Africa's current infrastructure, which has long been identified as a key requirement for economic growth, needs to be developed to an adequate and efficient standard.

The sector offers significant investment opportunities for long-term investors, even in time of the global financial crisis.

This was the message for delegates who attended the African Union's Infrastructure Day Conference and Exhibition in Ethiopia last week.

Alex Rugamba, Coordinator for the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa's (ICA) outlined a number of challenges facing development in Africa due to the global financial and economic crisis.

The ICA was set up by the 2005 Gleneagles G8 summit with the aim of building strategic partnership among donors and stakeholders in order to facilitate the development of infrastructure in Africa.

Rugamba said despite the economic downturn, official development assistance was expected to continue at current levels, but stressed the need to tap private investment in the more financially viable sectors to make urgently needed investments.

He outlined a number of possible African responses to the crisis which included accelerating inter-regional trade and investment; and reducing the cost of doing business by strengthening and improving local and regional financial markets.