Tech cities and mega dams: Africa's giant infrastructure projects

The Grand Inga Dam is a planned hydroelectric dam on the Congo River at Inga Falls. The project is expected to cost more than $80 billion in total.

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Grand Inga Dam, DR Congo

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STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Great Inga Dam, Congo, could become the world's largest hydroelectric dam
• Kenya's Konza City is one of many futuristic cities in the pipeline
• Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam will serve neighboring Sudan and Egypt

 Resource rich and home to some of the world's fastest-growing economies, the stage is set for Africa to become the world's next industrial juggernaut.

But making this dream a reality remains a major challenge.

A lack of railways, ports and quality roads has hindered Africa's development in recent years. But today, economic heavyweights such as China and India are pumping billions of dollars into Africa to transform the continent's fortunes and stake a claim in the world's next high-growth territory.

And last month, the African Development Bank and the Africa Foundation launched a fundraising initiative for Africa50, a project aimed at speeding up infrastructure ventures on the continent.

Here, CNN takes a look at some of the big projects set to take Africa by storm. Tell us what you think about them in the comments section below.

Great Inga Dam -- Democratic Republic of the Congo

Potentially the world's largest hydroelectric dam, the Great Inga is a project to tame the mighty Congo River and provide much-needed renewable energy for up to 500 million Africans.

With work scheduled to begin in October 2015, it's claimed the Great Inga would produce 40,000 megawatts (MW) of energy, that's twice as much as