在北肯尼亚海岸，启动于2012年、预算高达250亿美元的“拉穆港-南苏丹-埃塞俄比亚输送走廊”（LAPSSET）曾长期处于停滞状态。然而，随着伊朗战争爆发，大量驶往波斯湾的船只自2月起改道至拉穆港，使得这一超级基础设施重新焕发生机。从全洲来看，这一复苏标志着非洲进入了“超级项目”的新时代，但鉴于经济合作与发展组织（OECD）估计非洲若要在2040年前实现GDP翻倍，每年需在基础设施上投入1550亿美元（约占GDP的5.6%），各国正面临巨大的资金与债务压力。2025年，非洲国家仅债务还本付息支出就高达890亿美元。
在政府财政承压背景下，私营资本正在加快填补基础设施融资缺口。2021年至2024年间，非洲每年筹集的私营融资总额从132亿美元稳步增长至204亿美元；2025年，非洲吸引了约700亿美元的外商直接投资（FDI），创下1990年以来的第三高水平。与此同时，跨国项目的建设规模显著扩大，非洲金融公司（AFC）的数据显示，全洲目前在建和开发的铁路里程达到7000公里，是2020至2024年期间总和的两倍以上。主要大型项目包括埃塞俄比亚于2025年竣工的大型复兴水坝、尼日利亚耗资200亿美元的Dangote炼油厂，以及计划于2028年开工、预算250亿美元的西非天然气管道。
中美两国的地缘政治竞争为非洲超级项目提供了额外的战略推动力。例如，美国国际开发金融公司（DFC）为罗比托走廊（Lobito Corridor）项目注资5.5亿美元，旨在与中国竞争关键矿产的运输通道；同时美方也积极寻求投资埃塞俄比亚预算至少125亿美元的新机场项目。然而，项目风险依然严峻，约90%的超级项目面临超支问题，且当地严重的“走廊溢价”（即基础设施极度缺乏导致的额外成本）使得单个项目的失败可能波及整个区域产业链。
The Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor in Kenya, launched in 2012 with an estimated budget of $25 billion, has gained fresh momentum as vessels reroute from the Persian Gulf due to the Iran war. This revival reflects a broader African shift toward megaprojects. To double its aggregate GDP by 2040, the OECD calculates Africa must invest $155 billion annually (5.6% of GDP) in infrastructure, far exceeding recent spending while governments face severe fiscal constraints. In 2025 alone, African nations spent $89 billion servicing existing external debts.
Private capital is increasingly stepping in to fund infrastructure projects. Annual private finance raised in Africa expanded from $13.2 billion in 2021 to $20.4 billion in 2024, with foreign direct investment reaching $70 billion in 2025—the third-highest annual total since 1990. Rail construction is expanding rapidly, with the Africa Finance Corporation reporting 7,000 km of track under development—more than double the total constructed between 2020 and 2024. Key projects include Ethiopia's GERD hydropower facility completed in 2025, Dangote's $20 billion Nigerian oil refinery, and a proposed $25 billion West Africa gas pipeline scheduled for 2028.
Geopolitical competition between the United States and China provides additional funding impetuses. America's International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) committed $550 million to the Lobito Corridor to secure critical mineral export routes while considering investments in Ethiopia's planned $12.5 billion airport. However, project execution challenges remain substantial: approximately 90% of global megaprojects exceed budgeted expenditures, and localized "corridor premiums"—costs stemming from absent supporting infrastructure—raise the structural failure risk for isolated investments across the continent.
Source: Could a new era of big infrastructure developments accelerate growth?
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Dateline: Jul 23rd 2026