The Governments of the East African Community (EAC) countries accepted a budget for the implementation of about 200 infrastructure projects. The total budget is a generous 175.5 Trillion Shillings which is more than 1.7 Trillion USD established for a period of 10 years. Many of the projects very important economic infrastructures needed for increasing a country’s productive capacity.
Infrastructure projects factored into the budject include both hard and soft. Hard infrastructure projects include roads, ports, airports, railways, dams, power and related structures while the soft infrastructure projects are mainly related to telecommunication including internet.
The countries in the East Africa region and mainly Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Rwanda have adopted and working with a guiding principle that states that the more the quantity and quality of these infrastructure in a country, the more the development. It is well known that investment in economic infrastructure is a long term undertaking which provides dividends in the long term. And there are a number of ways a country can benefit from these projects in the short to medium terms as well.
The investment in infrastructure has already begun to unlock a lot of economic growth and development potentials for Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Rwanda. And it has opened up opportunities for several groups which were embedded in infrastructure investment process. These groups include various companies dealing with infrastructure and related businesses in the long infrastructure value chain with several nodes.
Companies that stand to benefit include firms producing, selling, transporting and storing construction and related goods and services, those dealing with cement, iron, steel, aggregates, sand, stones and many other construction materials and equipment. Benefits are further extened to those providing various infrastructure and related services in virtually all sectors like agriculture, finance, insurance, hospitality, research, consultancy and many others along that line.
