I remember being in the Ivory Coast at the president’s home village. 8 lane roads going several miles out into the bush with street lights, but just the infrastructure built with the hope of more economic development in the future.
Under the theory if you build it they will come. Houphouët-Boigny believed it would become a pilgrimage site for African Catholics.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_Our_Lady_of_Peace
But the infrastructure is just one piece of the puzzle. Per Adam Smith, there is also an Invisible Hand involved in wealth of nations.
And that is the issue, is this wealth building or just spending because you can. They look the same sometimes.
What did you do in the Ivory Coast? My son is there now.