Chad is turning to Gulf investors to help finance its ambitious five-year development plan, aiming to transform the landlocked Central African nation into a middle-income economy.
The plan, dubbed “Connection 2030”, seeks to generate average real GDP growth of 8 percent per year between 2025 and 2030, improve infrastructure, expand access to electricity and clean water, and raise mobile phone penetration and life expectancy. The government has estimated that the plan will require US$30 billion in public and private investment.
Chad’s economy presents stark contrasts. While the oil sector responsible for about 15 percent of GDP and 40 percent of government revenues helped deliver a fiscal surplus of 4.5 percent of GDP in 2022, around 80 percent of the population relies on subsistence agriculture. Natural disasters, such as the unprecedented floods in 2022 that displaced 1.3 million people, continue to drive high food inflation and vulnerability.
Finance Minister Tahir Hamid Nguilin told the media that the plan aims to unleash Chad’s economic potential through industrialisation and investment in sectors such as mining, oil, livestock, and agriculture. “We have more than 13 million acres of arable land and an estimated livestock population of 156 million,” he said.
Critical infrastructure upgrades are a cornerstone of the plan. The government aims to improve roads, airports, and ports to reduce Chad’s notoriously high logistics costs a burden compounded by its landlocked geography, poor infrastructure, and high fuel prices. The World Bank estimates that each additional day in transit adds 0.8 percent to the cost of goods, while landlockedness can increase freight costs by around 50 percent.
Chad is already courting investors from the Gulf. In November, the UAE-Chad Trade and Investment Forum in Abu Dhabi marked the international launch of Connection 2030. At the event, more than 40 memorandums of understanding (MOUs) were signed, securing US$20.5 billion in financing pledges toward the US$30 billion target.
President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno hailed the forum as a strong start. “In its first year, our five-year plan will mobilise financing amounting to US$20.5 billion, which indicates that the objective of $30 billion is achievable,” he said.
Nguilin said the UAE offers the most convenient platform for attracting investors, calling Abu Dhabi a regional hub for business exposure.
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However, Chad faces persistent challenges. Security concerns, regional conflicts, Islamist militant activity, and clashes between farmers and herders continue to weigh on growth prospects. The Institute for Security Studies warns that under current trends, GDP per capita may remain below its 2014 peak, and projected annual growth rates of around 3.7 percent fall far short of the government’s 8% target.
Despite these hurdles, Chad is pushing forward with reforms to simplify business procedures, attract foreign investment, and harness its vast natural resources, including 1.5 billion barrels of proven oil reserves and deposits of gold, uranium, and bauxite.
The success of Connection 2030 could mark a turning point for one of Africa’s poorest nations, unlocking the promise of industrialisation and improved living standards for millions of Chadians.
