The African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), in its drive to promote connectivity and the development of infrastructure within the African continent, recently embarked on a joint work planning session with development partners, Central Corridor Transit Transportation Facilitation Agency (CCTTFA) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ).
The trilateral partnership seeks to effectively implement the Green Infrastructure Corridors for Intra-African Trade program – an extension to the African Union’s Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) program. The program is being piloted within the Central Corridor and aims to deliver environmentally sustainable infrastructure projects that are geared towards boosting the economy and advance social benefit within the region.
The work planning session took place in Bujumbura, Burundi, between 06 – 07 June 2023, and was followed by the Regional Central Corridor Stakeholder Consultation (STACON) meeting, held on 08 – 09 June 2023. The aim of the Regional Central Corridor STACON was to adopt the concept of creating Africa’s first “Green Economic Development Corridor”. The Central Corridor STACON regional meetings are annual engagements between the cooperative agency and its five (5) Member States, namely Uganda, Burundi, Tanzania, Rwanda and the DRC.
In his opening remarks at the planning session, the CCTTFA Executive Secretary, Adv. Okandju Okonge Flory, emphasized: “Development should focus on providing tangible results, mobilizing of funds and fast-tracking projects to realize the visions of Central Corridor member states and the rest of Africa’s Citizens”.
Speaking on behalf of AUDA-NEPAD, Head of Economic Integration, Dr Towela Nyirenda-Jere, commended GIZ’s role as a key partner in infrastructure development. Applauding the collaboration between the three institutions, she added: “We have developed a proven concept and approach through our Service Delivery Mechanism. Our intention is to expand this to other regions and corridors across the continent and make the PIDA Integrated Corridor Approach a reality”.
GIZ supports the Central Corridor’s regional vision and transformation into a climate-resilient, economically viable corridor. In the spirit of “greening Africa”, GIZ’s role is to ensure that development projects function in harmony with the natural environment. Delegates were invited by GIZ to observe World Environment Day, commemorated annually on 05 June, and each received Eco-friendly bags in line with this year’s theme: Solutions to plastic pollution.