Africa Economy: China is the leading financier of infrastructure projects in Africa

China has eclipsed multilateral agencies and Western donors to emerge as the leading financier of large scale infrastructure projects in Africa, a report launched by a British financial advisory firm, Deloitte Limited revealed on Tuesday.

The 2015 Africa Construction Trends Report states that China has provided bulk of finance to help implement mega infrastructure projects like roads, seaports, railways and power transmission lines in the world's second largest continent.

Speaking during the launch of the 2015 Africa construction trends report in Nairobi, Mark Smith, a partner, Capital projects at Deloitte Consulting Limited noted that Beijing will remain an influential player in efforts to modernize Africa's infrastructure.

"China remains the dominant source of finance for infrastructure projects in Africa. The country is financing and building massive projects like roads, railways and ports," said Smith.

The 2015 Africa construction trends report says that infrastructure projects valued at 375 billion U.S. dollars were at different stages of implementation across the African continent.

According to the report, a total of 301 mega infrastructure projects in diverse sectors like transport, energy, mining, real estate, water supply and telecommunications were being implemented in the continent.

Smith said that China has overtaken governments, domestic private sector and western donors to emerge as the leading source of finance for development of new infrastructure projects in Africa.

Chinese expanding footprint in Africa's infrastructural modernization will not shrink despite an economic slump experienced in the Asian giant and across much of the developed world.

Smith noted that African countries will continue to rely on China for capital and technology to help implement large scale infrastructure projects.

"The number of infrastructure projects being implemented across Africa has gone up despite liquidity crunch and disruptions in the commodity markets thanks to China's strong presence," Smith remarked.

He revealed that in East Africa, China has provided 8 percent of funding for infrastructure projects like transport corridors and power supply.

Chinese funded infrastructure projects will hasten growth of Africa's economies, promote intra Africa trade and unleash jobs for the youth.

Gabriel Ouko, the Director, Infrastructure and Capital Projects, Deloitte Consulting Limited noted that mega infrastructure projects financed by China have modernized Africa's economies while attracting foreign direct investments in the continent.

"A modern and reliable infrastructure is key to catalyze economic growth in Africa. Chinese investments have modernized our roads and made it possible to have reliable and cheaper power supply," Ouko said.

He stressed that political stability, policy and regulatory reforms were key to attract foreign direct investments in Africa's infrastructure. Endit