Abstract
It is generally agreed that transport facilities have an important part to play in the process of economic development, in tropical Africa as elsewhere. However, there is much less agreement on the exact nature of their role, and especially on the likely impact of new investment in this field. It is sometimes suggested that improvements in transport facilities will themselves stimulate new forms of economic activity, but there is a contrary view that investment of this type is not directly productive and should be undertaken only when a clear need for it arises. The development plans which are now being implemented in nearly all African countries differ very greatly in the degree of priority given to transport, and also in the priorities accorded to the various alternative media. In this paper attention is focused on railway construction, and its contribution to African economic development today.
This is a revised version of Dr O’Connor’s paper, published in 1969. For the related Select Bibliography, see pp. 149–50.
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References
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© 1973 Macmillan Publishers Limited
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O’Connor, A.M. (1973). Recent Railway Construction in Tropical Africa. In: Hoyle, B.S. (eds) Transport and Development. The Geographical Readings Series. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-15506-4_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-15506-4_9
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