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Oliver Kazunga Senior Business Reporter
THE capitalisation of the Comesa infrastructure fund is on course following the injection of $21,9 million in contributions by member states and provision of seed capital by PTA bank.The latest report from the regional trading bloc indicates the fund has reached $21,9 as of last month.

The amount includes $15 million seed capital PTA Bank provided to set up the fund and the $6,9 million raised by member states.

The Comesa infrastructure fund is aimed at financing infrastructure development through the PTA Bank whose core mandate is to provide financial assistance to Comesa member states by promoting their economic and social development regionally and internationally.

“Total capitalisation of the Comesa infrastructure fund has now reached $21.9 million. This is the total amount raised by member states and the Comesa owned PTA Bank as at February 2015.

“The amount includes $15 million seed capital provided by the PTA Bank to set up the fund and $6,981,343 raised by member states,” the bloc said.

“Their total contributions represent about 70 percent of the total assessed contributions of $10 million for all member states.”

Comesa said to date 17 out of 19 member states have either signed and or ratified the Comesa fund protocol.

These include Zimbabwe, Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda and Zambia.

The bloc reported that PTA Bank has already established an office in Mauritius where the infrastructure fund is based.

A report presented to the Comesa 34th Administrative and Budget Committee meeting in Addis Ababa recently, indicates that $6 million has been transferred to the PTA Bank.

This was in line with the financial institution’s charter that provides for the establishment and administration of special purpose funds in the region.

“With initial capital of $21.08 million, it should be possible to leverage $200 million for projects, which can be co-funded by other partners,” read the report.

Of late, infrastructure development has taken centre stage in the Comesa regional integration agenda as the key to unlocking the potential for economic take-off.

The focus was especially on roads, railways, electricity, information and communication infrastructure, ports and waterways transport.

Such infrastructure has been cited as having most significant limitations to economic growth and development in the Comesa region.