Aggregate spending on infrastructure across Ghana, 3 others to increase to $96bn in 2050 – PwC Global Infrastructure Outlook

Africa will experience the fastest annual growth in infrastructure spending of any region over the 25-year forecast period, according to PwC Global Infrastructure Outlook 2026.

Aggregate annual spending across Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa is projected to increase from $54 billion in 2024 to $96 billion in 2050, a 77% increase.

According to the report, demographic change and urbanisation are driving growth in Africa.

The continent is expected to add more than 800 million urban residents by 2050, and the number of megacities will triple. Spending on transport infrastructure, the largest sector, is projected to more than double as trade corridors expands. Agriculture and resource infrastructure will be the region’s second- and third-largest spending sectors over the forecast period.

“We expect the next 25 years to be defined by an unprecedented surge in global infrastructure investment. But there’s no guarantee the required levels of spending will materialise. And top-line revenues don’t automatically translate into profitable investments. To unlock value, investors, governments, and corporations will need a strategic, system‑wide approach that overcomes today’s constraints and accelerates delivery”, the report stated.

Key imperatives of such an approach, the report said, include embedding long-term strategic planning.

“Political and policy uncertainty and regulatory and planning delays hinder the development of infrastructure and reduce its attractiveness as an investment. At the same time, infrastructure assets are inherently long-lived, often spanning multiple economic and political cycles. To maximise their value, robust frameworks that enable decision-making beyond short-term horizons are needed”, the report pointed out.

This means establishing stable regulatory environments and clear national or regional strategies that provide certainty for investors and delivery partners.

It urged governments to form independent bodies empowered to make infrastructure investment decisions across political parties. “In parallel, planning and regulatory approval processes must be streamlined to accelerate delivery and reduce uncertainty”.

Also, the report mentioned moving from silos to integrated systems.

It said concentrating investment in power or digital sectors without making corresponding upgrades in other sectors like transport or water risks creating bottlenecks that may ultimately constrain both returns and growth. Conversely, spreading and coordinating investment across the infrastructure ecosystem unlocks multiplier effects—while also enabling the alignment of capital, capability, and policy to deliver integrated systems that boost productivity and long-term value.

It therefore advised the consideration of combining data centre campuses with clean power purchase agreements and water reuse.

Similarly, the report talked about innovating financing and partnership mechanisms.

It argued that because public budgets alone will be insufficient, institutional investors, sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, and private credit providers will be central to the next 25 years of infrastructure development.

“What’s needed is more effective and efficient collaboration between governments and the private sector. This includes developing new financing structures, risk-sharing mechanisms, and delivery models that leverage the strengths of both sides. One example is capital recycling, wherein governments sell or lease mature infrastructure assets and reinvest the proceeds into new projects—unlocking funding without increasing public debt”.

By 2050, the report said the world will be increasingly dependent on electrification, data, automation, and circular resource flows. And infrastructure will no longer be defined solely by isolated physical assets like roads, grids, or plants.