The African Union has planned to connect major capital cities across the continent with road, rail and air transport routes to be built by China.The African Union-China deal to connect Africa has been hailed as “the most substantive project the AU has ever signed with a partner”.
The memorandum of understanding was signed at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa on Tuesday.
“This is the document of the century … the aviation agreement marks a new area for co-operation between the AU and China,” Zhang Ming, Chinese vice-minister for foreign affairs, told reporters after the signing ceremony.
Although China is already involved in a raft of transport infrastructure projects, AU chief, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma praised the commitment of the AU and China to develop the continent’s transportation infrastructure.
[pullquote]Africa is a vast continent where it must be possible to travel without transiting via Paris or London[/pullquote]
Air travel is nightmarish for Africans, as they sometimes have to travel to Europe to connect to another nation in Africa.
When the AU-China project is complete, major African cities from Addis Ababa and Nairobi in the east, to Johannesburg in the south and Abuja in the west, will be connected by highways, high speed railways, and new international airports.
“Africa is a vast continent where it must be possible to travel without transiting via Paris or London,” Ming added.The deal comes as leaders of the 54-nation pan-African bloc prepare to meet on Friday.
Source:The Africa Report
Good move. It’s high time we moved from Western block, which has milked billions of dollars from our mother continent,without ploughing back, to the Eastern block which looks promising.
They can only help spread
Be real! With the Chinese human rights records wherever they have settled I wonder why AU has to go that route. The standards of Chinese buildings, roads etc can be very low and they don’t last.
@Professional have you ever been to China?! Have you heard any western leader mention human rights to China recently? Wake up buddy.
Kavundula, I am currently studying in China and I can testify that there human rignts record are bad. They have no regard for black people especially Africans. I thought China was a good place to be but nah! I always wonders when African leaders rush to China for support.. They are simply setting up death trap for the African continent. I wish our leaders could work out something on their own without having to depend on China or the West/Europe. All these deals they are signing are meant to benefit China and not Africa. It saddens me to see Africa surrendering herself and her resources to China. Chinese imperialism in Africa is/will be worse than what Europe/West did to Africa.
Colonialism reloaded!! We will get Chinese everything; trains, bolts, steel, labour, every nut and bolt will be from china or Chinese companies and in return nothing. The infrastructure will decay after a few years because we cannot maintain e.g. Tazara. No technology transfer. Come on Africa 50-60 years after independence, still crying for outsiders
I hope the motorway goes through Zambia
Yes I have been to China. And realise that the Chinese have categories of their products. You have the American Market. The European Market. The African market is last. If you travel you will find that products in the UK made in China are of high quality due to the stringent regulations in the UK. The plastic used in toys for the UK is of a much higher quality than that used for toys sent to Africa. In Zambia we have the Bureau of Standards but it is toothless. So who is sleeping? The Chinese treat the West differently remember that. We are not on the same platform.
That is what we need. Can you do like yesterday….
This is milestone of a project! People should be able to travel by high speed train or by road from Lusaka to destinations such as Nairobi or Abuja. This project is very welcome.
What will China’s role be? Financing or everything including supplying labour and materials. Sixty after decolonization we should be able to do such things on our own.
Chinese technology is developmental! It has minimal overheads and supports employment of the masses or grassroots. Chinese aid comes with a breather and does not continue to compound loans and interests.
From the Cape to Cairo.
This project should be great as long as it does not come with billions of Chinese settling in Africa. We don’t want a China Town in every African city. The Chinese can be overpowering culturally.
We need the chinese in Africa. We as Africans have failed to develop our own continent.
This is what Africa needs, projects that will unlock our full potential. Definately a good imvestment for future generations.