Ghana placed 8th Africa with the largest private infrastructure investment worth $137 million, the World Bank Private Participation in Infrastructure (PPI) 2023 Annual Report has revealed.

The country however undertook only one infrastructure project according to the report.

The largest contributor to the region’s PPI was South Africa with investments of $1.044 billion. It was responsible for 30.0% of the regional PPI.

It was followed by Senegal ($316 million) with five projects and Tanzania ($308 million) also with five projects, in the 2nd and 3rd positions respectively.

The sector receiving the largest share of PPI was energy, followed by ICT sector.

According to the report, the Eastern and Southern (AFE) reported investment commitments of $2.3 billion across 45 projects. While investment levels remained stable from the previous year, the number of projects reaching financial closure more than doubled to 45 in 2023.

15 other countries posted investment commitments in the region, including, but not limited to, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, and Uganda. The region also witnessed several cross-border ICT investment closures this year, showcasing its growth and development.

The Western and Central (AFW) region also reported investment commitments of $1.2 billion across 21 projects in 2023.

In the region, Senegal reported the highest level of investment commitments, accounting for almost 27 percent of the total investment commitments, with five projects worth $316 million.

Notably, four out of these five projects were in the energy sector

Meanwhile, the five countries with the highest levels of investment in 2023 as a percentage of national GDP were: Cape Verde, with 7.4% of its Gross Domestic Product committed to PPI investments; Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), with 6.2% and Bosnia and Herzegovina with 2.0%.