Paper short abstract:

This paper explores the implications of using growth corridors as a new tool for enhancing sub-regional integration and development across Africa. It probes the results in terms of inducing economic growth and the risks associated with using such devices depending on different development scenarios

Paper long abstract:

In recent years, Africa has been receiving substantial amounts of development funds focused mainly on economic development, poverty reduction and developing gateway infrastructures such as ports, airports, airport cities, highways and railway projects. Specifically, a new development trend is emerging under the form of developing sub-regional corridors stretching across several countries and aiming to link landlocked countries, cities, large agricultural areas or mining fields with major coastal hubs and gateway infrastructures in an effort to enhance sub-regional integration at both the economic and infrastructure levels. This is the case of West Africa, where a study on a growth ring master plan connecting Burkina Faso to the port cities of San Pedro, Abidjan, Accra and Lomé is underway. Similarly, five other corridors are being developed across the continent with relatively similar goals and objectives.

This paper will focus mainly on depicting the different aspects and extents of such corridor projects, trying to understand their mechanisms, processes and objectives and most importantly their impacts in terms of inducing polarization and concentration in the coastal areas. The assumption is that different development scenarios can bring different results, and that in the context of growth corridors there is an inherent risk of increasing existing inequalities on the short and medium terms especially that this type of development projects is spatially blind and focuses on quick wins that can only be generated and achieved in the already leading gateway cities leaving few opportunities for the lagging behind regions.