PM Africa Magazine Issue 01 | Page 52

Logistics Road Transport RSA & SA into All SADC Sub-Saharan Africa N EPAD and the African Development Bank are aiming at tackling the continent's infrastructural gap. Their core objective is to ensure that regional projects and programmes can address the infrastructural challenges that continue to undermine Africa's competitiveness in the global market. They also present a framework for building the much-needed infrastructure necessary for energy, ICT, integrated transport and trans-boundary networks to boost intra-African trade and stimulate growth. Africa's extensive population growth projections mean that by 2040, transport volumes will increase six to eight 50 times (even up to Fourteen times in some countries), while port throughput will rise to more than 2 billion tonnes. The vision for the transport sector is an integrated African continent where transport infrastructure and services enable the free movement of goods and passengers through the provision of efficient, safe, secure, reliable and seamless transport options at affordable rates, to support environmentally and economically sustainable regional development. Transport projects are intended to link the continent's major production and consumption centres and major cities. Port-and rail-related projects are based on the least costly hubs and routes in order to open up landlocked countries for improved PM Africa Magazine — september 2014 regional, continental and ultimately global trade. There are 24 priority transport projects, which will focus on enhancing inter-regional connectivity, corridor modernisation, as well as the improvement of the continent's port, railway and air transport systems. Transport costs will be reduced significantly through the implementation of these projects, which in turn will boost regional and global trade. Throughout 2014, Africa’s remarkable growth trajectory is projected to remain above five per cent. The lack of infrastructure in Africa has resulted in transport costs being amongst the highest globally, in most cases it cost more to deliver a load from the port of arrival to its neighbouring landlocked country then it does to ship