PMI Seeks Accelerated Infrastructure Development To Promote Intra-Continental Trade

Project Management Institute (PMI) has encouraged the African Union (AU) to accelerate infrastructure development that would promote intra-continental trade  among the member states.  The appeal was contained in a statement made available to the media in Lagos yesterday.

Highlighting the importance of infrastructure development in continental trade the Managing Director, Sub-Saharan Africa, PMI, George Asamani, stated that infrastructure is among the key elements essential to making the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) work effectively.

MD said, “Developing and improving power, transport, and communications infrastructure and establishing efficient road, air, port, and rail networks are crucial for enabling seamless trade facilitation and promoting economic integration,”.

This year marks the diamond jubilee of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now the African Union, the continental body representing 55 member states that make up Africa. At the heart of this year’s celebration is the vision and implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The AU theme for 2023 is Acceleration of AfCFTA Implementation.

Adopting AfCFTA is expected to enhance mobility bringing transformative change and tremendous economic and business opportunities. According to the World Economic Forum, AfCFTA will provide investors unparalleled access to a population of 1.7 billion people and consumer spending reaching $6.7 billion by 2030. The report highlights automotive; agriculture and agro-processing; pharmaceuticals; and transport and logistics as the four sectors expected to see a rapid acceleration in production and trade volumes, given they have a high potential to meet demand with local production.

Once fully implemented, the trade pact will create the world’s largest free trade area for goods and services across member states and deepen economic integration within the continent. The trade area created by this agreement is expected to have a combined gross domestic product of approximately $3.4 trillion USD.

In 2022, the then Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Niyi Adebayo, said that Nigeria was targeting a $12 billion increase in trade volume between 2023 and 2027 with the implementation of the AfCFTA. He said the agreement will help reduce trade barriers and make it easier for Nigerian businesses to export their goods and services to other African countries.