This chapter outlines how infrastructure can contribute to productive transformation in West Africa (Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea‑Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo). First, it identifies infrastructure investment needs and financing sources, at the regional and country levels. Second, it examines how regional and national infrastructure plans and corridors support productive transformation. Third, it highlights relevant examples of infrastructure-related and sector-specific capacity building and skills development programmes.
Africa's Development Dynamics 2025
Infrastructure, Growth and Transformation
Abstract
West Africa’s infrastructure investment needs are the second lowest of all African regions. To reach physical stocks of infrastructure comparable to peer countries showing high levels of productive transformation in other developing world regions, West African countries will need to invest approximately USD 20 billion per year by 2040, mainly in transport, followed by the digital sector. This investment could increase West Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth by 5.4 percentage points.
The region’s public infrastructure expenditure stands at 1.6% of GDP, slightly below the continental average (1.8%). Major sources of infrastructure financing vary from country to country. Côte d’Ivoire and Togo have the highest levels of public infrastructure spending, Nigeria the highest level of infrastructure investments with private participation and Senegal the highest of official development finance directed to infrastructure. Some West African countries are encumbered by debt servicing costs. While Guinea, Mali, Niger and Togo spend more on infrastructure than on debt servicing, Guinea-Bissau allocates 51 times more public finances to debt servicing than to infrastructure – the second-highest rate on the continent.
Infrastructure priorities are closely linked to West Africa’s agricultural transformation, as infrastructure can improve food security and avoid dependence on food imports. All-season roads and better energy access could yield more reliable transport services and more efficient processing facilities. Four policy recommendations emerge:
Development corridors in West Africa can unlock social and environmental benefits that extend beyond economic gains, but their effects could be better understood through better data.
Regional institutions charged with leading sectoral master plans and supporting project preparation require more capacity for improved infrastructure project implementation.
Infrastructure plans could include objectives targeting female participation in the region’s productive sectors (transport, energy and digital), beyond the agricultural sector.
Capacity building and skills development for public-private partnership units and other regional institutions can improve project preparation and implementation.
Note: GDP = gross domestic product. Infrastructure investment needs refer to modelled estimates of the total expenditures required to build new infrastructure to match the infrastructure levels of peer countries that perform well in productive transformation, while also maintaining existing infrastructure. See Annex 1.A for details.
Source: Data sources for the investment needs estimations are listed in Annex 1.A.
Note: Transport = kilometres (km) of paved roads and railways per 100 km2 of non-desert land area. Digital = per cent of the population aged 15+ with Internet access. Energy = installed energy capacity as watt per capita. Water = per cent of the population with access to drinking water. For transport and energy stocks, the averages for West Africa and Africa are population-weighted. For transport and energy stocks, the values for West Africa and Africa reflect aggregated totals relative to population or area, depending on the indicator. For digital and water access, the values for West Africa and Africa represent unweighted averages of country values. Data on digital access covers 13 of the 15 West African countries.
Source: Transport and energy indicators’ sources are reported in Annex 1.A. Water: Drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) estimates, from UNICEF (2024[1]), Drinking water, sanitation and hygiene in households by country, 2000-2022 (database), https://data.unicef.org/topic/water-and-sanitation/drinking-water/. Digital: from Gallup (2020[2]), Gallup World Poll 2020 (database), https://www.gallup.com/analytics/213617/gallup-analytics.aspx.
West African countries require significant infrastructure investments, notably in transport and digital infrastructure, to support productive transformation. To close the gap with peer countries with high levels of productive transformation in other developing regions of the world (Annex 1.A), West Africa will need to invest approximately USD 20 billion per year by 2040, or 3.6% of the region’s GDP in 2024, far below the continental equivalent of 5.6% (Figure 7.1). This investment is projected to increase West Africa’s annual GDP growth by 5.4 percentage points on average. West African countries have slightly higher levels of transport infrastructure stock (2.6 kilometres [km] per km2) and access to water infrastructure (for 73.1% of the population) than the continental average (2.2 km per km2 and 71.9%, respectively) but a lower energy stock and less access to digital infrastructure (Figure 7.2). Cabo Verde is the region’s country best endowed with transport and energy stocks, resulting both from its status as a small island country and from high government spending on transport (e.g. 13% of GDP in 2011) (World Bank, 2011[3]). Burkina Faso, Niger and Sierra Leone have the lowest levels of water and digital access in the region, and Guinea-Bissau, Mali and Niger have the lowest levels of transport and energy infrastructures stocks.
