The general public and supporters of East Africa’s regional integration are extremely interested in the idea of a six-lane “super-highway” between Mombasa and Kigali reported recently in The EastAfrican, judging by the number of inquiries TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) continues to receive on the topic.

The article had indicated that TMEA will facilitate the project but there is a need to be clearer on the role we will take in this important concept.

READ: Mombasa - Kigali superhighway likely

At TMEA, we aim to reduce East Africa’s trade costs, which are among the highest in the world, in order to unleash competitiveness, economic growth and trade across the region. TMEA will support such a project if key stakeholders such as national governments, the private sector and the EAC want to pursue it.

There is a lot of interest in the concept, but it is not yet a “project.” Based on this considerable interest, TMEA will undertake a series of analytical studies to look more closely at the concept on several levels. We will then be taking these ideas and presenting them to key policy makers at the EAC and member states over the next six months.

If the ideas are realistic, finance is available and there is sufficient support and leadership for this idea, we will support its realisation. But it will take some time to get to that stage.

The super-highway could help the region overcome some of the core challenges to growth. Although transport costs have marginally declined in the region, the high cost of doing business is crippling. Inadequate physical infrastructure and inefficiency mean corridor operations entail long transit times and high costs.

Freight costs per km are more than 50 per cent higher than in the United States and Europe; for the EAC’s landlocked countries, transport costs can be as high as 75 per cent of the value of exports.

It is actually cheaper to transport a container from Singapore to Mombasa than it is to transport the same container from Mombasa to Bujumbura. This is untenable and makes the region highly uncompetitive. 

Trade expansion

Modernisation of transport infrastructure and removal of non-tariff barriers along these corridors is critical for trade expansion, economic growth, and regional integration — all of which contribute to creating prosperity and alleviating poverty in East Africa.

So what would the idea of the super-highway look like at a conceptual level?  First it’s about creating an infrastructure highway that is a trade artery for more than 200 million people.

This means a road that is well maintained and allows for modern transit and transport systems that are both efficient, fast and critically interface with rail and water transport systems.

The idea of upgrading East Africa’s key trade arteries is not new. The Tripartite and Igad Infrastructure Investment Conference in 2011, the EAC Heads of State Summit last year and the Project for Infrastructure Development for Africa have all advocated the concept. 

The challenge will be to make the concept work simultaneously at a regional and national level under the EAC’s leadership, and to harness the potential for private sector investment to mobilise significant resources required to realise the concept.

Second, the super-highway will be a policy highway, realising East Africa’s vision of a fully-fledged Customs Union and Common Market. There has been remarkable progress in realising the EAC single Customs territory and the superhighway will be a concrete manifestation of this vision.

Under the EAC’s leadership, cutting edge policies will allow for uninterrupted free movement of people, goods and services. There would be no weighbridges, police checks nor non-tariff barriers along this highway. 

There would even be special lanes at border posts for approved vehicles to pass through without stopping. Traders and transporters using this superhighway would be automatically cleared in Mombasa through an approved Authorised Economic Operator programme. 

Enhanced regulation would allow for free competition and the potential for a regional Special Economic Zone could anchor investment within a designated perimeter of the super-highway. Much of these policies are again not new, they operate in other common markets such as Europe.

Third, the super-highway will also be an information technology highway. In order to move to world-class competitiveness, East Africa’s businesses will need to have access to cutting-edge technologies to reduce the risks of importing and exporting, and increase reliability.

The IT super-highway will incorporate traffic management systems, pre-clearance systems, single windows, electronic warehousing and real-time cargo tracking, and super-highway efficiency tracking. The information will help drive certainty and reduce the inefficiency that cripples the region’s ability to compete.

The super-highway concept could transform the region into the most attractive place to invest in Africa. This dream isn’t a distant one, it is one that East Africa’s leaders and policy makers are already thinking about and that we are proud to be associated with. Perhaps its time has come.

Frank Matsaert is the CEO and Scott Allen is the deputy CEO of TradeMark East Africa