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Mining developments across sub-Saharan Africa are transforming the region’s infrastructure, which is crucial for enhancing supply chain operations, although significant challenges remain. According to data from the OECD, an estimated $155 billion will be needed over the next decade to upgrade port, rail, and road infrastructure to fully realize the region’s potential.
Despite these financial needs, numerous projects are already underway, indicating positive changes. Hennie Heymans, CEO of DHL Express Sub-Saharan Africa, highlighted notable infrastructure improvements in countries such as Kenya and Ethiopia. He remarked, “We’ve seen enormous improvement. If you go to Kenya, there’s an incredibly smooth new highway, which is partly what’s driving the growth in that economy.”
Heymans pointed to Ethiopia’s investment in a €15 billion airport in Addis Ababa and Rwanda’s €4 billion airport project as examples. In Nigeria, he noted developments around Lagos and Abuja that reflect significant infrastructure upgrades. These enhancements are having a practical impact on logistics, cutting travel time between Nairobi and Addis Ababa from over a week to just one day, while domestic journeys on expanded highways have been reduced from four hours to mere minutes.
New mining operations are a key factor behind these advancements, driving the need for better roads and ports, along with ancillary services. Logistics professionals in the region see the mining boom as an opportunity to foster trade, predicting that emerging commercial centers will develop around the secondary cities near mining sites, further increasing logistics demand.
While acknowledging the substantial progress made over the past decade, Heymans cautioned that an infrastructural deficit still exists. He stated, “There is still an infrastructural deficit,” but emphasized the importance of recognizing the improvements achieved so far.
