Xinhua, Addis Ababa :
Africa’s infrastructure remains grossly inadequate to facilitate rapid economic development and integration in the continent, African Union Commissioner for infrastructure and energy Elham Mahmoud Ahmed said Tuesday.
She told a press conference on the sidelines of the 24th Ordinary Session of the AU Executive Council that the continent needs to intensify infrastructure development as it is a vital cog in Africa’s development.
Currently, infrastructure contribution to Africa’s gross domestic product is less than 1 percent, a situation she said is untenable for the continent.
“Our infrastructure in the transport sector is not enough. Even what is available is not efficient. Some administrative issues are still there which make our transport inadequate,” she said.
She lamented Africa’s poor aviation sector that continues to pose inter-connectivity challenges for travelers.
Most countries on the continent had no direct air connection with each other, she said, resulting in some people on the continent “going to Europe first in order to move from one African country to another.”
She urged African airlines to pool resources together and improve the continent’s aviation industry.
“We have many qualified airlines which can work together to achieve the program of covering the whole continent,” she said.
Africa, she said, needs to improve its railway infrastructure because it is an affordable mode of transport for both individuals and the industrial sector.
She expressed the hope that the continent’s program for infrastructure development (PIDA) launched in 2012 will help quicken infrastructure development in the continent.
The continent, she said, is pursuing several priority infrastructure projects under PIDA, which has a target of 2040.
Mahmoud Ahmed also underscored the need for Africa to boost its tourism, information communication technology and energy infrastructure.
She said the continent is targeting to increase the number of people with access to electricity from the current average of 35 percent to 70 percent by 2040.
Africa also needs to invest more in renewable energy and diversify its energy sources to increase energy output that is also crucial to the development of agriculture, she said.
Africa’s agriculture sector is currently using only 2 percent of total energy output, she lamented.
