A road to somewhere

摘要

Whether it is taking vegetables to market, getting water from a tap or turning on the lights, almost everything is slower, less reliable or more expensive in Africa than it needs to be. The African Development Bank (Af db), which finances big investments on the continent, says that a shortage of roads, housing, water, sanitation and electricity reduces sub-Saharan Africa's output by about 40%. There is no controversy in saying that shoddy infrastructure is holding the continent back. But how to finance more of it? Some want to divert aid money. Suggesting that an engineering firm might make better • use of charity than Oxfam or Save the Children sounded like heresy once. But the terms of the debate have shifted-for several reasons. The work of low-cost Asian companies (paid with revenues from African resources) has shown that new roads and ports can be affordable. There is also a new sense of urgency: as populations grow, the need for better infrastructure becomes even greater. Finally, the rise of African banks and stockmarkets has made public-private partnerships more feasible.