Publication: Benin's Infrastructure: A Continental Perspective
Date
2011-06
ISSN
Published
2011-06
Author(s)
Abstract
Between 2000 and 2005 infrastructure
made an important contribution of 1.6 percentage point to
Benin's improved per capita growth performance, which
was the highest among West African countries during the
period. Raising the country's infrastructure endowment
to that of the region's middle-income countries could
boost annual growth by about 3.2 percentage points. Benin
has made significant progress in some areas of its
infrastructure. The rural road network is in relatively good
condition, and about 30 percent of the rural population has
access to an all-season road, a level above the
country's peers. Air transport connectivity has
improved. Also, important market liberalization reforms
designed to attract private capital to the water and
information and communications technology (ICT) sectors have
boosted performance. In particular, increased competition in
the ICT market has contributed to the rapid expansion of
mobile and Internet services. Addressing Benin's
infrastructure challenges will require sustained
expenditures of $712 million per year over the next decade,
with heavy emphasis on capital expenditure. Almost half of
the total relates to the transport sector. At 16.6 percent
of Benin's 2005 gross domestic product (GDP), this
effort is almost at the level of other Sub-Saharan African
countries. Benin already spends around $452 million per year
on infrastructure, equivalent to about 10.5 percent of its
GDP. Almost $101 million a year is lost to inefficiencies of
various kinds, associated mainly with under pricing in the
power and water sectors; poor financial management of
utilities; and inefficient allocation of resources across
sectors. If Benin could raise tariffs to cost-recovery
levels, and reduce operational inefficiencies in line with
reasonable developing-country benchmarks, it could
substantially boost flows to the infrastructure sectors.
Comparing spending needs with existing spending and
potential efficiency gains (and assuming that the
inefficiencies are fully captured) leaves an annual funding
gap of $210 million per year. By far the largest share of
the gap can be traced to the water supply and sanitation
sectors. Benin has the potential to close this gap by
adopting alternative technologies in water supply, transport
and power. Savings from alternative technologies could
amount to as much as $227 million per year.
Citation
“Dominguez-Torres, Carolina; Foster, Vivien. 2011. Benin's Infrastructure: A Continental Perspective. Africa Infrastructure Country Diagnostic
(AICD) country report;. © World Bank, Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/27310 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”