Critical Appraisal of Articles on Cross-Border Infrastructure Development in Africa
Abstract:
Cross-border infrastructure development has become increasingly central to Africa’s regional integration and economic transformation agenda, particularly under frameworks such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Agenda 2063, and the Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA). This narrative review critically appraised existing literature on cross-border infrastructure development across Africa, focusing on transport corridors, energy networks, trade facilitation systems, financing models, governance structures, and socio-economic implications. The review revealed a broad consensus in the literature that regional infrastructure connectivity can reduce trade costs, improve market accessibility, stimulate industrialization, and strengthen intra-African cooperation. However, the literature remains fragmented across disciplines, regions, and methodological approaches. Existing studies are heavily concentrated in selected countries and sub-regions, while several parts of Central and West Africa remain underexplored. The review further identified an overemphasis on physical infrastructure development with comparatively limited attention given to soft infrastructure components such as institutional coordination, customs harmonization, border governance, and regulatory integration. Significant methodological weaknesses, theoretical inconsistencies, and limited post-implementation evaluations were also observed. In addition, emerging concerns regarding environmental sustainability, climate resilience, community displacement, and uneven socio-economic benefits remain insufficiently addressed in the current literature. Ultimately, the review demonstrates that while Africa has made considerable progress in expanding regional infrastructure networks, the translation of these investments into sustainable and inclusive outcomes of regional integration remains constrained by governance deficiencies, financing challenges, institutional fragmentation, and weak policy coordination. The study highlights the need for more interdisciplinary, context-sensitive, and empirically grounded research to address the complex realities of cross-border infrastructure development in Africa.References:
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