Public infrastructure spending in some West African countries is constrained by their debt obligations. In 2019-20, the region’s share of government expenditure for infrastructure (1.6% of its GDP, or USD 6.5 billion) was similar to the African average (1.8% of GDP, or USD 33.2 billion). Between 2019 and 2020, average debt servicing amounted to 3.7% of GDP, or USD 19.6 billion per year, behind Southern Africa (7.9%) and North Africa (4.7%). Côte d’Ivoire and Togo each allocated the highest shares of public expenditure as a percentage of GDP to infrastructure (3%), whereas Guinea-Bissau allocated only 0.1% (Figure 7.3, Panel A). Guinea, Mali, Niger and Togo spent slightly more on infrastructure than on debt servicing, while Guinea-Bissau allocated 51 times more public finances to debt servicing than to infrastructure (Figure 7.3, Panel B). This contrast also makes Guinea-Bissau the country with the second-highest ratio of debt servicing to public infrastructure spending in Africa (only behind Mozambique).
Note: GDP= Gross Domestic Product. The indicator in Panel B is calculated based on an average of available data over the past five years for public infrastructure spending (2019-20) and debt servicing (2019-23). Median values are displayed for Africa and West Africa in Panel B to account for extreme cases.
Source: Authors’ calculations based on ICA (2022[4]), Infrastructure Financing Trends in Africa 2019-2020 and World Bank (2024[5]), International Debt Statistics (database), https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/debt-statistics/ids.
Energy and transport infrastructure receive the highest private participation in infrastructure (PPI) and official development finance (ODF) in West Africa, while cross-country differences in main financing sources persist. From 2019 and 2023, the total value of PPI (USD 22.1 billion) and ODF (USD 20.2 billion) flows for infrastructure captured by the region remained stable. Just 4 out of the 15 West African countries together accounted for 90% of total PPI to West Africa: Nigeria received the most (37%), followed by Ghana (26%), Senegal (14%) and Côte d’Ivoire (13%). PPI investment amounts varied from 2013 to 2023 but consistently focused on energy and transport. Indeed, West Africa attracted more PPI in transport infrastructure than any other African region (Figure 7.4). This could have been partly driven by the launch of the construction of nine corridor-related projects in the region between 2013 and 2020 alone. In the same period, as a share of GDP, West Africa obtained more ODF for infrastructure (0.6% of annual GDP) than any other region. Senegal attracted the largest amount of ODF directed to infrastructure of all West African countries, equivalent to 17% of total ODF in the region (Figure 7.5). Both PPI (in 2013-23) and ODF (in 2019-23) were heavily concentrated in energy (53% and 47%, respectively), followed by transport (43% and 25%, respectively), and water supply and sanitation. Between 2019 and 2023, only 23% of official development assistance provided by members of the OECD Development Assistance Committee to West Africa for infrastructure considered gender objectives, the lowest on the continent after North Africa (10%).
Note: RHS = right-hand side. Data on the number of projects and investments value in Panel B covers 12 of the 15 West African countries.
Source: World Bank (2024[6]), Private Participation in Infrastructure (database), https://ppi.worldbank.org/en/ppi.
Note: RHS = right-hand scale. Official development finance disbursements include official development assistance (ODA) and other official financial flows that do not meet the conditions for eligibility as ODA (either because they are not primarily aimed at development, or because they have a grant element of less than 25%).
Source: OECD (2025[7]), Creditor Reporting System (database), https://www.oecd.org/en/data/datasets/development-finance-statistics-data-on-flows-to-developing-countries.html.
With sufficient data, emerging alternative financial instruments could be replicated across West Africa. The Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) Nigeria Fund seeks to catalyse local currency funding for solar energy systems, including from pension funds and insurance companies. Further, in nine West African countries, the Infrastructure Climate Resilient Fund seeks to integrate climate resilience across the project lifecycle (from design to operations) through climatic risk data (Table 7.1). As these mechanisms are relatively nascent, tracking their impact will be key to helping replicate them in other countries in the region.
