Shifts in Africa Infrastructure: Chinese Firms Rise as Western Contractors Decline

In a decade and a half, Chinese firms reshaped the landscape of Africa’s most ambitious infrastructure endeavors, shifting away from Western contractors at a surprising speed. A report from a Hong Kong newspaper, the South China Morning Post, provides a detailed timeline of this transition. According to the article, Western companies built the majority of Africa’s major projects in the 1990s, accounting for roughly 80 percent of infrastructure work. Over time, their share declined. By 2013, Western firms still held a sizeable portion, about 37 percent, while Chinese contractors held around 12 percent. The turning point came with Beijings signature initiative in infrastructure, the Belt and Road Initiative, launched in 2013, which dramatically accelerated Chinese participation across the continent. (Source: South China Morning Post)