AU and EU sign agreement on infrastructure projects
29 December 2010
Tuesday last, 21 December, the European Union signed a 1.3 million dollar agreement with the Commission of the African Union (AUC), covering a number of infrastructure projects.
Named the "Port Moresby Agreement", it is intended to finance preparations for priority actions and studies on transport, energy, and information and communication technologies, reports the newspaper Le Maghreb.
"The aim of this program is to support regional integration via strategic projects, including trans-African highways, a railroad linking almost the whole of West Africa, the Gambia bridge, and the Inga hydropower scheme", said Koen Vervaeke, head of the EU mission to the AUC.
This agreement follows a loan from the European Investment Bank, which has just granted 10.5 million dollars to finance the first high-speed submarine datalink to Mauritania.
This connection will enable new access to the Internet and reduce the cost paid by users, says the EIB in a press release.