Ghana ranks 8th in Africa for record private infrastructure investment surge

Ghana has been identified as the 8th largest recipient of private infrastructure investment in Africa, amounting to $137 million, as revealed by the World Bank’s Private Participation in Infrastructure (PPI) 2023 Annual Report.

According to the report, the country undertook only one infrastructure project.

South Africa emerged as the largest contributor to the region’s Private participation in infrastructure (PPI), with investments totaling $1.044 billion, representing 30.0% of the regional PPI.

Following South Africa, Senegal secured the second position with $316 million invested in five projects, while Tanzania claimed the third position with $308 million invested across five projects.

The energy sector received the largest portion of private participation in infrastructure (PPI), followed by the ICT sector.

As per the report, the Eastern and Southern (AFE) region recorded investment commitments totalling $2.3 billion across 45 projects. Although investment levels remained consistent compared to the previous year, the number of projects achieving financial closure more than doubled, reaching a total of 45 in 2023.

Investment commitments in the region were also made by 15 other countries, including Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, and Uganda, among others. Additionally, the region experienced several cross-border ICT investment closures this year, underscoring its growth and development.

In 2023, the Western and Central (AFW) region reported investment commitments amounting to $1.2 billion spread across 21 projects.

Within the region, Senegal recorded the highest level of investment commitments, constituting nearly 27 per cent of the total investment commitments. Senegal’s commitments were attributed to five projects amounting to $316 million.

Significantly, four out of these five projects were concentrated in the energy sector.

During 2023, the five countries with the highest levels of investment as a percentage of their national GDP were as follows: Cape Verde led with 7.4% of its Gross Domestic Product allocated to PPI investments, followed by Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) with 6.2%, and Bosnia and Herzegovina with 2.0%.