The African Union Commission (AUC), the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) are pleased to announce that the 2018 PIDA Week will be held from 26 to 28 November 2018 in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.

Six years ago, Africa witnessed the birth of a new initiative, the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) as the blueprint for infrastructure transformation in the continent for the period 2012-2040.

PIDA implemented through a partnership between the African Union Commission (AUC), the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) covers four mains sectors including transport, energy, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and trans-boundary water. Dedicated to facilitating African integration by upgrading regional infrastructure, the programme is an important stride in the implementation of African Union’s Agenda 2063 infrastructure priority.

As a continental initiative, PIDA provides a common framework for African stakeholders to build the infrastructure necessary to integrate the continent physically, economically and socially, offering opportunities to boost intra-African trade, create new jobs for Africa’s growing population and improving overall socio-economic development on the continent.

PIDA has produced the following development impact contributing to the implementation of Agenda 2063 and 2030: (i) A total capacity of approximately 16,066 KM was built throughout the continent; (ii) A total capacity of Railway of 4,077 KMs was built through PIDA railway projects; (iii)  In the Energy sector, a total Transmission Line capacity of approximately 3,506 KM was added; (iv) In the ICT sector, a total of 17 countries are connected with regional fibre optic cables; (v) Through constructed and operational PIDA projects, 112,900 jobs were directly and 49,400 indirectly created.

PIDA Week was inaugurated in 2015 as a platform to bring together key stakeholders involved in the implementation of the PIDA programme, to take stock of progress and identify ways to continue to advance implementation. The first PIDA Week was held in Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire, under the theme “Accelerating Infrastructure Implementation for Africa’s Integration” while the second event focused on job creation - “Creating Jobs through Regional Infrastructure Development”. In 2017, PIDA Week continued with emphasis on job creation and economic transformation - “Regional Infrastructure Development for Job Creation and Economic Transformation”. The 2017 event emphasized project implementation by highlighting and showcasing six (6) specific PIDA projects:

The 2018 PIDA Week will be held from 26 to 28 November 2018 in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. The event will be hosted by the Government of Zimbabwe under the auspices of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). Under the theme “PIDA Implementation through Good Governance – Realizing Smart Infrastructure for Africa’s Integration”, the 2018 PIDA Week aims to showcase progress made in implementation of selected PIDA projects and provide a marketing platform to accelerate their implementation.

As in previous years, the event will welcome and bring together a wide range of stakeholders, including the African Union Commission (AUC), the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NEPAD Agency), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Regional Economic Communities, member States, development partners, financial Institutions, private sector actors and financiers, consulting firms, banks, civil society, academia and members of the media – whose combined efforts will bring needed financing for key PIDA projects. 

The Fourth PIDA Week in 2018 will build on previous events to continue to engage stakeholders on the effective delivery of infrastructure on the continent focusing on five sub-themes, including:

• Project preparation, Resource Mobilisation and Financing Mechanisms;
• Capacity development, Job Creation and Empowerment;
• Smart and Integrated Infrastructure Development;
• Technology, Innovation and Industrialisation; and
• Policy, Legal and Regulatory Frameworks.

The event will gather some of the Africa's best minds in the infrastructure world to debate and also improve our overall understanding on smart and integrated infrastructure development and good governance to present the selected PIDA projects and fast-track the implementation of those PIDA projects that are currently facing challenges. More than 400 participants are expected to participate in the meeting from all over the world, including representatives from the policymaking world, international institutions, Member States, development partners, financial Institutions, private sector, civil society, academia, financiers, leading industrialists, project owners and members of the media.

The conference website is now available at http://www.nepad.org/content/pida-week-2018 including information about the agenda, venue, registration, travel and hotel booking. Please sign up for our mailing list to receive conference announcements by email (pidaweek@nepad.org) and follow the AU Department for infrastructure and Energy (@au_ied) on social media for updates.