The user pays principle model has been implemented across various African countries.
Ghana
In Ghana, the Roads and Tolls Regulation of 1999 heralded the country’s entry into the road tolling programme, with the construction of the 19km Accra-Tema motorway becoming the first toll road in the country. Since it was first launched, and due to its proximity and access to the harbour city of Tema Port, the toll-based highway has seen a significant increase in transit intercountry trade among Ghana’s neighbouring West African countries.
Due to increased economic activity on the route, in December 2023 the Ghanaian government secured $380m in new funding for the reconstruction of the Accra-Tema motorway, which when completed will span at least 10 lanes. The reconstruction is being undertaken as a public-private partnership (PPP) collaboration between the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) and a private entity.
Structured under a build-operate-transfer agreement, the fund will run the Accra-Tema Highway reconstruction project via its special purpose vehicle, ATEP, with exclusive rights for 30 years to execute the project, from planning to designing, engineering construction and commissioning.
Kenya
Billed as one of the most successful toll road projects in Kenya, the country’s Nairobi Expressway has recorded impressive milestones since it was opened to the public in July 2022. By February 2023, the PPP-based 87-billion Kenyan shillings (about $680m) express highway had reached a daily average usage of 50,000 vehicles and within the six-month period generated 2-billion Kenyan shillings in revenue.
In addition to easing traffic flow in Kenya’s capital, the new expressway has improved connectivity, the transportation of goods, services and people between Nairobi and the entire northern corridor route. The concession agreement is designed such that the China Roads and Bridge Corporation, which financed and constructed the expressway, will operate and maintain it for 27 years, after which it will be handed to the Kenya National Highways Authority. The build-operate-transfer model has been effective in attracting private sector players to capital-intensive road infrastructure projects on the continent.
Following on from the success of the Express Highway, the Kenyan government in May 2024 announced the signing of a $3.6bn agreement with a private partner for the construction of the Nairobi-Mombasa Expressway, linking the capital city of Nairobi with the country’s coastal city of Mombasa. When completed, the Nairobi-Mombasa road is expected to reduce the journey between Nairobi and Mombasa to just four-and-a-half hours from more than 10.
Structured as a PPP between Kenya National Highways Authority and Everstrong Capital, the four to six-lane dual-carriage 440km road project is expected to be funded from revenue collected from road users through toll fees based on a 30-year concession agreement.
Morocco
While the North African nation of Morocco is considered to have one of the best road systems on the continent, the country still has ambitious plans for the expansion of its current network. Over 20 years, the Moroccan government has invested heavily in road infrastructure, with nearly 1,800km of modern roads connecting the country’s major cities via toll expressways.
The Swiss business magazine Switzerland Global Enterprise reported in 2019 that Morocco had long-term investment plans of about €23bn in road construction up to 2035 in place. Comprising both new highways and toll expressways, a total of 5,500km of roads will be constructed at a cost of €8.8bn by 2035.
Through PPPs, Morocco has earmarked the construction of five road links in the north of the country, totalling a 434km stretch. The road projects include the link between the Mediterranean port of Nador and the Fès-Oujada highway, which will also link Nador’s West Mediterranean port and connections between the cities of Tangier and Tetouan.
Tunisia
Still in North Africa, Tunisia Autoroutes, which manages the country’s highway toll system, has since 2002 been operating an open toll system on the A1 Highway between the capital city of Tunis and the northern coastal city of Bizerte, covering a 142km distance, with six stations and toll booths installed along the stretch. Tunisia Autoroutes also operates a closed toll system on the A1 Highway, with six stations and booths, between the country’s eastern coastal cities of Sfax and Gabes, covering a stretch of 156km. Established in 1992, Tunisia Autoroutes first launched toll highway projects in the country in 1996 and now manages more than 200 toll booths on the country’s major highways.
Nigeria
First built in the 1980s, Nigeria’s Lekki-Epe Expressway Toll Road is considered West Africa’s first PPP project, a 30-year concession agreement. It is also reported to be the second private toll project in Africa. Connecting the Lekki and Epe districts in Lagos State, the project involved the reconstruction and upgrading of 49km of existing two-lane dual carriageway to a three-lane highway, which saw the introduction of three toll plazas and the construction of a new 20km highway along the south coast of the Epe peninsula in Lagos State.
In 2008, the African Development Bank provided up to $85m for a further upgrade and rehabilitation of the Lekki to Epe expressway, based on a PPP under the design-build-operate-and-transfer and rehabilitate-operate-transfer model. Completed in 2011, the overall goal of the project was to increase efficiency in the transport sector in Nigeria through private sector participation and ultimately alleviate congestion and improve road safety along the busy Lekki corridor.
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