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Viewing cable 08DAKAR119, PRESIDENT WADE CHAIRS NEPAD ROUND TABLE ON AFRICAN

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08DAKAR119 2008-01-29 16:43 2011-08-24 16:30 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Dakar
VZCZCXRO4183
PP RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHDK #0119 0291643
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 291643Z JAN 08
FM AMEMBASSY DAKAR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9944
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 2209
RUEHNJ/AMEMBASSY NDJAMENA 0777
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RUEHLMC/MCC WASHDC
UNCLAS DAKAR 000119 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/W, AF/EPS, EB/IFD/ODF 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID EFIN ECON PGOV SG
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT WADE CHAIRS NEPAD ROUND TABLE ON AFRICAN 
INFRASTRUCTURE PRIORITIES 
 
1.  SUMMARY:  A donor round table was held in Saly-Portugal, Senegal 
on January 23-24, 2008 to discuss the priorities of the 
Infrastructure Component of NEPAD.  President Abdoulaye Wade of 
Senegal is the chairman on this component along with those of 
energy, environment, and information technology.  The purpose of the 
round table was to prioritize regional, interregional, and 
continent-wide projects, create an institutional mechanism to 
monitor progress, and to solicit donor support in financing priority 
projects.  No solid proposals were put forward for new funding so 
donor pledges were mostly limited to current infrastructure 
commitments.  However, the Infrastructure Component presents an 
ambitious framework for future trans-African and regional 
infrastructure projects that could help increase commerce throughout 
the continent.  END SUMMARY. 
 
GRAND PLANS AND SOME DISSENT 
---------------------------- 
2.  The short-term action plan of NEPAD's Infrastructure Component 
contains 124 projects including both capital investments and 
capacity building.  Twelve of these projects have already been 
financed at USD 2 billion.  17 additional projects are being 
considered by the African Development Bank for an additional USD 2.5 
billion.  Two roads and railways, along the same trajectory, were 
proposed during the round table as first priority:  Dakar to 
Djibouti (with N'Djamena as the "platform" for cross-continental 
transportation links), and Dakar to Libreville, for a total price 
tag of about USD 68 billion.  President Wade also solicited support 
for other projects to benefit Senegal, including bridges over the 
Gambia River and between Senegal and Mauritania at Rosso, and 
support for inter-modal transportation systems on the Senegal 
River. 
 
3.  The Ministers in charge of infrastructure for about 20 African 
countries were present and there was not unanimity in the 
prioritization process.  Island countries including Cape Verde, 
Mauritius, the Seychelles, and Madagascar were unsatisfied, noting 
that none of the projects targeted their countries.  They argued for 
information technology to be included as a component of 
infrastructure to help them have better connections to the world. 
 
4.  While the new four-lane, cross-continental highways took center 
stage, some countries proposed that emphasis be placed on finishing 
almost completed corridors such as the Morocco-Dakar-Lagos,  while 
others were pushing for more coherence with existing roads and 
railroads to reduce costs.  South Africa proposed adopting a 
public-private partnership approach as it has done in its own 
country. 
 
CALL TO DONORS 
-------------- 
5.  Though not quite a pledging conference, President Wade pressed 
donors to outline their commitment to this initiative.  Senegal's 
official press reported USD 8 billion was pledged, but the source 
and timing of such a sum was not evident during the conference.  The 
World Bank, African Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, 
and the European Union are the main financial backers of 
infrastructure projects in Africa and each was highlighted as a 
major supporter of this NEPAD effort.  Since there was no basis on 
which to make pledges, donors presented their current infrastructure 
funding, or those in the pipeline, as their contribution towards the 
list of priorities. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
6.  President Wade, who has been very critical of NEPAD in recent 
months, made sure this NEPAD initiative implicated Senegal in many 
of its ambitious proposals.  However, after the conference, 
President Wade faced some mild criticism from local commentators for 
focusing on "pan-African" issues instead of focusing on Senegal's 
own development needs.  Still, thinking big and beginning the 
planning process for major projects is an important step, especially 
if there are, in fact, major donors lining up with financing.  These 
projects, if ever realized, could significantly improve commerce 
throughout the African continent.  However, African countries should 
look to ways to reduce costs for infrastructure by prioritizing 
those projects by actual demand and by looking towards innovative 
solutions such as South Africa's use of public-private partnerships. 
 
 
SMITH