Scaling up investment in infrastructure without taking on excessive debt constitutes a crucial policy challenge for Central African countries.

This was concluded at a recent high-level conference organised by the Cameroon government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) titled “Financing the Future: Infrastructure Development in Central Africa”. Participants acknowledged that, to increase investment while avoiding high debt, countries need a good debt management strategy, and must boost the efficiency of public investment spending and develop their domestic revenues.

The conference focused on international experience and best practices to finance infrastructure development, and saw ministers, governors and more than 250 senior officials, academics, and representatives of financial institutions and civil society come together. The conference addressed several key issues such as the need to optimise domestic resources, the desirability of tapping private sector financing, as well as the prospects for innovative financing, the role of capital markets and sovereign bonds issuance and enhanced credit access.

Participants agreed that investment in infrastructure can drive growth, raise productivity, and help reduce poverty, but also acknowledged that there are large infrastructure gaps in Central Africa. However, upgrading infrastructures is very costly and scaling up investment without taking on excessive debt is a crucial policy challenge. They found that governments need to be savvy about how they finance their increasing infrastructure investments.

They agreed that the growth return to public infrastructure investment depends on a robust private sector response. For this reason, it is important to introduce structural reforms that will promote a strong private investment climate along with infrastructure development. A large portfolio of bankable infrastructure projects will trigger national and international contribution from the sub-regional banking sector and the capital markets.