How poor planning costs Africa 80pc of its infrastructure projects

Audio By Vocalize

Construction work on the Rironi-Mau Summit highway project. Project management experts say stronger project preparation and execution are needed to turn infrastructure investment into completed projects across Africa.[File,Standard]

Nearly 80 per cent of Africa's infrastructure projects fail during planning, preventing most from reaching financial close despite growing investment, project management experts have said.

The experts argued that Africa's biggest infrastructure challenge is no longer raising money but turning investment commitments into projects that are ready for implementation.

"Investment commitments" must translate into "well-prepared, execution-ready and bankable projects," wrote George Asamani, managing director for Sub-Saharan Africa at the Project Management Institute, and Lavagnon Ika, professor of project management at the Telfer School of Management.