The East African Community needs $78 billion in the next ten years to fund more than 200 infrastructure projects in the five member states.
The key projects to be funded include the Standard Gauge Railway hydropower, oil and gas projects across the region, which together are to cost $62.2 billion.
Leaders from the EAC member states including Tanzania’s president John Magufului, Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta, South Sudan’s Salva Kiir were hosted by Uganda’s Yoweri Kaguta Museveni at the regional bloc’s Joint Heads of State Retreat on Infrastructure and Health Financing and Development
The leaders agreed that the revenue will be internally and externally raised through borrowing and public private partnerships.
‘‘We owe it to ourselves and the future generations to ensure that this region has efficient, interlinked and interoperable infrastructure to enable our people to increase their prosperity through the exchange of goods and services,’‘ Museveni said in his opening remarks.