2016 Overview
The Infrastructure Financing Trends in Africa 2016 report shows that new commitments to Africa’s infrastructure development totalled $62.5bn in 2016, a decline of over 20% compared to 2015.
This comprised $26.3bn of budget allocations from African national governments, compared toS$24bn in 2015, and external finance of $36.2bn – the lowest level since 2010. The drop in external finance in 2016 compared to 2015 was largely due to a $14.5bn reduction in reported Chinese funding and a $4.9bn fall in private sector investment.
Total Financing by source 2016
![Total Financing by source 2016 graph](/fileadmin/_processed_/4/b/csm_Total_Financing_by_Source_2016_556c960707.png)
Total financing by region 2016
![Total financing by region 2016 graph](/fileadmin/_processed_/d/8/csm_Total_Financing_by_Region_2016_5ea8541583.png)
Total financing by sector 2016
![Total financing by sector 2016 graph](/fileadmin/_processed_/2/1/csm_Total_Financing_by_Sector_2016_d2c6475593.png)
Other key findings from the 2016 Infrastructure Financing Trends in Africa report include:
- Overall commitments to Africa’s infrastructure development, from all reported sources, declined in 2016 by 20.8%, to $62.5bn from $78.9bn in 2015;
- The total amount of identifiable infrastructure allocations by African national government budgets came to $26.3bn in 2016, up 9.6% from $24bn in 2015;
- Chinese funding of Africa’s infrastructure development has fluctuated substantially over recent years, with the 2016 figure of $6.4bn following a high of $20.9bn in 2015 and a low of $3.1bn in 2014. Between 2011 and 2016, Chinese investment has averaged $12bn;
- In total, ICA members reported commitments of $18.6bn, down 6% from $19.8bn in 2015. Excluding the exceptional $7bn contribution from the Power Africa initiative in 2013, commitments from ICA members have remained broadly consistent for the past five years at an average of $18.9bn;
- Members of the Arab Co-ordination Group (ACG) committed $5.5bn in 2016 to Africa’s infrastructure development, a steady increase on 2015 ($4.4bn) and 2014 ($3.5bn);
- The value of projects with private sector participation reaching financial close in 2016 was $3.6bn, of which $2.6bn was private capital. This is a significant decrease on the private capital recorded in 2015 ($7.4bn) and 2014 ($5.1bn);
- Commitments to the water sector increased substantially from $7.5bn in 2015 to $10.5bn in 2016. Commitments to the transport sector fell sharply in 2016 to $24.5bn, compared with $32.4bn in 2015. Financing of energy projects in Africa fell to $20bn in 2016, from the record high of $33.5bn in 2015. ICT sector commitments stood at $1.6bn in 2016, less than the $2.4bn reported in 2015;
- Of the $62.5bn committed to Africa’s infrastructure development in 2016, West Africa received $16.3bn of commitments, followed by East Africa with $13.1bn and North Africa with $12.9bn. Southern Africa (excluding South Africa) and Central Africa received $6.5bn and $6.3bn, respectively, while South Africa received $5.9bn.