Chad seeks $30bn investment for development plan

Chad's national development plan seeks $30bn (R533.54bn) in public and private investment as it pursues growth in areas including digitalisation and infrastructure, the Central African country's finance minister Tahir Hamid Nguilin said on Tuesday.

The plan called "Chad Connection 2030" is backed by the International Monetary Fund, which last month reached an agreement with the country for a four-year financial support programme worth about $630m (R11.20bn), and by the World Bank.

It will be launched in September in Abu Dhabi, and aims to conclude deals with investors in sectors including roads, electricity and the digital economy.

This is expected to generate average annual economic growth of 8% over the 2025-2030 period, Nguilin told journalists.

Over the same period, the country's debt level will remain at 32% of gross domestic product, or around $2bn (R35.57bn), he said.

Nguilin said the investment would help Chad to lift its citizens out of poverty, reduce its maternal mortality rate by 50% and double agricultural production.

He added that the government plans to grant exploration permits to private companies operating in the oil and mining sectors, which should increase production.

"Roughly speaking, we were favouring private rather than public investment, so that by the end of 2030, the share of the mining sector, excluding oil, could be at least 5% of GDP," Nguilin said, adding the current share, including artisanal mining, represented 1%-2%.

Reuters