The African Development Bank (AfDB) and NEPAD Agency are currently reviewing progress made under the joint PIDA Capacity Building Initiative. The programme is supported through a US $8.6 million grant for a period of three years, funded by the AfDB.

In January 2014 the African Development Bank (AfDB) Vice-President, Finance, Charles Boamah and the Deputy Chairperson of the Africa Union Commission (AUC), Erastus Mwencha, signed a three-year, capacity building grant during a meeting of the African Heads of State and Government held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The PIDA Capacity Building Project for the PIDA Priority Action Plan (PAP) aims to strengthen the capacity of African countries through their respective Regional Economic Communities (RECs) as well as the AUC and the NEPAD Agency to prepare and coordinate the implementation of regional infrastructure programmes and projects necessary for enhancing Africa’s physical and economic integration and socio-economic transformation with a focus on the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA).

Specifically, the grant aims to support the accelerated implementation of PIDA approved by African Heads of State and Government during the 18th ordinary session of African Union held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in January 2012, by providing the necessary capacity to RECs and the AUC and NEPAD Agency, to enable them to support Member States to move PIDA projects to preparation, bankability and financing. 

The main objective of the PIDA Capacity Building Programme is to build the capacity of primarily the RECs so that they will be able to:

• Support their member states to move PIDA projects to preparation, bankability and financing;
• Populate the Africa Infrastructure Database (AID) with infrastructure projects that are priority infrastructure projects for AU member states and which are proven to have a regional positive economic impact; and
• Provide technical assistance to the NEPAD Agency to allow it to assist the RECs and the project sponsors at national level, to move PIDA projects from concept to implementation.

The technical component of the PIDA Capacity Building Project will encompass the deployment of infrastructure experts at the NEPAD Agency and RECs. It also includes monitoring and evaluation of progress through a results-based strategic framework.