MEDIA ADVISORY

POLICY DIALOGUE ON FACILITATING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PIDA

INVITATION TO MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES

WHAT: Policy Dialogue on Facilitating the Implementation of the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA)

WHEN: 19 December 2018, 09:00 - 10:30 am

WHERE: Mandela Hall, The African Union Commission, Addis Ababa Ethiopia

WHO: AUC, NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency, UN Economic Commission for Africa and the African Development Bank

WHY: The African Union Commission in collaboration with the NEPAD Agency, the UN Economic Commission for Africa and the African Development Bank is organising a Policy Dialogue on Facilitating the Implementation of the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) under the theme “Regional and Continental infrastructure to unlock access to remote and rural areas of Africa”.

Objectives:

The main objective of the Policy Dialogue is to provide a platform for PIDA stakeholders to create synergies between the different implementation institutions, regional and continental and other stakeholders.

The Policy Dialogue will also provide a platform for stakeholders to (i) Achieve a consensus on enhanced coordination and harmonisation of efforts amongst all the stakeholders and minimise duplication through a joint understanding of PIDA, its instruments and the way towards PIDA-PAP 2; (ii) Identify key policy and regulatory frameworks that will facilitate and accelerate the delivery of PIDA PAP projects; (iii) Promote the maximising of socio-economic impacts of PIDA Projects using Infrastructure Development as an instrument to create jobs and improve the standard of living in remote and rural areas; and (iv) Propose strategies for creating an enabling policy and financing environment for private sector engagement, funds mobilisation and implementation of infrastructure projects, as well as engagement of Non-African partners.

PARTICIPANTS:

More than 200 participants from continental organizations (i.e. AUC, UNECA, NPCA, AfDB), Member States, RECs, Specialised Institutions (SIs), Academia, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), specialized institutions, rural communities’ representatives, start-ups, private sector, civil society organizations, journalists, gender specialists, youth and international partners.

NOTES TO THE EDITOR:

The Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) is an African Union (AU) initiative implemented through a partnership between the AU Commission (AUC), the NEPAD Agency, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). Since its adoption in January 2012 by African Heads of States and Governments, PIDA has made incredible progress towards the implementation and development of the PIDA Priority Action Plan (PIDA PAP), where about 51 priority infrastructure programme and 433individual projects at country as well as regional levels, are under the spotlight.

From the 433 individual project fiches, about 32% (131 projects) are either under construction or already operational, 16% are currently being structured for tendering, while about 26% have moved from concept to pre-feasibly and feasibility phases.

PIDA projects mainly focus in linking big cities while the rural communities which may or may not be disrupted by the construction of these infrastructure projects do not directly benefit from them. In this context, the Specialized Technical Committee on Transport, Interregional and Intercontinental Infrastructure, Energy and Tourism in March 2017 adopted the concept of a new programme to unlock access to rural and remote areas through integrated infrastructure services.

To this end, the continental PIDA implementing partners – the African Union Commission (AUC), the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) – are organising a Policy Dialogue to develop strategies for better coordination and harmonisation of efforts and commitments. Special emphasis will be made on the contribution of regional infrastructure to unlocking access to remote areas using an integrated infrastructure service approach.

For media enquiries please contact:

Sophia Nesri, PIDA Information Analyst, SophiaN@africa-union.org

For further information: Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission I E-mail: DIC@africa-union.org I Web Site: www.au.int I Addis Ababa | Ethiopia

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