The European Commission lays out its plans to connect the Trans-European and African networks in its June 2009 Communication on strengthening African-European cooperation in the transport and infrastructure sectors (http://ec.europa.eu/
There is a mammoth task ahead to build a common map for transport infrastructure. Africa is the continent where transport costs are the highest in the world, where the road density is low, the rail network is poorly interconnected (especially in Western and Central Africa; more than fifteen countries in Africa do not have railways at all), African airports do not have enough passenger capacity and the African maritime fleet is old. This situation affects the economy of African countries, their development, health, education and employment.
“What networks in Africa? There are no networks in Africa and no connections between roads. So if you want to connect networks, you have to develop the clusters in strategic parts of Africa first and then make the connections between the countries, preferably between countries that are regionally linked together, in Eastern, Central, Western and Southern Africa. We have a Northern corridor and a Central line and we want to develop the already existing network between Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania and interconnect them”, said Ambassador Katenta.
His country has ambitions firstly to renovate its railways which are much in the same state as in colonial times.
“Uganda is a landlocked country and transport is key. We need good functioning railways, but our trains still function the way they did in the old colonial system, cities were and still are connected to the coast and there is no interconnection between cities, where most economic activities take place. The railways exist on one line instead of two, which is not efficient, time consuming and not safe. When the British wanted to build a railway from Mombasa (Kenya) to Kampala (Uganda), people thought it was a crazy idea and called it ‘the Lunatic Express’”, said the Ambassador.
“It functioned through the centuries, but it is a very old line now that should be repaired and replaced by a new railway, creating two lines, in two directions, with wider gauge for more safety and electric or diesel electric engines, not the old locomotives and lorries we still have. Furthermore, the railways need to connect our ports with the hinterland, ports that need to be modernised. We are planning a railway to connect Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan”, he said.
Construction armies
“We will use the Ugandan and Kenyan armies to construct the Mombasa – Kampala line if we fail to get investors. Soldiers are a much better suited work force to do infrastructure”, he explained. “The soldiers have certain skills; they know the country very well. This is also a way to change their image and to make them useful to their communities, while learning skills and earning money. We could work with other countries and gain more trust towards each other while working on infrastructure. All African countries should have their own Army Corps of Engineers.”Talking about the way Europe could be linked to Africa via the Straits of Gibraltar, the Ambassador said that a tunnel from Gibraltar to Africa would be an engineering challenge because of the depth of the water. “It is only eight miles, less than the Channel between the UK and France, which is 20 miles, but the conditions are more difficult due to the strong undercurrents. A tunnel or a bridge linking Europe to Africa is not the only option. Why not look at the experience in Uganda, a land of many lakes (Lake Victoria and Nile basin, Lake Kyoga, Lake Albert, Lake Edward, Lake George), where wagon ferries are used as an efficient transport system for goods and passenger traffic”.
As for the €4.5bn sum so far pledged under the 10th EDF, Ambassador Katenta said it would be insufficient for all the work to be done in Africa. He suggests that a profitable use of the money would be to set up a guarantee fund to attract investors.
Joyce van Genderen-Naar
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