African nations are set to see minimal or in some cases negative GDP growth in the 1st Q of 2026
Africa is forecast to be the next construction hotspot, in the next 5 to 10 years. There will be a huge demand for new highways, railways, airports, housing, schools & hospitals etc.. This will significantly increase the demand for A&E and construction services to meet this massive need. Africa’s construction market is forecast to be in the $80 to $90 billion range in 2026 and is forecast to grow to $125 to $150 billion by 2030.
The 54 countries that make up Africa should see construction related growth for the most part, some better than others. 2026 should be a decent year for Africa’s construction industry. Major African countries such as Nigeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique and South Africa appear to have a good backlog of minerals / mining, Oil & Gas, infrastructure projects in their immediate future. The immediate challenges African countries continue to face are tariffs, high inflation, shortages of skilled workers and supply chain material delays.
Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa & Algeria are leading the pack of African countries with plans to spend billions of dollars on construction related projects in the next 3 to 5 years.
There is a massive need for new roads, bridges, airport / seaports, railways and power / energy related projects across all of Africa in 2026 and beyond.
It appears that there a number of multi-Billion dollar of hi-speed inter-city & freight railroad bidding opportunities in Kenya, South Africa & Ghana.
Africa’s population is forecast to grow to more than 2.5 billion in the next 25 years, from the current 1.2 billion, this growth will fuel the need for all kinds of construction projects across Africa’s 54 counties.
Infrastructure and Oil / Gas and minerals & timber related capital projects are the main drivers of the African construction sector. The African Construction sector will continue to expand somewhat marginally in 2026 but look for a sustained improvement in 2027 / 2028.
The South Africa construction sector is forecast to grow by 2.1% to 2.6% in 2026. High unemployment and inflation continue to be significant challenges to the South African construction sector. The South African construction industry forecast for 2026 is rather subdued with limited construction growth prospects on the horizon.
The Nigerian Construction sector is estimated to be in the range of $140 to $185 billion in 2026, which makes it the # 1 construction market in Africa. Nigeria’s new 650,000 barrel a day Dangote refinery recently came on stream with its first crude oil loading, which is a big plus for the country, that previously imported oil related products.
Nigerian’s construction sector is forecast to grow by 3% to 5% in 2026, high inflation remains a continuing challenge. Nigeria is still challenged by the increasing cost of imported and domestic construction materials. The annual inflation rate in Nigeria is between 15% and 20%. For the Nigerian construction sector this is a serious challenge.
Egypt will construct one of the largest wind farms in the middle east valued at more than $7.5 billion by 2027. Also in the construction pipeline are plans to build a new nuclear plant, upgrades to Egypt’s Petro-Chemical installations and new railroad facilities. However, Egypt is experiencing high inflation that is currently in the 25% range.
Some of the North African nations Algeria, Morrocco & Libya are forecast to experience a slow but steady improvement to their economies and construction sectors, compared to the 3 or 4 difficult previous years.