Green Infrastructure Corridors for Intra-African Trade (PIDA)

Project description

Title: Green Infrastructure Corridors for Intra-African Trade (PIDA)
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: African Union and selected AU Member States
Lead executing agency: African Union Commission (AUC)
Overall term: 2021 to 2024

Context

Only 43 per cent of Africa’s population has access to electricity, less than 24 per cent are connected to the internet and only 25 per cent of Africa’s Road network is paved. Sub-Saharan Africa faces a series of challenges that might hinder socio-economic growth. Climate change is also a development challenge, and environmental shocks affect the poorest households and impact human capital and trade.  Climate shocks such as natural disasters and changing weather patterns may damage existing infrastructure and weaken economies. To prevent this, climate change adaptation and mitigation measures must be integrated into infrastructure development to protect the continent’s infrastructure assets. Infrastructure must be made more climate-resilient to safeguard the market for goods and services opened by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to 54 AU Member States.

Objective

Advisory on a continental green infrastructure policy, infrastructure project preparation, and private sector development have improved the technical capacity at the African Union Commission (AUC), African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), and the Central Corridor Transit Transport Facilitation Agency (CCTTFA).

Approach

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) supports the development of low-carbon and climate-resilient infrastructure and offers technical advisory support on the following three components:

  • Development of a continental green & smart infrastructure policy, to serve as a policy guide for the development and operation of trade-relevant infrastructure corridors.
  • Project preparation and mobilisation of finance for sustainable infrastructure development, the Service Delivery Mechanism (SDM) is an AUDA-NEPAD technical advisory instrument that addresses the identified lack of early-stage project preparation and capacity constraints.
  • Private-sector development advising micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to digitalise for trade and climate-resilient infrastructure solutions, supportings MSMEs by facilitating digital/tech solutions that support green infrastructure and promote trade.

Last update: August 2022

Additional information