Improvements in transport and energy infrastructure are crucial to transform the agricultural sector
West Africa’s foremost infrastructure plan prioritises transport and renewable energy, in support of the region’s agricultural sector. The Regional Infrastructure Masterplan (RIMP) 2020-45 of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) focuses on the four sectors of the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) – transport, energy, digital and water1 – of the 12 current ECOWAS countries.2 The Plan’s vision for productive transformation calls for investment, trade and interconnectivity to improve regional integration and productivity. The Plan prioritises transport and renewable energy (with a total of 114 energy projects, including 4 in hydrocarbons). Several projects address regional railway reconstruction and network extensions, access to electricity and efficient energy infrastructure (ECOWAS, 2021[10]). By highlighting the nexus of the four infrastructure sectors and agriculture, the RIMP calls for a regionally integrated approach.
At the national level, development strategies and infrastructure plans seek to strengthen agricultural value chains. There is an untapped opportunity to focus on downstream agricultural activities in West Africa, where the bulk of exports are at an early stage of processing and have minimal value added (AUC/OECD, 2022[11]). In 2019, total added value from outside the continent embedded in national exports was on average 0.37% of GDP for West African countries, well above the 0.03% of GDP of added value from neighbouring countries (AUC/OECD, 2024[12]). West African countries capture their national infrastructure priorities in development strategies and/or infrastructure-dedicated plans (the latter is the case of Cabo Verde, Ghana and Nigeria), broadly converging towards the RIMP’s aims of regional and economic integration and trade. National plans identify concrete linkages in infrastructure needs and strategic value chain development, namely between agriculture and energy (e.g. Gambia and Togo); agriculture and transport (e.g. Côte d’Ivoire and Togo), and agriculture and water (Nigeria). In addition to countries with established infrastructure plans (Table 7.2), in 2025, Cabo Verde announced its first infrastructure plan and Liberia launched its inclusive development plan with infrastructure as a pillar (Africa Press, 2025[13]; UN, 2025[14]; Government of Liberia, 2025[15]).
Insufficient infrastructure, namely for transport and energy, constrains the development of West Africa’s agroindustry. The food economy contributes 35% of West Africa’s GDP (AUC/OECD, 2022[11]; FAOSTAT, 2020[16]), but inadequate transport infrastructure and unstable energy supplies hinder the efficiency of the food systems (SWAC/OECD, 2021[17]). Indeed, the region imports processed foods, despite its rich natural endowments. For instance, Sierra Leone – where 75% of the arable land is uncultivated – imports 80% of its ready-for-consumption food. Further, deep-rooted societal norms, including financial and land ownership barriers can negatively impact women, whose participation in the food economy remains prevalent in off-farm activities (the food economy overall employs 37% of women compared to 11% of men) (Allen, Heinrigs and Heo, 2018[18]). Several infrastructure policy documents highlight female inclusion but confine women to roles in agriculture and micro-entrepreneurship, leaving their participation in other value chains such as digital and transport, mostly overlooked (Table 7.2).
In March 2025, the West African Power Pool – an ECOWAS agency – launched the West Africa Women in Energy Forum in partnership with the World Bank and the German Corporation for International Cooperation, marking a commitment to the integration of women in a sector largely dominated by men (ECOWAPP, 2025[19]).
Note: The table reflects the latest plans available online. SEZ = special economic zones. Emphasis on productive transformation was assessed through keyword searches, including for regional value chains, the African Continental Free Trade Area, economic diversification, strategic sectors, industrialisation, women’s participation and skills.
Source: Government of Burkina Faso (2021[20]), National Economic and Social Development Plan 2021-2025; MPD (2021[21]), Côte d’Ivoire’s National Development Plan 2021-2025; MoFEA (2023[22]), Recovery Focused-National Development Plan (RF-NDP) 2023-2027 (YIRIWAA); NDPC (2019[23]), Ghana Infrastructure Plan (GIP) 2018-2047: Highlights; NDPC (2024[24]), Vision 2057: Long-Term National Development Perspective Framework; MEPIR (2020[25]), Guinea-Bissau’s National Development Plan; MFBNP (2020[26]), Reviewed National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (2020-2043); MFBNP (2021[27]), Nigeria’s National Development Plan (NDP) 2021-2025; MEFP (2018[28]), Emerging Senegal Plan PAP: Priority Action Plan 2019-2023; MoPED (2024[29]), Sierra Leone’s Medium-Term National Development Plan 2024 – 2030: A Transformative Acceleration Agenda for Food Security, Human Capital Development and Job Creation; Government of Togo (2020[30]), Togo 2025 Government Roadmap; ECOWAS (2021[10]), ECOWAS Regional Infrastructure Master Plan: Revised Draft Final Report.
