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From railways to ports, these infrastructure megaprojects are reshaping Africa
A photograph taken on July 1, 2022 shows the berthing of the first ship at Lekki Deep Sea Port in Lagos state, Nigeria. The deepest port in the country is designed to handle four million metric tons of dry goods a year and is expected to generate revenue of $361 billion and create up to 170,000 new jobs. Across the African continent, innovative transport systems, telecoms operations and smart cities are being developed to boost economies and increase trade opportunities.Scroll through the gallery to learn more.
Xinhua/Shutterstock
The Kazungula Bridge -- The 923-meter long bridge over the Zambezi River connects Botswana and Zambia. Opened in May 2021, it replaces a ferry and was built to speed up truck traffic along a key north-south trade artery.
MONIRUL BHUIYAN/AFP/AFP via Getty Images
Internet balloons in Zanzibar -- Altaeros has entered a partnership with UK company World Mobile to supply internet balloons used to deliver part of its network in Zanzibar. Two solar-powered, helium-filled balloons will float 300 meters (984 feet) above land and have a broadcast range of around 70 kilometers (44 miles) apiece, using 3G and 4G frequencies to deliver their signal.
courtesy World Mobile
A new Egyptian capital -- Just 28 miles (45 kilometers) east of Cairo, Egypt is constructing a New Administrative Capital. The project, started in 2015 and is expected to cost $58 billion, is designed to be a hub for government and the finance industry. Egypt hopes to entice some of the 20 million residents of its current capital, Cairo, to relocate to the new city, where there is space for 6.5 million people.
The city will feature numerous skyscrapers, including what it says is Africa's tallest building, the Iconic Tower (pictured in the background). In 2020 a $4 billion, 100-kilometer monorail project, connecting Cairo and the new city, was announced.
Bloomberg/Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images
A $5 billion dam across the Nile -- The ambitious Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is one of Africa's biggest infrastructure projects. Built on the Blue Nile River near Ethiopia's border with Sudan, the $5 billion dam will generate 6,000 megawatts of electricity annually. The project aims to turn Ethiopia into Africa's biggest hydroelectric exporter.
But the dam has been controversial from the get-go. The Blue Nile is one of two sources for the River Nile, providing 85% of the water that flows north through Sudan and Egypt, to the Mediterranean. Colonial-era agreements mean Egypt and Sudan, which rely on the river for their water supply, have maintained control over the river in the past -- but Ethiopia's dam threatens this. Years of negotiations between the three countries have so far proved unsuccessful. Ethiopia began generating electricity from the dam on February 20, 2022.
AMANUEL SILESHI/AFP/AFP via Getty Images
The Suez Canal expansion -- Egypt's Suez Canal underwent an $8 billion expansion in 2015 to increase trading potential, and it has paid off, with a significant rise in revenue. Further developments to deepen and widen the southern stretch of the canal are underway, following the grounding of the Ever Given container ship in 2021 which blocked the canal for almost a week.
Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images
Supercharging western Africa's internet -- Google Equiano is a subsea internet cable running from Portugal to South Africa, with 20 times the bandwidth of the previous cable serving the west coast of Africa. It has the potential to increase internet speeds five-fold in some countries and reduce data costs, according to research commissioned by Google.
courtesy Desert Pearl Photography/Paratus
Egypt's plan for high-speed rail -- Plans for Egypt's first high-speed rail were announced in January 2021, and the contract for 2,000-kilometer (1,243-mile) rail system was awarded to Siemens Mobility. When built, the railway will link 60 cities across the country. (Pictured: a rendering of future fleet carriages.)
courtest Siemens Mobility
Namibia reclaims 40 hectares for new port terminal -- As Namibia's largest commercial port, Walvis Bay processes five million tons of cargo every year. A $300 million, five-year project has seen the port more than double its capacity for container units and reduce waiting times for ships. Its new container terminal, built on 40 hectares of reclaimed land, was announced to be fully operational in September 2020.
From Namport
New refinery hopes to power up Nigeria -- While Nigeria is one of Africa's most oil-rich countries, its refineries are only operating at a small fraction of their capacity. It's not just bad for the economy — fuel shortages mean Nigeria suffers frequent power cuts. But Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote, is building an oil refinery he says will solve Nigeria's fuel problem. Covering 2,635 hectares, the new Dangote Petroleum Refinery will be the largest in Africa, with capacity to process 650,000 barrels a day. In December 2023, the refinery received its first batch of crude oil and operations are expected to begin soon.
MAN Energy Solutions
New rail line to connect Nigeria -- Another ambitious railway project, the Lagos-Kano Standard Gauge Railway, in Nigeria, will span 1,678 miles (2,700 kilometers) from the port city of Lagos, to the northern city of Kano, near the border with Niger. Intended to boost the economy, the railway will carry both passengers and freight. Built by China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) and partially funded by Exim Bank, the project is being completed in multiple stages: the first section between Abuja and Kaduna was completed in 2016, while the second Lagos to Ibadan section opened in June 2021.
Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP/Getty Images
A new tech hub in Kenya -- Still in the early stages of construction, Konza Technological City (also known as Konza Technopolis) is designed to become home to Kenya's burgeoning tech scene. Just 37 miles outside of Nairobi, the 5,000-acre city is the flagship project of Kenya 2030 Vision, an initiative to push economic growth in the tech and communications sector.
Progress on the project has been slow, but it has raised $800 million in funding. Current plans include integrated smart city technology such as roadway sensors that optimize traffic flow .