AFRICA (African nations are set to see minimal or in some cases negative GDP growth in the 4th Q of 2024):

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, Oil / Gas and minerals & timber related capital projects are the main drivers of the African construction sector. The African Construction sector will continue to face challenges and minimal growth in the remainder of 2024.

Africa’s construction market is forecast to be in the $75 to $85 billion range in 2025 and is forecast to grow to $100 to $105 billion by 2028. The most active African countries in the 4th Q of 2024 for construction will be Egypt, South Africa, Nigeria, Ethiopia Uganda, Kenya and Mozambique.
The high price of oil, diesel, food and energy costs are deterring future construction and economic growth in the vast majority of the 54 African nations.

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.

Ethiopia’s construction industry is estimated to be in the $50 to $60 billion range as we move into 2025. Ethiopia’s construction sector is developing with a good number of infrastructure related projects in the pipeline, the construction industry is estimated to grow by 5% to 6% in the next couple of years.

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.

Nigeria’s construction sector is forecast to grow by 3% to 5% in 2025, 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 18% and 22%. For the Nigerian construction sector this is a serious challenge.

The South African construction sector is forecast to grow by 2.5% to 2.8% in 2025, high unemployment and inflation continues to be significant challenges to the South African construction sector.

African counties such as Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya and some of the North African nations are forecast to experience a slow but steady improvement to their economies and construction sectors compared to the 2 or 3 difficult COVID previous years.