With better monitoring, development corridors in West Africa can expand their scope and attain broader economic and social impacts
Corridors across West Africa can put greater emphasis on development, including through greater trade. West Africa has a relatively sizeable number of corridors (25), which together stretch along 11 000 km (Thorn and Juffe Bignoli, 2022[31]). Most of the corridors specifically support trade and logistics, while neglecting broad-based economic, spatial, and social planning goals, and therefore do not qualify as development corridors (see Chapter 2). One exception is the West Africa Growth Ring Master Plan (WAGRIC), supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, which stresses the inclusion of social, environmental and security aspects for balanced economic development between the coastal and inland areas of Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana and Togo (Table 7.3). Intra-regional West African exports (9% of total exports in 2022) and to the rest of the continent (12%) are low compared to those to the European Union (25%). In response, the WAGRIC focuses on better integrating strategic value chains of agricultural production (such as rice) along four major corridors (Abidjan-Ouagadougou, Tema-Ouagadougou, Lomé-Ouagadougou and Abidjan-Lagos) to increase trade and value chain integration within the WAGRIC sub-region by 2040 (JICA, 2025[32]).
Upgrading transport corridors can have overall positive economic outcomes, but social and environmental-related data are lacking. Upgrading transport corridors (for instance, increasing the number of driving lanes and improving road quality) can lead to overall positive outcomes when it is part of other interconnected policies. A study on five West African corridor upgrades revealed that economic benefits double and diffuse more widely when upgrades are combined with measures to reduce border delays (Lebrand, 2021[33]). It also indicated that income gains in real wages in coastal countries were twice as high as those in landlocked countries. It has been shown that the absolute economic benefits are greatest for corridors connecting large economies, while smaller and more fragile countries gain the most relative to their GDP when they are connected to larger markets. However, the environmental and social outcomes of corridors remain largely undocumented, making it difficult to ascertain and manage associated risks.
The CORRICONI project, financed by the European Union, seeks to reduce the Cotonou-Niamey Corridor’s environmental footprint by infrastructure sustainability and maintenance. The project is scheduled to run from 2025 to 2030.
Note: Unless followed by “(E)” for “expected”, all outcomes have been recorded. UEMOA = West African Economic and Monetary Union. JICA = Japan International Cooperation Agency. ECOWAS = Economic Community of West African States. AfDB = African Development Bank. EU = European Union. OFID = OPEC Fund for International Development. IDB = Islamic Development Bank. AUDA-NEPAD = African Union Development Agency – New Partnership for Africa’s Development.
1. Denotes one of the four WAGRIC corridors.
Source: European Union, (2023[34]), EU-Africa: Global Gateway Investment Package - Strategic Corridors; JICA (2025[35]), West Africa Growth Ring Corridor Development Master Plan; AfDB (2023[36]), Cross-border road corridors: Expanding Market Access in Africa and Nurturing Continental Integration; APA News (2025[37]), “La Cédéao valide le tracé de l’autoroute Praia-Dakar-Abidjan”; PIDA (2025[38]), “Praia-Dakar-Abidjan Multimodal Transport Corridor”; World Bank (2021[39]), TFWA Program Small-Scale Cross-Border Trade Survey, Cotonou-Niamey Corridor Report; CPCS (2024[40]), Corridor Cotonou-Niamey : CPCS optimise le transport routier au Bénin; Prici (n.d.[41]), “Le PAMOSET”; Agence Ecofin (2023[42]), “Corridor ferroviaire Abidjan-Ouagadougou : le transport de passagers reprendra le 17 novembre 2023”; Koffi (2023[43]), “Côte d’Ivoire/Corridor Abidjan-Ouaga : un atelier-bilan présente les acquis du Pamoset”; Open.Enabel (2025[44]), “Mesures d’accompagnement du commerce et des transports sur le corridor Cotonou–Niamey »; Africa World Radio (2023[45]), “Corridor Cotonou-Niamey : tout se met en place pour la mise en œuvre du MCA Régional”; MCC (2025[46]), “Benin Regional Transport Compact”; Kobina vanDyck and Domfeh (2017[47]), “Gateway port selection based on inland transport cost and performance metrics In West Africa”, World Bank (2023[48]), Global Competitivity Index (CGI) (database), https://databank.worldbank.org/metadataglossary/africa-development-indicators.
