The large-scale expansion of built infrastructure is profoundly reshaping the geographies of Africa,
generating lock-in patterns of development for future generations. Understanding the impact of these
massive investments can allow development opportunities to be maximised and therefore be critical
for attaining the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and African Union’s Agenda 2063
aims. However, until now information on the types, scope, and timing of investments, their evolution
and spatial-temporal impact was dispersed amongst various agencies. We developed a database of 79
development corridors across Africa, synthesizing data from multiple sources covering 184 projects on
railways, wet and dry ports, pipelines, airports, techno-cities, and industrial parks. The georeferenced
interlinked tabular and spatial database includes 22 attributes. We expect this database will improve
coordination, efciency, monitoring, oversight, strategic planning, transparency, and risk assessments,
among other uses for investment banks, governments, impact assessment practitioners, communities,
conservationists, economists, and regional economic bodies.