Posted on :Monday , 29th September 2014

The overall infrastructure spending in the sub-Saharan region is projected to grow by 10 per cent a year over the next decade and will exceed US$180bn by 2025, a new report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) reveals

Nigeria and South Africa dominate the infrastructure market, but other countries like Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, and Tanzania are also poised for growth, the report added.

“Growth prospects in most of the region’s economies look promising as they were not affected as much by the global financial crisis of 2008. The crisis has not had a major effect on South Africa’s infrastructure spending. From an estimated US$7bn in 2001, investment in infrastructure grew relatively consistently to reach US$22bn by 2012.”

Infrastructure spending overall is forecasted to reach around US$60bn by 2025 for South Africa, having grown by 10 per cent on average a year. However, South Africa is likely to lose share of regional spending relative to Nigeria as the West African nation’s better fiscal position and oil revenues will likely enable it to outperform South Africa over the coming decade, the report said.

Overall infrastructure spending in Nigeria is expected to grow from $23 billion in 2013 to $77 billion in 2025. A more investor-friendly environment towards oil investment is also likely to boost this projection further.