From 25 to 29 November 2024, UIC took part in the 8th Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) week organised by the African Union Commission (AUC) and African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, at the African Union Commission Headquarters.
The event brought together 750 participants, providing a common framework for African stakeholders on transport, energy, water and IT, represented via 69 projects on the continent.
UIC has been working closely with AUC and AUDA-NEPAD to deploy the African Integrated Rail Network Initiative (AIRN), with 13 pilot projects being identified across the five African regions, focusing on key corridors that will facilitate cross-border transport, reduce logistical costs, and bolster Africa’s infrastructure and trade capabilities.
During the event, UIC moderated a session entitled “Financing Pilot Projects for the African Integrated Rail Network Initiative (AIRN), a flagship of the AU Agenda 2063”. The session was moderated by Maria Lafont, UIC Senior Advisor for the Africa Region with the participation of Christian Chavanel, UIC Rail System Director and Coordinator of the Africa Region.
The session brought together panellists from the railway sectors in West, Central, and East Africa, as well as the Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority (NCTTCA) and representatives from the African Development Bank (AfDB), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and the European Commission.
The discussion focused on project overviews, funding mechanisms, cooperation and regulatory frameworks. While speaking about the latter topic, Chavanel noted that the rail industry is a sector that is heavily regulated on a global scale, and that although it is not legally possible to implement compulsory technical railway standards throughout Africa, their adoption can be encouraged through concrete examples (such as operational standards for cross-border operations, for freight wagon exchanges at the border, and harmonised technical specifications for interoperability (TSIs)). He concluded by saying that harmonised standards and regulations are necessary to facilitate financing.
The session set the stage for a dedicated roundtable, which will be held in 2025, going into more detail on financing pilot projects for AIRN, which will be jointly organised by AUC, AUDA-NEPAD, and UIC.