Strengthened institutional capacity and skills development could improve project preparation and implementation
Though at different levels, public-private partnership (PPP) units in West Africa tend to have insufficient institutional capacity and undertrained staff. Several national infrastructure plans highlight the importance of PPPs as an alternative means of financing infrastructure to reduce borrowing pressures (Burkina Faso and Ghana), facilitate market access for young entrepreneurs (Gambia) and attract investment to accelerate the provision of infrastructure in rural areas (Nigeria). According to the World Bank’s Benchmarking Infrastructure Development (BID) database,3 West African countries on average prepare six of the nine most often conducted assessments prior to engaging in a PPP, signifying room for improvement (BID, 2023[49]). In most of the countries covered (8 out of 11), new recruits lack the specific skills requirements, and none of the countries have established mechanisms for personnel training after hiring. Procedural clauses to assess performance objectives are missing from some PPP frameworks in West African countries with lower human development levels (Guinea and Sierra Leone). Missing legal arrangements to verify the proper implementation of PPP contracts can have an impact on PPP execution.
The region faces institutional and skill deficiencies, exacerbated by limited funds. One of the main bottlenecks to implementing the ECOWAS RIMP is an unclear division of responsibilities among stakeholders, which delays development and decision-making processes. Another is the shortage of skills; this can be at least partially overcome through programmes focusing on project preparation, capacity building and regulatory frameworks. For instance, soft projects related to infrastructure in West Africa’s energy and transport sectors reveal accrued capacity building needs, and those in transport and digital infrastructure would benefit from increased institutional development (ECOWAS, 2021[10]). However, funds for skills development are disproportionally low, estimated at USD 3 billion, compared to those for capital investments (USD 122 billion).
Agencies at the national level with sectoral expertise, such as Ghana’s Centre of Excellence on Regional Transport and the Centre for Sub-Saharan Transportation Leadership, integrate managerial and leadership skills into their curricula. The region also benefits from international partners’ active engagement, particularly in the transport and energy sectors, notably through technical and vocational education and training institutions and regional mobility projects that also target digital and entrepreneurial skills (e.g. CERFER and SHINE) (ACE, n.d.[50]).
In West Africa, skills development and capacity building are more closely aligned with energy infrastructure than with the other infrastructure sectors. Existing and envisioned entities – such as the Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency and the ECOWAS Electricity Institute – are mandated by regional plans to respond to evolving skill demands in energy infrastructure (Table 7.4). The energy sector has also benefited from the leading role of the West African Power Pool (WAPP) for project identification. In turn, the absence of a similar entity in other infrastructure sectors has reportedly led to promising regional projects stalling at the planning stage (ECOWAS, 2021[10]). More generally, insufficient capacity within the institutions leading the implementation of sectoral master plans has been an additional barrier for infrastructure sectors other than energy, for instance, limiting infrastructure project preparation. West Africa’s renewable energy market has made a first step to tackle the issue of low-quality imports and flawed installations by uncertified personnel.
The International Solar Alliance and United Nations Industrial Development Organization, supported by the Government of France, will pilot the International Network of Solar Technology and Application Resource Centres (STAR C) in 11 West African countries to improve quality and certification frameworks for photovoltaic and solar thermal products and services (GN-SEC, 2023[51]). Since its establishment in 2024 at the École Polytechnique de Thiès, Senegal’s Solar Academy under STAR C has trained over 50 participants, of whom nearly half are women (STAR C, 2025[52]).
Note: GIZ = German Corporation for International Cooperation. TVET = technical and vocational education and training. AfDB = African Development Bank. EU = European Union. IIEP-UNESCO = UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning.
Source: ECREEE (2025[53]), “ECOWAS Certification Body for Sustainable Energy Skills (ECBSES)”; IIEP-UNESCO (2025[54]), “Inside the transformation of CERFER, a regional vocational training programme in Togo”; ReCAP et al. (2020[55]), Establishment of Centre for Sub-Saharan Transport Leadership: Centre for Sub-Saharan Transport Leadership Status Report; SHINE (2025[56]), “What is SHINE?”.
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← 1. The ECOWAS RIMP 2020-45 estimates investment needs in the transport, energy, digital and water sectors at USD 122 billion.
← 2. At the time the RIMP was approved, ECOWAS had 15 member countries. Currently, ECOWAS membership includes 12 countries: Benin, Cabo Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
← 3. The Benchmarking Infrastructure Development (BID) 2023 covers 11 of the 15 countries in West Africa. The survey identifies nine choices under assessments conducted: cost-benefit analysis, fiscal affordability, risk identification, comparative procurement assessment, procurement strategy, financial viability/bankability, market sounding, environmental impact and social impact (World Bank, 2025[57]).