development finance institutions provide the bulk of the financing, followed by domestic government financing. China is the single largest international financier and constructor of African infrastructure on a standalone basis, involved in 14% of the major infrastructure projects undertaken in 2015.
The typical African infrastructure project usually involves a consortium of non-African state development agencies, international government organizations, private financiers, and construction companies. Following the financing announcement, the subsequent spending or progress is hard to trace until the project is finally complete. In some cases, grand projects compete to the point where they lose their utility.
Developed infrastructure correlates with population density. Amari’s Nairobi, Kampala and Mombasa are the main cities and key nodes of the 800-mile Northern Transport Corridor, a road, rail, and pipeline network. Kujenga follows Amari in both population and infrastructure development, with the competing Central Corridor linking the Indian Ocean port of Dar Es Salaam with Lake Tanganyika and Ziwa’s capital, Mwanza on the southern shore of Lake Victoria. The major north-south transportation artery runs through Moyale in Nyumba, crossing into Amari just south of Isiolo, through Nairobi on to Mbeya, Kujenga in the south. Regional rivalries focus on providing Indian Ocean access to landlocked countries at the expense of strengthening this north-south trans-Africa route. Adding to this competition is the Lamu Port Express (LAPEX) Corridor, a planned southeast-northwest road/rail/pipeline corridor mainly within Nyumba connecting north central Africa with the Indian Ocean port of Lamu. Isiolo would serve as a transportation and refining hub.
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Regional Construction Patterns
Amari has the highest proportion of modern urban, closed block construction in the region, followed by Ziwa, Kujenga, and Nyumba respectively. However, measured by area, most urban construction in the region would be still be classified as shantytown. Aside from the Indian Ocean coastal settlements established as early as the Seventeenth Century, most urban construction is early Twentieth Century or newer, following colonial styles and building methods. Rural and coastal urban construction ranges from dense random to shantytown.
Major Urban Centers. Nairobi, Dar Es Salaam, and Kampala stand out as having the highest proportion of urban modern closed-block construction in the region. With similar population densities, they each have modern concrete high-rise central business districts, high-rise residence clusters and modern amenities set out in closed-block fashion. They also share the overall regional problems of inadequate utility connection, and large areas of dense, low-rise, informal settlements – normally classed as shantytown construction. This report divides shantytown into two further categories, 1) organized, semi-permanent dwellings, and 2) informal settlements or slums.
Other Urban Centers. Cities like Kismayu, Mombasa, Mbeya, Mwanza, Arusha, and Kisumu share some of the characteristics of the major urban centers, but they have less of an urban core, both in size and density. They also include significant residential belts beyond the dense, low-rise, organized shantytowns that are significant contributors to the urban food supply and informal economy. Rural Settlements. Regional rural settlements are mostly low density, randomly constructed towns and villages. Most residences will have corrugated metal or grass roofing, mud or wood walls and earthen flooring. Public buildings may have concrete flooring.
| Amari | Kujenga | Ziwa | Nyumba | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roofing | ||||
| Corrugated Iron Sheets/Tin | 73% | |||
| Grass/Palm Thatch | 17% | |||
| Concrete | 4% | |||
| Asbestos Sheets | 2% | |||
| Tiles | 2% | |||
| Mud/Dung/Other | 2% | |||
| Wall | ||||
| Mud/Wood | 37% | |||
| Brick/Block | 17% | |||
| Stone | 17% | |||
| Wood Only | 11% | |||
| Mud/Cement | 8% | |||
| Corrugated Iron Sheets/Tin | 7% | |||
| Grass/Reeds | 3% | |||
| Floor | ||||
| Cement | 41% | |||
| Tiles | 2% | |||
| Wood/Other | 1% | |||
| Earth | 56% |
Regional Population Density and Urban Zones
| Amari | Kujenga | Ziwa | Nyumba | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Pop. 2017 | 76,520,462 | 12,863,687 | ||
| Pop. Density /km2 | 66 | |||
| Annual Growth Rate | 3.2 % | |||
| Pct. Urban Pop. | 27 % | |||
| Urban Growth Rate | 3.8 % |
Regional Utilities Overview
African infrastructure development lags the rest of the world at an increasing rate. In 1970, sub-Saharan Africa generated three times the electricity of South Asia. By 2000, South Asia had twice the generating capacity of sub-Saharan Africa. Transportation and water sectors exhibit the similar trends. The region suffers from uneven electricity, water and sanitation distribution. While urban centers enjoy higher utility connection rates, it is still a minority of the population. Even in those areas with utilities, only a fraction of the population has a connection.
TABLE HERE
Regional Electricity Generation and Transmission
The region is the least-serviced in the world but with developing generation and transmission capabilities. The majority still use either a tin lamp or lantern for lighting. Endemic outages limit the electrical grid to approximately 90 percent availability. Consequently, many businesses and households rely on diesel generators for emergency power, increasing the cost of doing business and demand on scarce diesel fuel.
A concerning characteristic of African hydroelectric power is rapid sedimentation which reduces generating capacity. Coupled with inadequate maintenance, something that appears on paper may not deliver as advertised. Despite economic competition, the regional states share power through the East African Power Pool. As each country expands their electrical grid, major Amari-Nyumba and Amari-Kujenga power interchanges are under construction. These should stabilize electricity availability and reduce outages.
Communities off the main grid traditionally rely on medium speed diesel generators for power via short ranges mini-grids. Wind and solar power are beginning to take hold throughout the region, particularly in northeast Amari, Nyumba and north-central Kujenga.