Engineering News, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abetold African leaders on Saturday that his country will commit $30-billion in public and private support for infrastructure development, education and healthcare expansion in the continent.
Resource-poor Japan has long been interested in tapping Africa‘s vast natural resources, even more so since dependence on oil and natural gas imports jumped after the 2011 Fukushimnuclear disaster shut almost all of Japan‘s nuclear reactors.
Abe, in the Kenyan capital Nairobi to attend the sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), said the package would be spread over three years from this year and include $10-billion for infrastructureprojects, to be executed through cooperation with the African Development Bank.
“When combined with investment from the private sector, I expect that the total will amount to $30-billion. This is an investment that has faith in Africa‘s future, an investment for Japan and Africa to grow together,” he told a gathering of more than 30 heads of state and governments from across Africa.
The $30-billion announced on Saturday is in addition to $32-billion that Japan pledged to Africa over a five-year period at the last TICAD meeting in 2013. Abe said 67% of that had already been put to use in various projects.
“Today’s new pledges will enhance and further expand upon those launched three years ago. The motive is quality and enhancement,” he said. A tranche of Japan‘s new package will go towards various powerprojects to increase production capacity by 2 200 MW across the continent, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
Money will also be spent on training 20,000 mathematics and science teachers throughout Africa, as well as 20,000 experts on infectious diseases.
