{UAH} AU signs deal with China to connect Africa’s major cities

AU signs deal with China to connect Africa's major cities

Jan 31, 2015 5:07 pm 14 311 views  Email This Post | Print This Post

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.

Africa is a vast continent where it must be possible to travel without transiting via Parisor London

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.

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Gwokto La'Kitgum

"Even a small dog can piss on a tall Building", Jim Hightower

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