Description:
Sound infrastructure is fundamental for
growth across the Economic Community of Central African
States (ECCAS). During 1995-2005, improvements in
infrastructure boosted growth in Central Africa by 1
percentage point per capita annually, primarily due to the
introduction and expansion of mobile telephony. Improved
roads also made a small contribution. Conversely, inadequate
power deterred growth to a greater degree than elsewhere in
Africa. ECCAS must address a complex set of challenges.
Economic activity takes place in isolated pockets separated
by vast distances. Two countries are landlocked and
dependent on regional corridors; seven countries have
populations of under 10 million; and eight have economies
that are smaller than $10 billion/year. This difficult
economic geography demands a regional approach to developing
infrastructure. Yet Central Africa's infrastructure has
the poorest performance record in all of Africa on most
aggregate indicators. Transportation is slow and the most
expensive in Sub-Saharan Africa, with poor road conditions,
border delays, port delays, time-consuming administrative
processes, no integrated railway network, and inefficient
air transport. The ICT backbone is still in its early
stages; access rates are low and the prices of critical
services are the highest in Africa. ECCAS has the
least-developed power sector on the continent despite
significant hydropower resources. If Central Africa's
infrastructure could be improved to the level of Mauritius,
regional growth performance would be boosted by some 5
percentage points, with power making the strongest
contribution. The cost of such an improvement is estimated
at $1.8 billion/year for a decade and will require external assistance.