BUSINESS
rest of Africa and the proliferation of early
stage projects in Angola and Mozambique
and in East, West and North Africa, and the
completion of a bridge across the Zambezi
River that links Botswana and Zambia, which
now makes it possible to drive from South
Africa to the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (DRC) and the Great Lakes region
without significant delays.
Although mega projects like new dams are not on the cards, civil projects linking
important infrastructure is driving the economic growth in Africa. In picture a project
on the Kariba dam in 2011.
Benefits of free trade
According to Mahendra Dedasaniya, Africa
leader for infrastructure and capital projects
at Deloitte, the African Free Trade Area
(AfCFTA) will stimulate regional trade and
the sharing of skills and technology across
Africa. It will hopefully also make it easier for
plant and equipment suppliers to get their
machinery into other African countries.
“The AfCFTA came into force this year and
is expected to boost economic integration,
liberalise trade in goods and services
(through reducing tariff, but mostly non-tariff
barriers to trade) and increase intra-Africa
trade by 60% in the next three years. These
developments are set to contribute towards
the regional growth projection of 4% in the
medium term, up from an estimate of 3.5%
in 2018,” Dedasaniya tells Plant Equipment
& Hire.
Bonnett says that there are many
opportunities for South African companies in
the rest of Africa, but they need to get a foot
in the door now as there will be substantial
competition from global suppliers to gain
access to these markets. He adds that the
Energy and power projects are set to increase as the African continent develops.
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APRIL 2020
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