From Transport Corridors to Industrial Corridors: Developing a Corridor Industrialisation Governance Framework (CIGF) for Africa
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.67221/54dks033Keywords:
: industrial corridors, industrial policy, infrastructure development, regional integration, structural transformation, and transport corridorsAbstract
Transport corridors have now become essential to Africa’s regional integration strategy, with strategic investments aiming to boost commerce, decrease logistics costs and drive industrialisation. While there is evidence that these expenditures have led to only minimal structural transformation, there have been significant increases in transport efficiency across numerous regional corridors. This study examines the governance conditions required to convert transport corridors into industrial corridors that can support sustainable manufacturing expansion and regional value chain development. The study, based on evidence from the Kazungula Bridge and the modernisation of the Beitbridge Border Post, uses a convergent mixed-methods design that combines quantitative survey data from 300 respondents and qualitative evidence from key informant interviews, focus group discussions and documentary analysis.
The findings show that infrastructure investments significantly enhanced logistics performance and regional connectivity. However, fragmented governance, weak policy coordination, limited productive finance, inadequate enterprise support, and poor regional industrial integration constrained a wider industrial development. Based on these findings, the paper proposes the Corridor Industrialisation Governance Framework (CIGF), an integrated governance model that identifies institutional coordination, industrial policy alignment, enterprise development, productive finance and regional value chain integration as the key pillars of infrastructure-led industrialisation.
The framework contributes to the current body of research on corridor development by shifting the focus away from transport efficiency to governance structures that facilitate structural transformation. The study finds that transport infrastructure should be designed and managed as part of integrated industrial ecosystems rather than as discrete engineering projects. The suggested framework offers a workable governance architecture for governments, regional economic communities and development partners to maximize the developmental gains of key infrastructure investments.
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