AfDB to set up regional Public Private Partnership resource hubs in Africa

 

NAIROBI,KENYA: Africa Development Bank has announced plans to set up regional Public Private Partnership resource hubs in Africa to provide African governments with capacity for structuring win-win PPP projects in an effort to efficiently bridge Africa’s infrastructure financing need. 

Speaking at the opening ceremony of a three day training workshop on PPP organised by AfDB’s Africa Legal Support Facility (ALSF) in partnership with Expertise France (the French International Technical Expertise Agency) and the CEFEB – Corporate University of the Agence Française de Développement (AFD, the Bank’s regiona director for Eastern Afria, Mr. Gabriel Negatu confirmed that Nairobi will effectively be the region’s PPP resource hub. 

He added that with infrastructure being a core economic focus in line with the AfDB 10-year strategy, all stakeholders need to come up with innovative solutions that work efficiently in order to address the current financing gap. 

“We strongly believe that the private sector has big role to play in bridging Africa’s annual infrastructure deficits of USD 93 billion. AfDB will, through the PPP resource hubs, support governments with technical support to ensure mitigation and management of legal, financial and technical risks.” Negatu said.  

On his part, the Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury, Mr. Henry Rotich confirmed plans to gazette the regulations for the PPP Project Facilitation Fund, a revolving fund set up under the PPP Act, 2013. 

“PPP – PFF will support contracting authorities in preparation, appraisal and tendering of PPP projects It will also extend viability gap finance to PPP projects, meet any contingent liabilities arising from a PPP project as well as support activities of the PPP Unit in the delivery of its mandate. We will gazette the regulations of thefund next month” He said. 

The three-day training-taking place in Nairobi attracted over 100 applications from 12 African countries but only 30 made the cut. The team consists of regulators, professional services practitioners and financiers from Djibouti, Gambia, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Nigeria, Somalia, Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia. 

Some of the topics include: structuring principles for PPPs and appropriate legal framework, contracting models for PPP entities and PPP financing and business environment.

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