South African Daily Covers Belt and Road Contribution To Prosperity in Africa

June 19, 2019 (EIRNS)—A feature today in the South African Independent Online Business Report publication reviews the benefits of the Belt and Road Initiative for Africa, saying that the African Union backs the BRI, and many of its member nations, such as Liberia, Morocco, and Tunisia have benefitted from development projects, as have Ethiopia, whose Addis Ababa Light Rail has cut travel time to and from the city, and Abuja, Nigeria, where China has also built the first light-rail system in Western Africa. Chinese construction companies have also assisted Angola in rebuilding its Benguela Railway which had been destroyed in civil war. The country can now transport goods from Angola’s west coast port of Lobito to the border of Democratic Republic of Congo.

Chinese-funded projects have also led to the construction of the Isimba and Karuma hydroelectric power stations in Uganda, two new sources of electricity which will ultimately aid the country’s development. In Rwanda, road construction projects have brought young citizens into construction through their employment, which has ultimately improved theirwelfare and provided labor skills. In the spirit of BRI’s trade ambitions, Egypt now looks to make the idea of the roadway from Cape Town to Cairo a reality. Since becoming 2019-2020 chairperson of the African Union, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi plans to construct a superhighway through multiple African nations eventually ending in Cape Town, to open countries to trading in the Cape’s ports, and in Cairo, Egypt’s gateway to the European Union.