THE African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has raised fresh concern over the dominance of foreign contractors in Africa’s annual infrastructure spending, which is estimated at nearly $90 billion.

Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice-President of Afreximbank, made the remarks on Monday at the ongoing Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF 2025) in Algiers, Algeria. The week-long event, running from September 4–10, has brought together leaders, policymakers, and business executives from across the continent and the diaspora to accelerate intra-African trade and investment.

“The future of Africa’s development cannot be outsourced,” she declared. “We have the expertise, and above all, the collective will to ensure that Africa’s infrastructure dreams are realized and placed in our hands. Let us seize this moment to build a future defined by self-actualisation, not dependency,” She added.

According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Africa spends around $90 billion annually on infrastructure projects ranging from transport and housing to power and industrial parks. Yet the majority of these contracts are executed by foreign Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) firms.

“The problem with this figure is not the amount,” she said, “but the fact that it is dominated by foreign contractors. Why are African EPCs not participating? Why are we sending this money to contractors in faraway lands?”

She explained that foreign firms often bundle financing with their bids, a capability many African EPCs lack due to domestic financial constraints. However, she stressed that financing is not the only issue. Limited opportunities and regulatory hurdles have also prevented African firms from scaling their capacity, creating jobs, and retaining value within the continent.

Despite these challenges, Awani emphasised that African EPCs are increasingly demonstrating technical expertise, cost competitiveness, and local knowledge.

“African EPC contractors can and must play a crucial role in addressing the continent’s infrastructure demand,” she insisted. “It is not always about financing. We need to address the issues today so that African contractors can fully participate in shaping our infrastructure landscape.”

She highlighted Afreximbank’s role in promoting African firms, revealing that the bank has facilitated over $12.1 billion worth of contracts for African EPCs in the last five years.

Among these, she cited landmark projects such as Tanzania’s Julius Nyerere Hydropower Plant, valued at $2.9 billion, executed end-to-end by African contractors with African financing; the Nigeria–Niger railway project; and investments in industrial parks across Chad and other countries.

“These projects show that African-born giants such as Hassan Malam El-Sewedy Electric, Dangote Group, and others have proven their resilience and skill in delivering world-class infrastructure,” she said.

To strengthen this momentum, Afreximbank has launched the Intra-African EPC Contract Promotion Initiative, aimed at positioning African contractors at the center of the continent’s development agenda.

The program provides financing, technical assistance, policy advocacy, and a digital EPC portal that centralizes infrastructure opportunities, tenders, and training resources. The platform is designed to match African contractors with projects and funding, helping them scale up and compete on stronger footing.

“Each contract awarded to an African prime is not just a project delivered, but a statement of confidence in Africa’s capacity, a job created, and a skill transferred,” Awani noted. “Empowering our EPC contractors means building infrastructure by Africa and for Africa.”

Awani also urged governments, regulators, and private stakeholders to remove bottlenecks such as poor-quality tender processes, delays in proposal reviews, and restrictive policies. She argued that aligning public and private efforts would allow EPCs to play their rightful role as strategic enablers of development.

“As partners and stakeholders, we need to align in this vision,” she said. “African EPCs are not just contractors. They are strategic enablers of development and key partners in overcoming the continent’s financing constraints.”

In his remarks, Algeria’s Minister of Foreign Trade, Professor Kamel Rezig, praised Afreximbank for its leadership in financing infrastructure and for creating opportunities for African EPCs. He described the EPC initiative as a vital step toward resilience and sustainable development across the continent.

With intra-African trade still hovering around 15 percent, experts agree that addressing the infrastructure deficit is central to unlocking the benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

“Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, the future of Africa’s development cannot be outsourced,” she concluded. “It has to be designed, engineered, and fueled by Africans. Together, we have the tools, the expertise, and the collective will to make this a reality.”

Copyright © 2022 Nigerian Tribune Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).