Urgent 621 Billion USD Needed to Meet SDGs in Africa: Reports

Addis Ababa July 04/2018 Urgent 621 billion USD is need for Africa to meet UN Sustainable Development Goals for drinking water, sanitation and electricity, reports revealed The Global Infrastructure Hub, a G20 initiative, has today published two reports that stress the need for urgent infrastructure investment in 10 Compact with Africa countries, and highlight the reforms required to encourage greater investment. The first report, Global Infrastructure Outlook: Infrastructure Investment Need in the Compact with Africa Countries, states that unless USD 621 billion is invested in these 10 countries, including Ethiopia, by 2030 they will fail to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for universal access to drinking water, sanitation and electricity. The amount is three times what is expected to be delivered based on current investment trends (USD206 billion), exposing an investment gap of USD 415 billion. Moreover, the required USD 621 billion is part of a greater total infrastructure investment need of USD 2.4 trillion for energy, telecommunications, airports, ports, rail, roads and water to 2040, if these 10 countries are to meet the demands of accelerating economic and population growth. Based on current trends, forecast investment is USD 1.4 trillion, leaving a USD1 trillion investment shortfall. In delivering these findings, Outlook forecasts for the first time the scale of the overall infrastructure investment gaps at both country and sector level in the 10 Compact with Africa countries (Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Senegal, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Benin, Rwanda) , and how these relate to meeting the SDGs. Ludger Schuknecht, German G20 Finance Deputy and Co-Chair of the G20 Africa Advisory Group said: “We welcome the Global Infrastructure Hub’s activities towards analyzing investment conditions in Compact with Africa countries. This will help Compact Countries, together with partners, in developing sound policy frameworks for sustainable private investment.” The Global Infrastructure Hub CEO Chris Heathcote said that time is running out if the world is to meet the SDGs in these Compact with Africa countries. “Today’s Outlook report reveals the magnitude of that need at a country and sector level, helping public and private investors to better direct their financing,” the CEO said “However, the huge challenge of delivering the UN SDGs is not only a matter of finance, but also of policy reform — we need strong governance and well-planned projects in these 10 countries,” Heathcote added. The second report published by the Global Infrastructure Hub today, InfraCompass: Set your Infrastructure Policies in the Right Direction in the Compact with Africa Countries, provides a holistic view of the policy drivers that deliver more and better infrastructure. According to the report, to maximise the investment opportunities for the 10 countries, work needs to be done to improve governance and regulatory and institutional frameworks. InfraCompass finds that Morocco and Rwanda are notable performers, marked by their improvements to their regulatory quality, rule of law, and investment and competition frameworks. “Private investors are a key component to bridging the infrastructure investment gaps and, although institutional investors are willing to participate, they are also wary of the risks,” he explained. “Working with these countries to undertake reform and capacity building will pay dividends in encouraging higher levels of sustainable economic growth.” The two reports were researched and developed over a six-month period in partnership with Oxford Economics and KPMG.