Unlocking Africa's economic potential through transport corridors

TRANSPORT corridors are among the most powerful engines for economic transformation. In Europe, every euro invested in the continent's Trans-European Transport Network has been estimated to return four euros in GDP.

- PAUL RIEMBAULT

The same - or even greater - potential exists in Africa if investments are focused and coordinated.

That's according to Paul Riembault of the Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) at the European Commission.

Speaking at the 43rd Southern African Transport Conference (SATC) on 10 July, Riembault explored how Africa could leverage the European Union's long and complex corridor development experience.

He encouraged African institutions, planners and financiers to continue their coordinated approach to corridor development and to consider Europe's successes as well as challenges in transforming fragmented infrastructure into the backbone of a thriving single market.

"Transport corridors are not just about roads and rails," Riembault told delegates. "They're about unlocking integration, intra-African trade, and regional prosperity."

Criteria-based approach to planning

What sets Europe's TENT model apart is its data-driven, criteria-based approach. Corridors are not selected arbitrarily or through purely political negotiation.

Instead, they are based on criteria or even hard data: e.g. ports handling more than 33 million tonnes of freight annually - corresponding to 1% of total EU freight -, cities with over one million inhabitants, capital cities and strategic industrial zones. These “core nodes” anchor each multimodal corridor.

“In a Union of 27 Member States, it's natural that national interests may diverge,” Riembault said. “Hence, a strong common framework serves as protection against shifting political priorities and pet projects”