The Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) Steering Committee today concluded its two-day deliberations in Cairo and set the stage for the next phase of PIDA, which will officially launch in January 2021.

The Steering Committee, as part of its bi-annual meeting, learnt from the diverse experience of experts who had formative involvement in the development of the first phase of PIDA to inform the next phase.
In his statement, the African Union Commission Director for Infrastructure and Energy, Mr. Cheikh Bedda underscored that PIDA at this time is gaining a lot of momentum and a lot of tractions from African Heads of State. He stated that all hands are on deck to bring all PIDA projects to the finish line, as the first phase of the programme is coming to end in 2020.

“We have heard from our PIDA Mid Term Review Consultants and our experts who were involved in the designing of the first phase of PIDA and this meeting was also able to thoroughly discuss the Institutional Architecture for Infrastructure Development in Africa (AIADA) and it is clear now that the stage is set to begin the development of the next phase of PIDA,” Mr. Bedda said.

“The next phase will radically be different in the way it addresses pressing needs on the continent including jobs, youth and women, low access to energy and other basic infrastructure among rural communities,” the Director added.

Echoing the same sentiments, the Head of Regional Integration Infrastructure and Trade at the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), Mr. Symerre Grey-Johnson, underscored the few concrete successes that were registered in support of the implementation of PIDA PAP through the various mechanism and instruments such as, the Service Delivery Mechanism (SDM), the Continental Business Network (CBN) and its NEPAD 5% Agenda, the Africa Infrastructure Guarantee Mechanism (AIGM) and the PIDA Capacity Building Programme.

Citing some of his initial suggestions for inclusion in the next phase of PIDA PAP, Mr. Grey-Johnson spoke about the critical role of a coordinated approach going forward. “I urge our partners to come on board in planning the next phase of the PIDA PAP,” Mr. Grey-Johnson noted.

Representing the African Development Bank, Mr. Mtchera Chirwa commended the partnership between the AUC, AUDA-NEPAD and AfDB under PIDA, which has achieved formidable results in advancing Africa’s infrastructure development.

Mr. Chirwa reiterated the Bank’s commitment to the development of the next phase of PIDA, which comes at a critical juncture for the future of Africa.

The Steering Committee heard presentations on the status of the implementation of PIDA PAP from Regional Economic Communities and partners, updates on the PIDA Capacity Building Project and the development of the next phase of PIDA, including a short presentation on the African Women in Infrastructure. The Steering Committee discussed the upcoming events until the closure of the current phase of PIDA PAP 1. It also served as a platform for partners to voice their ideas for the next phase of PIDA PAP.

PIDA’s governance structure the Institutional Architecture for Infrastructure Development in Africa (IAIDA) also came under strong review by the Steering Committee. The meeting also had fruitful discussions around the preparation of the 2019 PIDA Week.

The PIDA Steering Committee is the highest technical body tasked with fostering overall coordination of implementation efforts by various stakeholders and to provide general policy guidance and facilitation for smooth implementation PIDA.

Held ahead of the second ordinary session of the African Union Specialized Technical Committee meeting on Transport, Transcontinental and Interregional Infrastructure, Energy and Tourism (STC-TTIIET), the two-day meeting was jointly organized by the African Union Commission (AUC) and the AUDA-NEPAD, was co-chaired by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and supported by GIZ.

About 40 delegates representing the AUC, AUDA-NEPAD, the AfDB, UNECA, the European Union, GIZ, five Regional Economic Communities, Chinese Mission to the AU and IRENA were in attendance.