The Infrastructure Consortium for Africa (ICA) has launched a new survey to capture private sector views on the challenges of implementing infrastructure projects in Africa across the energy, water, transport and ICT sectors.

The online survey, which has been designed by UK-based business intelligence company Cross-border Information (CbI), will complement the ICA’s established work promoting increased investment and development of infrastructure in Africa and tracking infrastructure financing trends.

The survey looks at factors such as top investment locations, risks to be addressed, delays in project implementation, and best returns.

“Some of the most successful African infrastructure projects have relied on public and private sector investment. This annual survey aims to initiate a better understanding of private sector investment concerns and motivations, in order to help governments, DFIs and multilateral finance institutions shape more attractive investment opportunities and successful projects,” said CbI managing director Mark Ford.

 

Important time for infrastructure investment

ICA members, which include the G8 countries, South Africa, African Development Bank, Development Bank of Southern Africa, European Commission, European Investment Bank, and the World Bank Group, reported a 57% annual rise in commitments for 2012 to $18.7bn and a 47% increase in disbursements to $12.8bn.

Figures for 2012 showed a promising upturn in new commitments, following a significant dip in 2011 but more progress is required to remove the technical and policy blockages that have tended to slow down the implementation of essential infrastructure development projects.

Through the collated and analysed results, private sector respondents will be able to compare their experiences with peers and discover how their views fit with the wider private sector picture. Respondents to the ICA’s first private sector survey, conducted for its 2012 annual report, identified partner risk as the main consideration to be taken into account when deciding whether to invest, followed closely by concerns about the legal and regulatory environment and political risk.

“The new survey will more closely examine variations in risk perception between investors from different countries and the infrastructure industries in which they are investing, as well as their investment intentions for projects within the energy, water transport and ICT industries over the next five years,” explains Mark Ford.

The results of both surveys will be published in the fourth quarter of 2014 in the ICA’s annual report: Infrastructure Financing Trends in Africa.