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Infrastructure contributed half a percentage point to the Republic of Congo's annual per capita GDP growth from 2001 to 2006. If the country's infrastructure were improved to the level seen in Mauritius, the regional leader, it could contribute more than 3 percentage points to annual per capita growth. The Republic of Congo's existing infrastructure is concentrated in the developed south, reflecting the country's urbanization patterns. Links spread from there to the less-developed north, where there are vast areas of underexploited dense forest. The Republic of Congo's power sector offers the greatest potential for infrastructure-based economic growth, but major inefficiencies need to be addressed. Transit improvements would also make significant contributions to growth by improving connections to the north and to neighboring countries. Additional opportunities include rehabilitating the fixed-line telephone operator to spread Internet access. The country's water and sanitation infrastructure is in relatively good shape. Spending on infrastructure was USD 460 million per year in the Republic of Congo during the mid-2000s. Based on these spending levels, if all inefficiencies were eliminated, the country would face an infrastructure funding gap of USD 270 million a year and would not meet infrastructure targets for 31 years. Spending rose to USD 550 million per year in 2008-09. If the Republic of Congo could maintain these higher spending levels, the funding gap would essentially disappear. The nation could further reduce the funding gap by adopting lower-cost technologies to meet infrastructure targets.

Banks & Banking Reform --- Economic growth --- Energy Production and Transportation --- Funding gap --- GDP growth --- Infrastructure --- Infrastructure Economics --- Infrastructure Economics and Finance --- Macroeconomics and Economic Growth --- Public Sector Economics --- Transport Economics Policy & Planning --- Urbanization patterns

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Between 2000 and 2005, infrastructure contributed less than 1 percentage point to the Central African Republic's annual per capita GDP growth, despite substantial spending in the road sector. Raising the country's infrastructure endowment to that of the region's middle-income countries could boost annual growth by about 3.5 percentage points. The CAR has made significant progress in the transport, water, power, and information and communications technology (ICT) sectors. But the high cost of fuel, which raises transportation and energy costs, has been a vexing issue across all infrastructure sectors. The CAR's most pressing infrastructural challenge lies in the transport sector, which relies heavily on neighboring countries and could benefit from improved road conditions and enhanced performance at the port of Douala in Cameroon. In the power sector, the country suffers from a deteriorating infrastructure stock that it can no longer afford to maintain, and an inefficient and unreliable power supply. Additional challenges include a need for improved infrastructure in the water and sanitation and ICT sectors. Addressing the CAR's infrastructure challenges will require sustained expenditure of USD 346 million per year over the next decade. The nation already spends around USD 134 million per year on infrastructure, with USD 37 million a year lost to inefficiencies of various kinds. If those inefficiencies were fully eliminated, the country's annual infrastructure funding gap would be USD 183 million per year. Improvements in funding, coupled with the prospect of an economic rebound and prudent policies, could lift the country from its fragile state back to and beyond the prosperity standards it once enjoyed.

Culture & Development --- E-Business --- Energy Production and Transportation --- GDP Growth --- Information and Communications Technology --- Infrastructural Challenge --- Infrastructure Economics --- Infrastructure Economics and Finance --- Infrastructure Funding Gap --- Sustained Expenditure --- Town Water Supply and Sanitation --- Transport Economics Policy & Planning

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Newly independent South Sudan faces a challenge in making its own way in infrastructure development. Despite earning USD 6 billion in oil revenues since 2005, South Sudan's spending has not been proportional to its income, but rather has lagged behind North Sudan's development of infrastructure and social support. South Sudan benefitted from strong donor support during 2004-10, the interim period defined by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. It focused on reestablishing regional transport links and access to seaports as well as rehabilitating its ports, airstrips, and single rail line. South Sudan also successfully liberalized the ICT sector. Nonetheless, the new country's infrastructure remains in such a dismal state that it is difficult to pinpoint a single most pressing challenge. The transport sector accounts for half of the country's spending needs, and water and sanitation account for a further quarter of the total. But so many improvements are needed that the nation cannot realistically catch up with its neighbors within 10 years, or even longer. South Sudan's annual infrastructure funding gap is USD 879 million per year. Given that the country's total needs are beyond its reach in the medium term, it must adopt firm priorities for its infrastructure spending. It also must attract international and private-sector investment and look to lower-cost technologies to begin to close its funding gap. Although South Sudan loses relatively little to inefficiencies, redressing those inefficiencies will be vital to creating solid institutions to attract new investors and get the most out of their investments.

Comprehensive peace agreement --- E-Business --- Energy Production and Transportation --- Funding gap --- Infrastructure development --- Infrastructure Economics --- Infrastructure Economics and Finance --- Macroeconomics and Economic Growth --- Regional transport links --- Roads & Highways --- Sanitation --- Transport Economics Policy & Planning

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Infrastructure contributed 1.3 percentage points to Burkina Faso's annual per capita gross domestic product (GDP) growth over the past decade, much of it due to improvements in information and communication technology (ICT). Raising the country's infrastructure endowment to that of the region's middle-income countries (MICs) could boost annual growth by more than 3 percentage points per capita. Burkina Faso has made significant progress developing its infrastructure in recent years, especially in the ICT sector. The country has also moved forward in the areas of road maintenance and water and sanitation, but still faces challenges in these sectors, as well as in the electricity sector. As of 2007, Burkina Faso faced an annual infrastructure funding gap of USD 165 million per year, or 4 percent of GDP. That gap could be cut in half by the adoption of more appropriate technologies to meet infrastructure targets in the transport and the water and sanitation sectors. Even if Burkina Faso were unable to increase infrastructure spending or otherwise close the infrastructure funding gap, simply by moving from a 10- to 18-year horizon the country could address its efficiency gap and meet the posited infrastructure targets.

Annual infrastructure funding gap --- E-Business --- Energy Production and Transportation --- Information and communication technology --- Infrastructure Economics --- Infrastructure Economics and Finance --- Macroeconomics and Economic Growth --- Middle-income countries --- Per capita gross domestic product --- Road maintenance --- Town Water Supply and Sanitation --- Transport Economics Policy & Planning

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Between 2000 and 2005 infrastructure made a net contribution of less than a third of a percentage point to the improved per capita growth performance of Niger, one of the lowest contributions in Sub-Saharan Africa. Raising the country's infrastructure endowment to that of the region's middle-income countries could boost annual growth in Niger by about 4.5 percentage points. Niger has made significant progress in some areas of its infrastructure, including water and telecommunications. But the country still faces a number of important infrastructure challenges, the most pressing of which is probably in the water and sanitation sector, as 82 percent of Nigeriens still practice open defecation, the highest in the continent. Niger also faces significant challenges in the power sector, as only 8 percent of the population is electrified. Niger currently spends about USD 225 million per year on infrastructure, leaving an annual funding gap of USD 460 million even after savings from curing inefficiencies are taken into account. Niger can close that gap by tapping alternative sources of financing or by adopting lower-cost technologies. There is plenty of room for private-sector participation in Niger's infrastructure sectors, and the adoption of lower-cost technologies could reduce the funding gap by almost half.

Annual Funding Gap --- Culture & Development --- Energy Production and Transportation --- Infrastructure Economics --- Infrastructure Economics and Finance --- Infrastructure Endowment --- Lower-Cost Technologies --- Per Capita Growth Performance --- Town Water Supply and Sanitation --- Transport Economics Policy & Planning --- Water and Sanitation Sector --- Water Supply and Systems