The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the African Union Commission (AUC) Wednesday signed an accord, worth US$ 8.9 million, as capacity building grants for projects aimed at Africas physical and economic integration.
The Banks Vice President, Charles Boamah, and the AUC Deputy Chairperson, Erastus J. O. Mwencha, initialled the deal here, noting that the grant would specifically support implementation of the Priority Action Plan under the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA).
According to details, made available to PANA, funds from the grant would be channelled through regional economic communities as well as the AUC and the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA) in a three-year period.
The grant is intended to support preparation, coordination and implementation of regional infrastructure programmes and projects necessary for enhancing Africas physical and economic integration and socio-economic transformation.
According to the AUC, regional infrastructure projects are complex because of their cross-border and multi-sectoral nature, requiring a myriad of interventions ranging from institutional, legal and regulatory reforms to creating enabling environment to attract financing.
The PIDA Priority Action Plan embraces a set of 51 programmes and projects to be implemented by 2020 with an investment outlay of US$ 68 billion.
Regional cross-border infrastructure projects on which PIDA puts emphasis concern energy, water, transport and ICT in order to transform the continent through modern infrastructure.
