AfDB to unlock part of Ghana’s $5.2b pension assets for infrastructure projects

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has announced plans to collaborate with Ghanaian government institutions and the private sector to unlock part of the country’s $5.2 billion in pension assets for infrastructure projects.

Infrastructure development is high on Ghana’s list of needs. The National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) has argued that development of well-planned and adequately maintained world-class network of infrastructure is critical for Ghana’s quest to becoming a solidly developed country by its centenary year of 2057.

The NDPC has therefore developed the Ghana Infrastructure Plan (GIP) which it says, encapsulates the country’s long-term vision and strategic direction for infrastructure development and provides the physical manifestation of social and economic ideals.

The Plan which serves as a framework, uses a combination of effective policies, institutional and financing measures, within a 30-year planning horizon.

It also, provides a coordinated and integrated approach to infrastructure planning, prioritization, funding and delivery by engaging with key stakeholders across government, industry and communities while prioritizing Ghana’s Infrastructure needs from the perspective of a prosperous nation.

According to the NDPC, the GIP estimates that an amount of $1.1 trillion investment would be required for all the sectors to effectively implement these proposals from 2018 to 2047. Housing will require 62%, transport (23%), energy (8%), drainage, flood control and coastal protection (3%) and 1% for the other sectors except irrigation which will require less than 1% of the total investment. This measures up to $37.2 billion of annual infrastructure investment requirement for the next 30 years. In order to properly maintain these structures, a corresponding $237.4 billion would equally be needed.

The AfDB however, says its approach focuses on establishing a credit enhancement and de-risking facility that will catalyze domestic capital mobilization.

“The Bank will work with partners to establish a credit enhancement and de-risking facility to unlock part of Ghana’s $5.2 billion in pension assets for infrastructure investment,” the Bank said in a press release following a high-level mission to Ghana led by the AfDB’s Vice President for Private Sector, Infrastructure, and Industrialization, Solomon Quaynor.

The initiative draws inspiration from similar successful models implemented through InfraCredit in Nigeria and Dhamana in Kenya and East Africa.

The initiative aims to make local infrastructure, industrial, affordable housing and public-private partnerships assets attractive to institutional investors.

By Ekow Quandzie

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